Live in Delaware, Work Remotely for a Pennsylvania Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Expect Pennsylvania withholding despite the distance. Under Pennsylvania's convenience-of-the-employer rule the location of your desk does not control; the reason you are at that desk does. Two returns follow — Pennsylvania nonresident first, then the Delaware resident return with the credit.
Last verified
The convenience rule asks a question that no other sourcing rule asks: not where you worked, but why you worked there. If the answer is your own preference, Pennsylvania treats the day as a Pennsylvania workday no matter where the desk actually was.
Pennsylvania sources a nonresident's remote workdays to Pennsylvania when the employee works from home for their own convenience rather than at the employer's requirement. The reciprocal agreements override it: a New Jersey resident working remotely for a Pennsylvania employer owes Pennsylvania nothing.
The rule is not an administrative preference. Pennsylvania applies it under 61 Pa. Code §109.8, and the burden of showing that remote work is an employer necessity rather than an employee convenience falls on you and your employer, not on Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
A Delaware resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Schedule I (Form PIT-RES). The credit is capped at the Delaware tax on that income, so it removes the double tax but never refunds the excess when the other state charges more.
Pennsylvania also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: Pennsylvania's Act 32 earned income tax is levied by municipalities and school districts across the state, and Philadelphia levies its own wage tax on residents and on nonresidents who work in the city. None of it is covered by the reciprocal agreements, and Philadelphia's nonresident wage tax applies from the first dollar.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · PennsylvaniaForm PA-40 (nonresident)
File the Pennsylvania nonresident return FIRST — you need the Pennsylvania tax figure before you can complete Delaware.
- 2Resident return · DelawareSchedule I (Form PIT-RES)
File a Delaware resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Pennsylvania. The credit is capped at what Delaware would have charged on that same income, so if Pennsylvania taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Delaware | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 6 (Form REV-419) |
| Convenience rule | Yes — general rule | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Form PIT-NON | Form PA-40 (nonresident) |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule I (Form PIT-RES) | Schedule G-L |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue department | Delaware Division of Revenue | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Pennsylvania and working in Delaware gives:Convenience-of-the-employer rule — both states tax you.
Same two states, different situation
The withholding answer turns on how you are paid and where the work happens, not only on which two states are involved.
- W-2 commuter: Delaware → PennsylvaniaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- 1099 contractor: Delaware → PennsylvaniaHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Delaware → PennsylvaniaTwo part-year returns
Other Delaware pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Delaware and work remotely for a Pennsylvania employer. Which state do I pay?
Expect Pennsylvania withholding despite the distance. Under Pennsylvania's convenience-of-the-employer rule the location of your desk does not control; the reason you are at that desk does. Two returns follow — Pennsylvania nonresident first, then the Delaware resident return with the credit.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Both, potentially — and that is the problem. Pennsylvania expects withholding because it claims the income, while Delaware taxes you as a resident. Many employers withhold only for Pennsylvania, which leaves a Delaware balance due at filing unless you make estimated payments during the year.
Will I end up paying tax twice on the same income?
Not twice over, but you will pay the higher of the two rates. Delaware gives residents a credit for tax paid to Pennsylvania on the same income, claimed on Schedule I (Form PIT-RES). The credit is capped at the Delaware tax on that income, so if Pennsylvania taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Delaware and Pennsylvania rules on this page were last checked against Delaware Division of Revenue and Pennsylvania Department of Revenue on 2026-08-07. We re-check the full grid every December after state legislative sessions close, and re-check the convenience-of-the-employer states quarterly because that is where the rules move fastest.
Sources
Every fact above comes from the revenue department that publishes the rule. We do not cite secondary summaries, and we do not restate a figure we could not find at source.
- Delaware Division of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania — Form REV-419accessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Guide — Income Subject to Tax Withholdingaccessed 2026-08-07