Live in West Virginia, Work in Massachusetts: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?
Answer
Expect withholding in Massachusetts and a return in both. West Virginia and Massachusetts hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: Massachusetts taxes the Massachusetts-source wages, and your West Virginia resident return claims a credit for that tax against the West Virginia liability on the same income.
Last verified
Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: Massachusetts because the work happened there, West Virginia because you live there. Nothing prevents the overlap in advance — it is unwound afterwards, on the West Virginia return, through the credit for taxes paid to another state.
A West Virginia resident taxed by another state on the same income claims the credit for taxes paid to other states on Schedule E (Form IT-140). The credit is capped at the West 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 · MassachusettsForm 1-NR/PY
File the Massachusetts nonresident return FIRST — you need the Massachusetts tax figure before you can complete West Virginia.
- 2Resident return · West VirginiaSchedule E (Form IT-140)
File a West Virginia resident return reporting all income, then claim the credit for tax paid to Massachusetts. The credit is capped at what West Virginia would have charged on that same income, so if Massachusetts taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.
The two states, side by side
| West Virginia | Massachusetts | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | 5 (Form WV/IT-104) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IT-140 with Schedule A | Form 1-NR/PY |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule E (Form IT-140) | Schedule OJC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | West Virginia Tax Division | Massachusetts Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Massachusetts and working in West 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: West Virginia → MassachusettsHome state only
- 1099 contractor: West Virginia → MassachusettsHome state, plus the client state if you work there
- Moved mid-year: West Virginia → MassachusettsTwo part-year returns
Other West Virginia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in West Virginia and work in Massachusetts. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?
Expect withholding in Massachusetts and a return in both. West Virginia and Massachusetts hold no reciprocal agreement, so the overlap is resolved after the fact: Massachusetts taxes the Massachusetts-source wages, and your West Virginia resident return claims a credit for that tax against the West Virginia liability on the same income.
Which state should my employer be withholding for?
Massachusetts. The wages are sourced to Massachusetts, so Massachusetts withholding is correct and there is no West 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. West Virginia gives residents a credit for tax paid to Massachusetts on the same income, claimed on Schedule E (Form IT-140). The credit is capped at the West Virginia tax on that income, so if Massachusetts taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.
How current is this?
The West Virginia and Massachusetts rules on this page were last checked against West Virginia Tax Division and Massachusetts 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.
- West Virginia Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Massachusetts Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07