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Taxes / More than one state
A single home state and job state rarely tells the whole story. Where you lived and where you physically worked, date by date, decides which returns you file.
Rules for tax year 2026 unless a line says otherwise. Written November 2, 2026.
For general information only. This is not tax, legal or financial advice, and we are not your tax preparer. Rules change and your facts decide how they apply, so consult a qualified tax professional before you act on it.
Answer those from a work calendar, not from memory. Federal travel tax home is a different question with a different test: see the stipend guide.
Credit for tax paid to another state. Your home state usually taxes all your income and credits what you paid the work state, up to a limit. The higher of the two rates roughly sets your bill. The credit does not make up for a no-tax work state or a local tax, and each state has its own form.
Reciprocity. Some states exempt wages earned by residents of specific other states, so you pay only your home state. It covers wages rather than self-employment income, and you usually have to give the employer a form or the work state's tax still gets withheld.
Read this from the work state's side. An agreement with conditions applies only if the facts are true for you, and travel work often fails those conditions.
| You work in | Exempts wages of residents of | Only if | Form for your employer |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | — | All nonresidents: You keep no place to live in the job's state for 183 days or more during the year. | Ask the state or payroll |
| Illinois | Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin | No extra condition found | Form IL-W-5-NR |
| Indiana | Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin | No extra condition found | Ask the state or payroll |
| Iowa | Illinois | No extra condition found | Form 44-016 |
| Kentucky | Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin | Virginia: You commute home across the state line every day and your only income from the job's state is wages. | Form 42A809 |
| Maryland | West Virginia | District of Columbia: You keep no place to live in the job's state for 183 days or more during the year. Pennsylvania: You keep no place to live in the job's state for 183 days or more during the year. Virginia: You keep no place to live in the job's state for 183 days or more during the year. | Form MW507 |
| Michigan | Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin | No extra condition found | Form MI-W4 |
| Minnesota | Michigan, North Dakota | No extra condition found | Ask the state or payroll |
| Montana | North Dakota | No extra condition found | Form MW-4 |
| New Jersey | Pennsylvania | No extra condition found | Form NJ-165 |
| North Dakota | Montana | Minnesota: You return to your home state at least once a month. | Form NDW-R |
| Ohio | Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia | No extra condition found | Ask the state or payroll |
| Pennsylvania | Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia | No extra condition found | Ask the state or payroll |
| Virginia | — | District of Columbia: You commute home across the state line every day and your only income from the job's state is wages. Kentucky: You commute home across the state line every day and your only income from the job's state is wages. Maryland: You are in the job's state 183 days or less, keep no home or apartment there, and your only income there is wages. Pennsylvania: You are in the job's state 183 days or less, keep no home or apartment there, and your only income there is wages. West Virginia: You are in the job's state 183 days or less, keep no home or apartment there, and your only income there is wages. | Ask the state or payroll |
| West Virginia | Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio | Pennsylvania: You spend 183 days or less in the job's state during the year. Virginia: You spend 183 days or less in the job's state during the year. | Form WV/IT-104 |
| Wisconsin | Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan | No extra condition found | Ask the state or payroll |
Withholding only: Arizona lets residents of these states stop Arizona withholding with Form WEC, but you may still owe an Arizona nonresident return and claim the credit there. Residents of California, Indiana, Oregon and Virginia can use it.
If the wrong state's tax was withheld anyway, you generally file a nonresident return or refund form there to get it back. Kentucky's is Form 740-NP-R, and it does not refund local tax.
If you changed your legal home during the year, you usually file part-year returns in both states and split income by date. Keep proof of the move date: lease, closing papers, license and voter registration. Give payroll the new state's form on the day you move, because a W-2 showing the wrong state creates work later.
Changing where you live for one contract is usually not a move. You move your residence when you actually intend to make the new place home and act like it.
These show which returns to look into, using 2025 forms. They are starting points to check, and your facts can change them.
Illinois exempts wages of Kentucky residents, with no condition we found. Give the employer Form IL-W-5-NR. You file Form 740 in Kentucky. If Illinois tax was withheld anyway, file Form IL-1040 with Schedule NR to get it back.
The Kentucky-Virginia agreement covers people who commute daily, and an overnight rotation does not qualify. You likely file Form 763 in Virginia and Form 740 at home, claiming Kentucky's credit for tax paid to another state.
California taxes wages earned there, so you likely file Form 540NR with Schedule CA (540NR). Texas has no income tax, so there is no home return and no credit to offset it.
You likely file part-year in both: Form IT 1040 with Nonresident Credit (Form IT NRC) and Form D-400 with Schedule PN, splitting wages by date. Check for Ohio city and school district tax too.
Reciprocity generally stops at wages, so you likely owe a nonresident return wherever you worked above that state's filing threshold, plus a resident return at home. Several states will also expect estimated payments. Allocate income by the days you worked in each.
State agreements usually do not cover city, county or school district taxes. They show up in places including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New York City, Yonkers and parts of Alabama, Colorado, Delaware and Oregon. The state directory links the official page where we found one.
The offer calculator handles one home state and one job state for one offer, with agreements and a simplified credit. It does not model part-year moves, several work states or local tax. Use it to compare offers, not to prepare a return.
Checked November 2, 2026. Everything here is free, and paid links never change these answers.