Live in West Virginia, Work Remotely for a Washington Employer: Who Taxes You?
Answer
Only West Virginia taxes you. Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld there and you file no Washington return. West Virginia taxes its residents on all income wherever earned, which means your Washington earnings go on a West Virginia resident return in full.
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 West Virginia still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your West Virginia return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · West Virginia
File a West Virginia resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| West Virginia | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | 5 (Form WV/IT-104) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IT-140 with Schedule A | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule E (Form IT-140) | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | West Virginia Tax Division | 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 West Virginia 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: West Virginia → WashingtonHome state only
- 1099 contractor: West Virginia → WashingtonHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: West Virginia → WashingtonOne part-year return — the state you left
Other West Virginia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in West Virginia and work remotely for a Washington employer. Which state do I pay?
Only West Virginia taxes you. Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld there and you file no Washington return. West Virginia taxes its residents on all income wherever earned, which means your Washington earnings go on a West Virginia resident return in full.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
West Virginia. Your employer should withhold West Virginia 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 West Virginia and Washington rules on this page were last checked against West Virginia Tax Division 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.
- West Virginia Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07