Live in Arizona, Work in Utah: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Both states tax the same wages, and a credit undoes the overlap. Utah withholds as your work state and you file a Utah nonresident return; Arizona taxes residents on all income, so you also file at home and claim the credit for tax paid to Utah. File Utah first.
Last verified
Without an agreement between Arizona and Utah, the overlap is handled after the fact rather than prevented. That is why the filing order matters: the Utah figure is an input to the Arizona return, so completing Arizona first means doing it twice.
A Arizona resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Form 309. The credit is capped at the Arizona tax on that income, so it removes the double tax but never refunds the excess when the other state charges more.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · UtahForm TC-40 with Schedule TC-40B
File the Utah nonresident return FIRST — you need the Utah tax figure before you can complete Arizona.
- 2Resident return · ArizonaForm 309
File a Arizona resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Utah. The credit is capped at what Arizona would have charged on that same income, so if Utah taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Arizona | Utah | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 140NR | Form TC-40 with Schedule TC-40B |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 309 | Schedule TC-40S |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Arizona Department of Revenue | Utah State Tax Commission |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Utah and working in Arizona 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: Arizona → UtahHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Arizona → UtahHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Arizona → UtahTwo part-year returns
Other Arizona pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Arizona and work in Utah. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Both states tax the same wages, and a credit undoes the overlap. Utah withholds as your work state and you file a Utah nonresident return; Arizona taxes residents on all income, so you also file at home and claim the credit for tax paid to Utah. File Utah first.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Utah. The wages are sourced to Utah, so Utah withholding is correct and there is no Arizona 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. Arizona gives residents a credit for tax paid to Utah on the same income, claimed on Form 309. The credit is capped at the Arizona tax on that income, so if Utah taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Arizona and Utah rules on this page were last checked against Arizona Department of Revenue and Utah 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.
- Arizona Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Utah State Tax Commission — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07