topic Re: I live in Tennessee but work in Alabama, do I pay taxes to Alabama? in State tax filing

I live in Tennessee but work in Alabama, do I pay taxes to Alabama?

KirstenWheat — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 17:52:03 GMT

I live in Tennessee but work in Alabama. From some short googling, I read that Alabama does not have a tax reciprocity agreement with Tennessee and therefore I would have to file in Alabama due to the state having state income tax. Is this true? I have seen a few similar questions on this site that state that I would file with Tennessee but none have mentioned the reciprocity agreement.

Re: I live in Tennessee but work in Alabama, do I pay taxes to Alabama?

DoninGA — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 18:12:19 GMT

Since you work in Alabama but live in Tennessee, you will need to file a nonresident Alabama state income tax return.

Tennessee does not have a state income tax so there would not be a Tennessee state return to file.

Re: I live in Tennessee but work in Alabama, do I pay taxes to Alabama?

xmasbaby0 — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 22:56:41 GMT

There is no need for a reciprocity agreement between TN and AL, because TN has no state income tax. If you live in TN but work in AL, you file a non-resident AL tax return for the income earned while working in AL.

Re: I live in Tennessee but work in Alabama, do I pay taxes to Alabama?

Hal_Al — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 21:01:56 GMT

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.

Since your home state, Tennessee, does not have an income tax, you do not file a resident state return and you do not get a credit for tax paid to AL.