Live in Maine, Work in Alaska: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Alaska levies no tax on wages; Maine taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Maine resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Last verified
Crossing into a state with no income tax does not lower your tax bill, because your home state is not taxing you on where you work — it is taxing you on where you live. Maine reaches all of a resident's income, and Alaska adds nothing on top.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Maine
File a Maine resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Maine | Alaska | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 1040ME with Schedule NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 1040ME Schedule A | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | 12 days or a dollar floor | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Maine Revenue Services | Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Alaska and working in Maine 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: Maine → AlaskaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Maine → AlaskaHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: Maine → AlaskaOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Maine pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Maine and work in Alaska. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Your home state takes it and the work state does not. Alaska levies no tax on wages; Maine taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single Maine resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Maine. Your employer should withhold Maine tax rather than Alaska tax on these wages. If a Alaska line is showing on your pay stub, raise it with payroll now rather than at filing time.
How current is this?
The Maine and Alaska rules on this page were last checked against Maine Revenue Services and Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division 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.
- Maine Revenue Services — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07