Live in North Dakota, Work Remotely for a Idaho Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
North Dakota gets all of it. Because Idaho does not tax wage income, no Idaho withholding exists and no Idaho return is required — but North Dakota taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Idaho still belongs on your North Dakota 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. Idaho takes nothing, but North Dakota still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your North Dakota return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · North Dakota
File a North Dakota resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| North Dakota | Idaho | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | 2 (Form NDW-R) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form ND-1 with Schedule ND-1NR | Form 43 |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule ND-1CR | Form 39NR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner | Idaho State Tax Commission |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Idaho and working in North Dakota 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: North Dakota → IdahoBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- 1099 contractor: North Dakota → IdahoHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: North Dakota → IdahoTwo part-year returns
Other North Dakota pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in North Dakota and work remotely for a Idaho employer. Which state do I pay?
North Dakota gets all of it. Because Idaho does not tax wage income, no Idaho withholding exists and no Idaho return is required — but North Dakota taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Idaho still belongs on your North Dakota resident return.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
North Dakota. Your employer should withhold North Dakota tax rather than Idaho tax on these wages. If a Idaho line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
Does my Idaho employer's location alone create a Idaho tax obligation?
No. Idaho 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 Idaho are a different matter — those are Idaho-source income and can require a nonresident return.
How current is this?
The North Dakota and Idaho rules on this page were last checked against North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner and Idaho State Tax Commission 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.
- North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Idaho State Tax Commission — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07