Live in Washington, Work in Pennsylvania: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Pennsylvania is the only state with a claim. Living in Washington spares you a resident return, but it does not shelter income earned inside Pennsylvania — that income is Pennsylvania-source and it is taxed there on a nonresident return.
Last verified
This is the mirror image of the more common commute. There is no home-state return to file, so the Pennsylvania nonresident return carries the whole obligation — and because Washington charges nothing, there is no credit mechanism involved anywhere.
Pennsylvania also has a layer below the state one, and it is the layer that survives every agreement: Pennsylvania's Act 32 earned income tax is levied by municipalities and school districts across the state, and Philadelphia levies its own wage tax on residents and on nonresidents who work in the city. None of it is covered by the reciprocal agreements, and Philadelphia's nonresident wage tax applies from the first dollar.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · PennsylvaniaForm PA-40 (nonresident)
File a Pennsylvania nonresident return for the wages you earned in Pennsylvania. Washington has no wage income tax, so there is no second return and no credit to claim.
The two states, side by side
| Washington | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 6 (Form REV-419) |
| Convenience rule | No | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form PA-40 (nonresident) |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule G-L |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Washington State Department of Revenue | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Pennsylvania 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 → PennsylvaniaConvenience-of-the-employer rule — employer state taxes you
- 1099 contractor: Washington → PennsylvaniaClient state only, if you work there
- Moved mid-year: Washington → PennsylvaniaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Washington pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Washington and work in Pennsylvania. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Pennsylvania is the only state with a claim. Living in Washington spares you a resident return, but it does not shelter income earned inside Pennsylvania — that income is Pennsylvania-source and it is taxed there on a nonresident return.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Pennsylvania. The wages are sourced to Pennsylvania, so Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania rules on this page were last checked against Washington State Department of Revenue and Pennsylvania 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
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania — Form REV-419accessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Guide — Income Subject to Tax Withholdingaccessed 2026-08-07