Live in Virginia, Work in Maine: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Expect withholding in Maine and a return in both. Virginia and Maine hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: Maine taxes the Maine-source wages, and your Virginia resident return claims a credit for that tax against the Virginia liability on the same income.
Last verified
Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: Maine because the work happened there, Virginia because you live there. Nothing prevents the overlap in advance — it is unwound afterwards, on the Virginia return, through the credit for taxes paid to another state.
A Virginia resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Schedule OSC. The credit is capped at the Virginia 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 · MaineForm 1040ME with Schedule NR
File the Maine nonresident return FIRST — you need the Maine tax figure before you can complete Virginia.
- 2Resident return · VirginiaSchedule OSC
File a Virginia resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Maine. The credit is capped at what Virginia would have charged on that same income, so if Maine taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Virginia | Maine | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 5 (Form VA-4) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 763 | Form 1040ME with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule OSC | Form 1040ME Schedule A |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | 12 days or a dollar floor |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Virginia Department of Taxation | Maine Revenue Services |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Maine and working in Virginia 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: Virginia → MaineHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Virginia → MaineHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Virginia → MaineTwo part-year returns
Other Virginia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Virginia and work in Maine. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Expect withholding in Maine and a return in both. Virginia and Maine hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: Maine taxes the Maine-source wages, and your Virginia resident return claims a credit for that tax against the Virginia liability on the same income.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Maine. The wages are sourced to Maine, so Maine withholding is correct and there is no Virginia 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. Virginia gives residents a credit for tax paid to Maine on the same income, claimed on Schedule OSC. The credit is capped at the Virginia tax on that income, so if Maine taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Virginia and Maine rules on this page were last checked against Virginia Department of Taxation and Maine Revenue Services 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.
- Virginia Department of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia — Form VA-4accessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia Tax — Reciprocityaccessed 2026-08-07
- Maine Revenue Services — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07