Hal_Al
Level 15

State tax filing

Q. How about the wages I earn in Washington? Are those subject to California income tax?

A. Yes. While you are a CA resident, all your income, regardless of where earned, is subject to CA income tax. 

 

 The general rule is: your report all your income on your home state return, even the income earned out of state. You file a non-resident state return for the state you worked in and pay tax to that state. Your home state will give you a credit, or partial credit, for what you paid the non-resident state.

 

When you worked in a state without an income tax (e.g. Washington), there will be no credit, since there was no WA tax. In other words, having worked in a state without an income tax does not get you out of paying state tax on that income, to your home state.