State income tax reciprocity agreements.
Live in one state, work in another? See if reciprocity applies.
15 states + DC participate in wage-income reciprocity agreements. If you live in one and work in another within the network, you only file your resident-state return on wages. Updated for 2026.
How reciprocity works
When two states have a wage-income reciprocity agreement, residents of one state who work in the other state pay only resident-state tax on their wages. No nonresident return in the work state. Your employer should withhold your resident state's tax — usually via a state-specific W-4 form filed at hire.
Full reciprocity matrix — by resident state
| Resident state | Reciprocity with (work states) | Per-state guide |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia (DC) | MD, VA | DC guide → |
| Illinois (IL) | IA, KY, MI, WI | IL guide → |
| Indiana (IN) | KY, MI, OH, PA, WI | IN guide → |
| Iowa (IA) | IL | IA guide → |
| Kentucky (KY) | IL, IN, MI, OH, VA, WV, WI | KY guide → |
| Maryland (MD) | DC, PA, VA, WV | MD guide → |
| Michigan (MI) | IL, IN, KY, MN, OH, WI | MI guide → |
| Minnesota (MN) | ND | MN guide → |
| North Dakota (ND) | MN, MT | ND guide → |
| New Jersey (NJ) | PA | NJ guide → |
| Ohio (OH) | IN, KY, MI, PA, WV | OH guide → |
| Pennsylvania (PA) | IN, MD, NJ, OH, VA, WV | PA guide → |
| Virginia (VA) | DC, KY, MD, PA, WV | VA guide → |
| West Virginia (WV) | KY, MD, OH, PA, VA | WV guide → |
| Wisconsin (WI) | IL, IN, KY, MI | WI guide → |
Common misconceptions about reciprocity
- Reciprocity is wages-only. Non-wage income (1099 self-employment, K-1 partnership distributions, rental income, etc.) is sourced normally and does NOT benefit from reciprocity. If you live in NJ, work in PA (reciprocity covered), and also own a rental in PA, you'll file a PA nonresident return for the rental income only.
- Local taxes are often NOT covered. Pennsylvania's local Earned Income Tax, Ohio's city income taxes, Kentucky's local occupational taxes, and similar municipal-level taxes are typically NOT covered by state-level reciprocity. You may still owe local taxes in the work jurisdiction.
- Wisconsin-Minnesota reciprocity ended in 2009. Despite occasional online claims to the contrary, there is currently no WI-MN reciprocity. WI residents working in MN file a MN nonresident return; MN residents working in WI file a WI nonresident return.
- Reciprocity requires a state-specific W-4 form at your employer. Most reciprocity states require you to file a specific 'exemption from work-state withholding' form with your employer (e.g., PA Form REV-419 for NJ residents). Without this form, your employer withholds the work state's tax by default — recoverable but inconvenient.
- New York is NOT in any reciprocity agreement. NY residents working out of state, or out-of-state residents working in NY, follow normal nonresident-return + credit-for-tax-paid mechanics. NY's convenience-of-the-employer rule complicates this further.
- California, Texas, Florida — none participate in reciprocity. CA and other high-income-tax states without reciprocity are the source of most multi-state filing complexity.
Related tools and comparisons
- Tool: multi-state filing helper → (interactive — pick your states, get the filing guide)
- States with no individual income tax →
- States that tax Social Security →
- States with estate or inheritance tax →
Cross-state W-2 wages this year?
Book a free 15-minute Discovery Exchange. We'll map out the correct nonresident, resident, and reciprocity returns for your specific state pair — and check whether your employer's withholding setup needs adjustment for next year.
Book a Discovery Exchange →