Live in Arkansas, Work in Virginia: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Expect withholding in Virginia and a return in both. Arkansas and Virginia hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: Virginia taxes the Virginia-source wages, and your Arkansas resident return claims a credit for that tax against the Arkansas liability on the same income.
Last verified
Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: Virginia because the work happened there, Arkansas because you live there. Nothing prevents the overlap in advance — it is unwound afterwards, on the Arkansas return, through the credit for taxes paid to another state.
A Arkansas resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Form AR1000TC. The credit is capped at the Arkansas 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 · VirginiaForm 763
File the Virginia nonresident return FIRST — you need the Virginia tax figure before you can complete Arkansas.
- 2Resident return · ArkansasForm AR1000TC
File a Arkansas resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Virginia. The credit is capped at what Arkansas would have charged on that same income, so if Virginia taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Arkansas | Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 5 (Form VA-4) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form AR1000NR | Form 763 |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form AR1000TC | Schedule OSC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration | Virginia Department of Taxation |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Virginia and working in Arkansas 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: Arkansas → VirginiaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Arkansas → VirginiaHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Arkansas → VirginiaTwo part-year returns
Other Arkansas pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Arkansas and work in Virginia. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Expect withholding in Virginia and a return in both. Arkansas and Virginia hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: Virginia taxes the Virginia-source wages, and your Arkansas resident return claims a credit for that tax against the Arkansas liability on the same income.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Virginia. The wages are sourced to Virginia, so Virginia withholding is correct and there is no Arkansas 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. Arkansas gives residents a credit for tax paid to Virginia on the same income, claimed on Form AR1000TC. The credit is capped at the Arkansas tax on that income, so if Virginia taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Arkansas and Virginia rules on this page were last checked against Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration 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.
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — 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