Work state, home state, or both: how states tax a traveler, quoted from their revenue departments.
The short answer. Each state sets its own rules. A state you work in can tax what you earn there: California and Pennsylvania both tax nonresidents on it. The state you live in may tax it as well; in New York’s words: “A person who lives in one state but works in another may have tax liability in both states, but typically will receive a tax credit in their state of residence to eliminate double taxation of that income.” Some neighbouring states agree not to tax each other’s residents on wages. And your federal tax home, the one that decides your stipends, is not the test a state uses for residence.
Every rule below is quoted from the state that sets it, with the source; sources checked 2026-10-06.
California (Franchise Tax Board): “As a nonresident, you pay tax on your taxable income from California sources.” “During the nonresident portion of the year (or if you are a full-year nonresident), you will have California source income to the extent you physically performed services in California.”
Pennsylvania (Department of Revenue): “PA taxes nonresidents on the following income from PA sources: Compensation for services performed in PA, unless the nonresident is a resident of Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, or West Virginia.”
New York (Department of Taxation and Finance): “A person who lives in one state but works in another may have tax liability in both states, but typically will receive a tax credit in their state of residence to eliminate double taxation of that income.”
California (Franchise Tax Board): “You may claim this credit if you had income that was taxed by California and another state.” “The credit will offset the taxes paid to the other state, so you are not paying taxes twice.”
How your own home state figures its credit is set by that state; ask a tax professional how it applies to the states you worked in.
Pennsylvania (Department of Revenue): “Pennsylvania currently has reciprocal agreements with Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.” “Under these agreements, one state will not tax a resident of the other state on compensation that is subject to employer withholding.”
Your tax home is the federal test behind tax-free stipends. IRS Publication 463 (IRS): “Generally, your tax home is your regular place of business or post of duty, regardless of where you maintain your family home.”
Your state of residence is each state’s own test. New York: “You can only have one domicile.” And a resident there is also someone who meets both of these: “you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York State for substantially all of the taxable year; and you spend 184 days or more in New York State during the taxable year.”
So a long contract in one state can raise a residence question there even while your tax home stays where it is. See tax home vs. no tax home.
States without a wage income tax include Texas. The Texas Comptroller (Fiscal Notes): “Texas does not have a personal income tax, and sole proprietorships, the state’s most common form of new business, are completely exempt from the franchise tax, its main business tax.”
This page lists only what it has checked; for any other state, read its revenue department’s own page, or see our state tax guide.
Keep each contract’s state, dates and pay stubs, and each W-2. Whether a state follows the federal treatment of your stipends is a question for a tax professional who knows both your home and work states; see finding a CPA.
Not always, but a work state can tax what you earn there. California: “As a nonresident, you pay tax on your taxable income from California sources.” Pennsylvania: “PA taxes nonresidents on the following income from PA sources: Compensation for services performed in PA, unless the nonresident is a resident of Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, or West Virginia.”
New York's answer: “A person who lives in one state but works in another may have tax liability in both states, but typically will receive a tax credit in their state of residence to eliminate double taxation of that income.” California: “The credit will offset the taxes paid to the other state, so you are not paying taxes twice.”
Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania currently has reciprocal agreements with Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.” “Under these agreements, one state will not tax a resident of the other state on compensation that is subject to employer withholding.”
It can, under New York's statutory-resident test: you are a resident if “you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York State for substantially all of the taxable year; and you spend 184 days or more in New York State during the taxable year.”
No. Your tax home is a federal idea, from IRS Publication 463: “Generally, your tax home is your regular place of business or post of duty, regardless of where you maintain your family home.” A state decides residence by its own tests; New York, for one: “You can only have one domicile.”
Related: the travel therapy tax guide and the tax home checker.
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