Live in Washington, Work in Iowa: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Iowa withholds, Washington does not. As a Washington resident you have no home-state income tax return at all, so the Iowa nonresident return is the whole of your state filing. Nothing offsets the Iowa tax, because a credit has to be claimed against a home-state tax that does not exist.
Last verified
This is the mirror image of the more common commute. There is no home-state return to file, so the Iowa nonresident return carries the whole obligation — and because Washington charges nothing, there is no credit mechanism involved anywhere.
Iowa also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: Many Iowa school districts levy a surtax calculated as a percentage of state income tax. It is reported on the state return rather than separately.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · IowaForm IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126
File a Iowa nonresident return for the wages you earned in Iowa. Washington has no wage income tax, so there is no second return and no credit to claim.
The two states, side by side
| Washington | Iowa | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 1 (Form 44-016) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126 |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form IA 130 |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Washington State Department of Revenue | Iowa Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Iowa and working in Washington 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: Washington → IowaNo state income tax on your wages
- 1099 contractor: Washington → IowaClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Washington → IowaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Washington pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Washington and work in Iowa. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Iowa withholds, Washington does not. As a Washington resident you have no home-state income tax return at all, so the Iowa nonresident return is the whole of your state filing. Nothing offsets the Iowa tax, because a credit has to be claimed against a home-state tax that does not exist.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Iowa. The wages are sourced to Iowa, so Iowa withholding is correct and there is no Washington withholding to set up, because Washington levies no income tax on wages.
How current is this?
The Washington and Iowa rules on this page were last checked against Washington State Department of Revenue and Iowa 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.
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Iowa Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07