Live in South Dakota, Work in Michigan: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
The work state takes it. Michigan taxes nonresidents on income earned within the state and expects a nonresident return; South Dakota 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
This is the mirror image of the more common commute. There is no home-state return to file, so the Michigan nonresident return carries the whole obligation — and because South Dakota charges nothing, there is no credit mechanism involved anywhere.
Michigan also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: Two dozen Michigan cities levy their own income tax, Detroit among them, and the state reciprocal agreements do not cover city tax. A reciprocal-state resident working in Detroit still owes Detroit.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · MichiganForm MI-1040 with Schedule NR
File a Michigan nonresident return for the wages you earned in Michigan. 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 | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 6 (Form MI-W4) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form MI-1040 with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form MI-1040 (credit for income tax imposed by another state) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | South Dakota Department of Revenue | Michigan Department of Treasury |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Michigan 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 → MichiganNo state income tax on your wages
- 1099 contractor: South Dakota → MichiganClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: South Dakota → MichiganOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other South Dakota pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in South Dakota and work in Michigan. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
The work state takes it. Michigan taxes nonresidents on income earned within the state and expects a nonresident return; South Dakota 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?
Michigan. The wages are sourced to Michigan, so Michigan 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 Michigan rules on this page were last checked against South Dakota Department of Revenue and Michigan Department of Treasury 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
- Michigan Department of Treasury — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07