Live in New Hampshire, Work in New Jersey: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
The work state takes it. New Jersey taxes nonresidents on income earned within the state and expects a nonresident return; New Hampshire has no wage income tax, so nothing is due there. This is the common pattern for people who live in a no-tax state and commute across the line.
Last verified
Living in a state with no income tax removes the resident return, but it does not shelter income you earn somewhere else. New Jersey taxes what is earned inside New Jersey, whoever earns it, and a nonresident return is how that gets settled.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · New JerseyForm NJ-1040NR
File a New Jersey nonresident return for the wages you earned in New Jersey. New Hampshire has no wage income tax, so there is no second return and no credit to claim.
The two states, side by side
| New Hampshire | New Jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 1 (Form NJ-165) |
| Convenience rule | No | Only against convenience-rule states |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form NJ-1040NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule NJ-COJ |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration | New Jersey Division of Taxation |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in New Jersey and working in New Hampshire gives:Home 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: New Hampshire → New JerseyNo state income tax on your wages
- 1099 contractor: New Hampshire → New JerseyClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: New Hampshire → New JerseyOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other New Hampshire pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in New Hampshire and work in New Jersey. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
The work state takes it. New Jersey taxes nonresidents on income earned within the state and expects a nonresident return; New Hampshire has no wage income tax, so nothing is due there. This is the common pattern for people who live in a no-tax state and commute across the line.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
New Jersey. The wages are sourced to New Jersey, so New Jersey withholding is correct and there is no New Hampshire withholding to set up, because New Hampshire levies no income tax on wages.
How current is this?
The New Hampshire and New Jersey rules on this page were last checked against New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration and New Jersey Division 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.
- New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — Convenience of the Employer Ruleaccessed 2026-08-07