Live in Utah, Work Remotely for a Alaska Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Utah gets all of it. Because Alaska does not tax wage income, no Alaska withholding exists and no Alaska return is required — but Utah taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Alaska still belongs on your Utah 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. Alaska takes nothing, but Utah still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your Utah return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Utah
File a Utah resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Utah | Alaska | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form TC-40 with Schedule TC-40B | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule TC-40S | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Utah State Tax Commission | Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Alaska and working in Utah 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: Utah → AlaskaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Utah → AlaskaHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: Utah → AlaskaOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Utah pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Utah and work remotely for a Alaska employer. Which state do I pay?
Utah gets all of it. Because Alaska does not tax wage income, no Alaska withholding exists and no Alaska return is required — but Utah taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Alaska still belongs on your Utah resident return.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Utah. Your employer should withhold Utah tax rather than Alaska tax on these wages. If a Alaska line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
How current is this?
The Utah and Alaska rules on this page were last checked against Utah State Tax Commission and Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division 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.
- Utah State Tax Commission — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07