Skip to content
statelinetax.comChecker

Live in West Virginia, Work in Montana: Which State Taxes Your Paycheck?

Both states — credit offsets the double taxMontana withholds

Answer

You file twice: Montana first, then West Virginia. There is no reciprocity agreement between these two states, so Montana taxes the income where it was earned and West Virginia taxes it again as resident income — with the resident credit removing the double charge rather than an exemption form preventing it.

Last verified

Two states can lawfully tax the same wages: Montana 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

  1. 1Nonresident return · MontanaForm 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule

    File the Montana nonresident return FIRST — you need the Montana tax figure before you can complete West Virginia.

  2. 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 Montana. The credit is capped at what West Virginia would have charged on that same income, so if Montana taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.

The two states, side by side

 West VirginiaMontana
Taxes wagesYes — graduatedYes — graduated
Reciprocity partners5 (Form WV/IT-104)1 (Form MW-4)
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm IT-140 with Schedule AForm 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule
Credit for other-state taxSchedule E (Form IT-140)Form 2 (credit for income tax paid to another state)
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedNone published
Local income taxYesNo
Revenue departmentWest Virginia Tax DivisionMontana Department of Revenue
Last verified

The other direction

Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Montana and working in West Virginia gives:Both states — credit offsets the double tax.

Montana to West Virginia →

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.

Other West Virginia pairs

Questions people actually ask

I live in West Virginia and work in Montana. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?

You file twice: Montana first, then West Virginia. There is no reciprocity agreement between these two states, so Montana taxes the income where it was earned and West Virginia taxes it again as resident income — with the resident credit removing the double charge rather than an exemption form preventing it.

Which state should my employer be withholding for?

Montana. The wages are sourced to Montana, so Montana 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 Montana 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 Montana taxes it more heavily the excess is not refunded by either state.

How current is this?

The West Virginia and Montana rules on this page were last checked against West Virginia Tax Division and Montana 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.