Live in Washington, Work Remotely for a Virginia Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Nothing is owed on either side. Washington has no wage income tax, and Virginia taxes nonresidents only on work actually performed inside Virginia. Never setting foot in Virginia keeps the income entirely outside its reach, so this pair produces no state return at all.
Last verified
An employer's address is not a tax nexus for its employees. Working from Washington keeps the income Washington-source, and since Washington levies no tax on wages, the income lands nowhere at all.
What you file
There is nothing to file in either Washington or Virginia on these wages. Your federal return is unaffected — the federal government taxes the income whatever the states do.
The two states, side by side
| Washington | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 5 (Form VA-4) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form 763 |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule OSC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Washington State Department of Revenue | Virginia Department of Taxation |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Virginia and working in Washington 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: Washington → VirginiaWork state only
- 1099 contractor: Washington → VirginiaClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Washington → VirginiaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Washington pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Washington and work remotely for a Virginia employer. Which state do I pay?
Nothing is owed on either side. Washington has no wage income tax, and Virginia taxes nonresidents only on work actually performed inside Virginia. Never setting foot in Virginia keeps the income entirely outside its reach, so this pair produces no state return at all.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Neither. There is no state income tax to withhold on either side of this pairing, so a state line on your pay stub for Washington or Virginia is an error worth querying.
Does my Virginia employer's location alone create a Virginia tax obligation?
No. Virginia 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 Virginia are a different matter — those are Virginia-source income and can require a nonresident return.
How current is this?
The Washington and Virginia rules on this page were last checked against Washington State Department of Revenue and Virginia Department of Taxation 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.
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia Department of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia — Form VA-4accessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia Tax — Reciprocityaccessed 2026-08-07