Live in Maryland, Work in Alaska: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Maryland gets all of it. Because Alaska does not tax wage income, no Alaska withholding exists and no Alaska return is required — but Maryland taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Alaska still belongs on your Maryland resident return.
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. Maryland reaches all of a resident's income, and Alaska adds nothing on top.
What you file
- 1Resident return · Maryland
File a Maryland resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| Maryland | Alaska | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | 4 (Form MW507) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 505 with Form 505NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 502CR | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Comptroller of Maryland | 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 Maryland 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: Maryland → AlaskaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Maryland → AlaskaHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: Maryland → AlaskaOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Maryland pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Maryland and work in Alaska. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Maryland gets all of it. Because Alaska does not tax wage income, no Alaska withholding exists and no Alaska return is required — but Maryland taxes residents on worldwide income, so every dollar earned in Alaska still belongs on your Maryland resident return.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Maryland. Your employer should withhold Maryland 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 Maryland and Alaska rules on this page were last checked against Comptroller of Maryland 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.
- Comptroller of Maryland — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Maryland — Form MW507accessed 2026-08-07
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07