Live in New Jersey, 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; New Jersey taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single New Jersey resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Last verified
The instinct that working in a no-tax state means paying no tax is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this niche. Alaska takes nothing, but New Jersey still taxes residents on income earned anywhere, so the full amount lands on your New Jersey return.
What you file
- 1Resident return · New Jersey
File a New Jersey resident return reporting all of your income.
The two states, side by side
| New Jersey | Alaska | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | 1 (Form NJ-165) | None |
| Convenience rule | Only against convenience-rule states | No |
| Nonresident return | Form NJ-1040NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule NJ-COJ | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | New Jersey Division of Taxation | 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 New Jersey 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: New Jersey → AlaskaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: New Jersey → AlaskaHome state only — estimated payments
- Moved mid-year: New Jersey → AlaskaOne part-year return — the state you left
Other New Jersey pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in New Jersey 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; New Jersey taxes residents on all income regardless of where it was earned. The result is a single New Jersey resident return covering the full amount, with no offsetting credit.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
New Jersey. Your employer should withhold New Jersey 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 New Jersey and Alaska rules on this page were last checked against New Jersey Division of Taxation 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.
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — Convenience of the Employer Ruleaccessed 2026-08-07
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07