Live in Georgia, Work in Delaware: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Delaware withholds and Georgia credits. Without an agreement between them, both states are entitled to tax income earned in Delaware by a Georgia resident. The mechanism that stops you paying twice is the credit on the Georgia resident return, which is why the Delaware return has to be completed first.
Last verified
Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: Delaware because the work happened there, Georgia because you live there. Nothing prevents the overlap in advance — it is unwound afterwards, on the Georgia return, through the credit for taxes paid to another state.
A Georgia resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Form 500 Schedule 2. The credit is capped at the Georgia tax on that income, so it removes the double tax but never refunds the excess when the other state charges more.
Delaware also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: Wilmington levies a city earned income tax on wages earned inside the city, collected by the city rather than the Division of Revenue.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · DelawareForm PIT-NON
File the Delaware nonresident return FIRST — you need the Delaware tax figure before you can complete Georgia.
- 2Resident return · GeorgiaForm 500 Schedule 2
File a Georgia resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Delaware. The credit is capped at what Georgia would have charged on that same income, so if Delaware taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Georgia | Delaware | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Form 500 with Schedule 3 | Form PIT-NON |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 500 Schedule 2 | Schedule I (Form PIT-RES) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Georgia Department of Revenue | Delaware Division of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Delaware and working in Georgia 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: Georgia → DelawareConvenience-of-the-employer rule — both states tax you
- 1099 contractor: Georgia → DelawareHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Georgia → DelawareTwo part-year returns
Other Georgia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Georgia and work in Delaware. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Delaware withholds and Georgia credits. Without an agreement between them, both states are entitled to tax income earned in Delaware by a Georgia resident. The mechanism that stops you paying twice is the credit on the Georgia resident return, which is why the Delaware return has to be completed first.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Delaware. The wages are sourced to Delaware, so Delaware withholding is correct and there is no Georgia 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. Georgia gives residents a credit for tax paid to Delaware on the same income, claimed on Form 500 Schedule 2. The credit is capped at the Georgia tax on that income, so if Delaware taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Georgia and Delaware rules on this page were last checked against Georgia Department of Revenue and Delaware Division 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.
- Georgia Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Delaware Division of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07