Live in Virginia, Work in Oregon: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Two returns, one credit. Oregon has the first claim on wages earned inside the state and withholds accordingly. Virginia then taxes you as a resident on everything and gives credit for what Oregon already took, capped at what Virginia would have charged on that same income.
Last verified
Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: Oregon 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.
Oregon also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: The Portland area layers two local income taxes on top of the state tax — the Metro supportive housing tax and the Multnomah County preschool tax — and both reach nonresidents on income sourced to the district. They are administered by the City of Portland Revenue Division, not the Department of Revenue.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · OregonForm OR-40-N
File the Oregon nonresident return FIRST — you need the Oregon 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 Oregon. The credit is capped at what Virginia would have charged on that same income, so if Oregon taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| Virginia | Oregon | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 5 (Form VA-4) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 763 | Form OR-40-N |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule OSC | Schedule OR-ASC-NP |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Virginia Department of Taxation | Oregon Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Oregon 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 → OregonHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Virginia → OregonHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Virginia → OregonTwo part-year returns
Other Virginia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Virginia and work in Oregon. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Two returns, one credit. Oregon has the first claim on wages earned inside the state and withholds accordingly. Virginia then taxes you as a resident on everything and gives credit for what Oregon already took, capped at what Virginia would have charged on that same income.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Oregon. The wages are sourced to Oregon, so Oregon 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 Oregon on the same income, claimed on Schedule OSC. The credit is capped at the Virginia tax on that income, so if Oregon taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The Virginia and Oregon rules on this page were last checked against Virginia Department of Taxation and Oregon 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.
- Virginia Department of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia — Form VA-4accessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia Tax — Reciprocityaccessed 2026-08-07
- Oregon Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07