Live in Alabama, Work in New York: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Two returns, one credit. New York has the first claim on wages earned inside the state and withholds accordingly. Alabama then taxes you as a resident on everything and gives credit for what New York already took, capped at what Alabama would have charged on that same income.
Last verified
Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: New York because the work happened there, Alabama because you live there. Nothing prevents the overlap in advance — it is unwound afterwards, on the Alabama return, through the credit for taxes paid to another state.
A Alabama resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Schedule CR. The credit is capped at the Alabama tax on that income, so it removes the double tax but never refunds the excess when the other state charges more.
New York also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: New York City levies a resident income tax, and Yonkers levies both a resident tax and a small nonresident earnings tax. New York City has not taxed nonresident commuters since the commuter tax was repealed in 1999 — a New Jersey or Connecticut resident working in Manhattan owes New York State but not New York City.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · New YorkForm IT-203
File the New York nonresident return FIRST — you need the New York tax figure before you can complete Alabama.
- 2Resident return · AlabamaSchedule CR
File a Alabama resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to New York. The credit is capped at what Alabama would have charged on that same income, so if New York taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Alabama | New York | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Form 40NR | Form IT-203 |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule CR | Form IT-112-R |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue department | Alabama Department of Revenue | New York State Department of Taxation and Finance |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in New York and working in Alabama gives:Both states — credit offsets the double tax.
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.
- Remote worker: Alabama → New YorkConvenience-of-the-employer rule — both states tax you
- 1099 contractor: Alabama → New YorkHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Alabama → New YorkTwo part-year returns
Other Alabama pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Alabama and work in New York. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Two returns, one credit. New York has the first claim on wages earned inside the state and withholds accordingly. Alabama then taxes you as a resident on everything and gives credit for what New York already took, capped at what Alabama would have charged on that same income.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
New York. The wages are sourced to New York, so New York withholding is correct and there is no Alabama withholding to set up.
Will I end up paying tax twice on the same income?
Not twice over, but you will pay the higher of the two rates. Alabama gives residents a credit for tax paid to New York on the same income, claimed on Schedule CR. The credit is capped at the Alabama tax on that income, so if New York taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Alabama and New York rules on this page were last checked against Alabama Department of Revenue and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance 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.
- Alabama Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07