Live in South Dakota, Work in California: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Only California taxes you. California withholds from wages earned inside the state and you file a California nonresident return. South Dakota levies no personal income tax on wages, so there is no resident return on the other side — and no credit, because there is no South Dakota tax to offset.
Last verified
This is the mirror image of the more common commute. There is no home-state return to file, so the California nonresident return carries the whole obligation — and because South Dakota charges nothing, there is no credit mechanism involved anywhere.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · CaliforniaForm 540NR
File a California nonresident return for the wages you earned in California. South Dakota has no wage income tax, so there is no second return and no credit to claim.
The two states, side by side
| South Dakota | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form 540NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule S |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | South Dakota Department of Revenue | California Franchise Tax Board |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in California and working in South Dakota 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: South Dakota → CaliforniaNo state income tax on your wages
- 1099 contractor: South Dakota → CaliforniaClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: South Dakota → CaliforniaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other South Dakota pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in South Dakota and work in California. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Only California taxes you. California withholds from wages earned inside the state and you file a California nonresident return. South Dakota levies no personal income tax on wages, so there is no resident return on the other side — and no credit, because there is no South Dakota tax to offset.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
California. The wages are sourced to California, so California withholding is correct and there is no South Dakota withholding to set up, because South Dakota levies no income tax on wages.
How current is this?
The South Dakota and California rules on this page were last checked against South Dakota Department of Revenue and California Franchise Tax Board 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.
- South Dakota Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- California Franchise Tax Board — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07