Live in Louisiana, Work Remotely for a Washington Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Washington levies no tax on wages; Louisiana taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Louisiana resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Last verified
The instinct that working in a no-tax state means paying no tax is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this niche. Washington takes nothing, but Louisiana still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your Louisiana return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Louisiana
File a Louisiana resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Louisiana | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IT-540B | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule G (Form IT-540) | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Louisiana Department of Revenue | Washington State Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Washington and working in Louisiana gives:No state income tax on your wages.
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: Louisiana → WashingtonHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Louisiana → WashingtonHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: Louisiana → WashingtonOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Louisiana pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Louisiana and work remotely for a Washington employer. Which state do I pay?
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Washington levies no tax on wages; Louisiana taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Louisiana resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Louisiana. Your employer should withhold Louisiana tax rather than Washington tax on these wages. If a Washington line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
How current is this?
The Louisiana and Washington rules on this page were last checked against Louisiana Department of Revenue and Washington State 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.
- Louisiana Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07