Live in Arizona, Work in Washington: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Only Arizona taxes you. Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld there and you file no Washington return. Arizona taxes its residents on all income wherever earned, which means your Washington earnings go on a Arizona 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 Arizona still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your Arizona return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Arizona
File a Arizona resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Arizona | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 140NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 309 | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Arizona Department of Revenue | 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 Arizona gives:Work 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.
- Remote worker: Arizona → WashingtonHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Arizona → WashingtonHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: Arizona → WashingtonOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Arizona pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Arizona and work in Washington. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Only Arizona taxes you. Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so nothing is withheld there and you file no Washington return. Arizona taxes its residents on all income wherever earned, which means your Washington earnings go on a Arizona resident return in full.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Arizona. Your employer should withhold Arizona 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 Arizona and Washington rules on this page were last checked against Arizona Department of Revenue 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.
- Arizona Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07