Live in Iowa, Work Remotely for a Wisconsin Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Iowa gets all of it. Because Wisconsin does not tax wage income, no Wisconsin withholding exists and no Wisconsin return is required — but Iowa taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Wisconsin still belongs on your Iowa resident return.
Last verified
The instinct that working in a no-tax state means paying no tax is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this niche. Wisconsin takes nothing, but Iowa still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your Iowa return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Iowa
File a Iowa resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Iowa | Wisconsin | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 1 (Form 44-016) | 4 (Form W-220) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126 | Form 1NPR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form IA 130 | Schedule OS |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Dollar floor published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Iowa Department of Revenue | Wisconsin Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Wisconsin and working in Iowa gives:Home state only.
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: Iowa → WisconsinBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- 1099 contractor: Iowa → WisconsinHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Iowa → WisconsinTwo part-year returns
Other Iowa pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Iowa and work remotely for a Wisconsin employer. Which state do I pay?
Iowa gets all of it. Because Wisconsin does not tax wage income, no Wisconsin withholding exists and no Wisconsin return is required — but Iowa taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Wisconsin still belongs on your Iowa resident return.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Iowa. Your employer should withhold Iowa tax rather than Wisconsin tax on these wages. If a Wisconsin line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
Does my Wisconsin employer's location alone create a Wisconsin tax obligation?
No. Wisconsin sources wages to the place where the work is physically performed, and it does not apply a convenience-of-the-employer rule that would override that. Days you actually spend working inside Wisconsin are a different matter — those are Wisconsin-source income and can require a nonresident return.
How current is this?
The Iowa and Wisconsin rules on this page were last checked against Iowa Department of Revenue and Wisconsin 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.
- Iowa Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Wisconsin Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07