Live in Tennessee, Work in Montana: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
The work state takes it. Montana taxes nonresidents on income earned within the state and expects a nonresident return; Tennessee 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 Montana nonresident return carries the whole obligation — and because Tennessee charges nothing, there is no credit mechanism involved anywhere.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · MontanaForm 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule
File a Montana nonresident return for the wages you earned in Montana. Tennessee has no wage income tax, so there is no second return and no credit to claim.
The two states, side by side
| Tennessee | Montana | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 1 (Form MW-4) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form 2 (credit for income tax paid to another state) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Tennessee Department of Revenue | Montana Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Montana and working in Tennessee 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: Tennessee → MontanaNo state income tax on your wages
- 1099 contractor: Tennessee → MontanaClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Tennessee → MontanaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Tennessee pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Tennessee and work in Montana. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
The work state takes it. Montana taxes nonresidents on income earned within the state and expects a nonresident return; Tennessee 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?
Montana. The wages are sourced to Montana, so Montana withholding is correct and there is no Tennessee withholding to set up, because Tennessee levies no income tax on wages.
How current is this?
The Tennessee and Montana rules on this page were last checked against Tennessee Department of Revenue and Montana 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.
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Montana Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07