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

Both states — credit offsets the double taxWisconsin withholds

Answer

Both states tax the same wages, and a credit undoes the overlap. Wisconsin withholds as your work state and you file a Wisconsin nonresident return; West Virginia taxes residents on all income, so you also file at home and claim the credit for tax paid to Wisconsin. File Wisconsin first.

Last verified

Without an agreement between West Virginia and Wisconsin, the overlap is handled after the fact rather than prevented. That is why the filing order matters: the Wisconsin figure is an input to the West Virginia return, so completing West Virginia first means doing it twice.

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 · WisconsinForm 1NPR

    File the Wisconsin nonresident return FIRST — you need the Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin. The credit is capped at what West Virginia would have charged on that same income, so if Wisconsin taxes it at a higher rate the difference is not refunded.

The two states, side by side

 West VirginiaWisconsin
Taxes wagesYes — graduatedYes — graduated
Reciprocity partners5 (Form WV/IT-104)4 (Form W-220)
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm IT-140 with Schedule AForm 1NPR
Credit for other-state taxSchedule E (Form IT-140)Schedule OS
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedDollar floor published
Local income taxYesNo
Revenue departmentWest Virginia Tax DivisionWisconsin Department of Revenue
Last verified

The other direction

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

Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin. Which state takes the tax out of my paycheck?

Both states tax the same wages, and a credit undoes the overlap. Wisconsin withholds as your work state and you file a Wisconsin nonresident return; West Virginia taxes residents on all income, so you also file at home and claim the credit for tax paid to Wisconsin. File Wisconsin first.

Which state should my employer be withholding for?

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

How current is this?

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