Live in Rhode Island, Work in South Carolina: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Both states tax the same wages, and a credit undoes the overlap. South Carolina withholds as your work state and you file a South Carolina nonresident return; Rhode Island taxes residents on all income, so you also file at home and claim the credit for tax paid to South Carolina. File South Carolina first.
Last verified
Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: South Carolina because the work happened there, Rhode Island because you live there. Nothing prevents the overlap in advance — it is unwound afterwards, on the Rhode Island return, through the credit for taxes paid to another state.
A Rhode Island resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Form RI-1040NR Schedule II. The credit is capped at the Rhode Island tax on that income, so it removes the double tax but never refunds the excess when the other state charges more.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · South CarolinaForm SC1040 with Schedule NR
File the South Carolina nonresident return FIRST — you need the South Carolina tax figure before you can complete Rhode Island.
- 2Resident return · Rhode IslandForm RI-1040NR Schedule II
File a Rhode Island resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to South Carolina. The credit is capped at what Rhode Island would have charged on that same income, so if South Carolina taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Rhode Island | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form RI-1040NR | Form SC1040 with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form RI-1040NR Schedule II | Form SC1040TC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Rhode Island Division of Taxation | South Carolina Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in South Carolina and working in Rhode Island 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: Rhode Island → South CarolinaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Rhode Island → South CarolinaHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Rhode Island → South CarolinaTwo part-year returns
Other Rhode Island pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Rhode Island and work in South Carolina. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Both states tax the same wages, and a credit undoes the overlap. South Carolina withholds as your work state and you file a South Carolina nonresident return; Rhode Island taxes residents on all income, so you also file at home and claim the credit for tax paid to South Carolina. File South Carolina first.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
South Carolina. The wages are sourced to South Carolina, so South Carolina withholding is correct and there is no Rhode Island 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. Rhode Island gives residents a credit for tax paid to South Carolina on the same income, claimed on Form RI-1040NR Schedule II. The credit is capped at the Rhode Island tax on that income, so if South Carolina taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Rhode Island and South Carolina rules on this page were last checked against Rhode Island Division of Taxation and South Carolina Department 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.
- Rhode Island Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- South Carolina Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07