Live in New York, Work Remotely for a Maine Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
New York gets all of it. Because Maine does not tax wage income, no Maine withholding exists and no Maine return is required — but New York taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Maine still belongs on your New York resident return.
Last verified
Crossing into a state with no income tax does not lower your tax bill, because your home state is not taxing you on where you work — it is taxing you on where you live. New York reaches all of a resident's income, and Maine adds nothing on top.
What you file
- 1Resident return · New York
File a New York resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| New York | Maine | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | Yes — general rule | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IT-203 | Form 1040ME with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form IT-112-R | Form 1040ME Schedule A |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | 12 days or a dollar floor |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | New York State Department of Taxation and Finance | Maine Revenue Services |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Maine and working in New York 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: New York → MaineBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- 1099 contractor: New York → MaineHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: New York → MaineTwo part-year returns
Other New York pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in New York and work remotely for a Maine employer. Which state do I pay?
New York gets all of it. Because Maine does not tax wage income, no Maine withholding exists and no Maine return is required — but New York taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Maine still belongs on your New York resident return.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
New York. Your employer should withhold New York tax rather than Maine tax on these wages. If a Maine line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
Does my Maine employer's location alone create a Maine tax obligation?
No. Maine 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 Maine are a different matter — those are Maine-source income and can require a nonresident return.
How current is this?
The New York and Maine rules on this page were last checked against New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and Maine Revenue Services 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.
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Maine Revenue Services — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07