topic I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I pay CA taxes? in State tax filing

I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I pay CA taxes?

i-am — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:31:11 GMT

No. If you are an employee of a California based company...

ChelsiE2 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:31:12 GMT

No. If you are an employee of a California based company but telecommute from another state, you will only be subject to taxation by the state you are actually a resident of.

In your case Washington State has no Income Tax so you should not have to file a state return at all.

Does the same apply if I am an independent contractor of...

i-am — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:31:14 GMT

Does the same apply if I am an independent contractor of a CA based company (as opposed to an employee) who resides in WA state and works remotely?

@i-am Do you ever travel to California?

ChelsiE2 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:31:15 GMT

@i-am Do you ever travel to California?

Not for the contract work

i-am — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:31:15 GMT

Not for the contract work

@i-am Here's what the FTB says: "A nonresident’s income...

ChelsiE2 — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:31:16 GMT

@i-am Here's what the FTB says: "A nonresident’s income from California sources includes income from a business, trade, or profession carried on in California. If the nonresident’s business, trade, or profession is carried on both within and outside California and the part outside California is separate and distinct from the part within California, only income from the part conducted within California is California source income."

Therefore if these activities were not "carried on" in California (i.e. you were not physically present in CA for any reason related to this work), then you will not be subject to taxation by the FTB.

Thank you!

i-am — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 00:31:18 GMT

Thank you!

Re: @i-am Do you ever travel to California?

NotVeryTaxGal — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 16:00:13 GMT

What is the difference if I would to commute to CA or not?

So I work for a California employer and live in Washington state. However, I commute to my California office 3 days a week. Do I have to pay taxes for all of my income earned through a California employer? Or do I only pay California taxes for the income corresponding to the days I spent in California?

Also, Am I considered a California Resident because 3 work days in CA and 2 work days in WA? Even though I stay at hotels in CA, and my home is in WA.

Re: @i-am Do you ever travel to California?

Song_Michele — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 21:44:01 GMT

Hi,

I have the exact same question. Will someone answer this one?

Thanks.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

BillM223 — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 22:18:58 GMT

The information given by ChelsiE2 above is correct. However, it does not address the question of what if you do some work in California and some in another state.

Let's take the simple case: you work for an employer as an employee or for a company as a contractor. For any day that you are physically working in California, then the income earned on this day is taxable in California.

For the employer who is working all year on a salary, this is relatively easier to figure - take the number of days spent working physically in California, divide by the total number of working days, and then multiply this ratio by the annual salary to get the amount of taxable income allocated to California.

Note that this does not affect your resident status for California tax purposes. If your domicile is in another state, then you file as a non-resident in California, even if you have California-sourced income. Please see the comments on part-year resident and non-resident at the Franchise Tax Board's website.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

TomD8 — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 22:38:07 GMT

@Song_Michele -- Due to a 2019 court decision, if you are a non-resident sole proprietor (as opposed to an employee) and you provide services to a client located in California, that income is subject to California taxation even if you never set foot in California.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

Song_Michele — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 22:42:15 GMT

That is good to know. Thank you. My scenario is a bit different. The employee lives in WA state and works part time in California and pt in WA. I have a couple of questions. Is this employees wages subject to CA personal income tax? Also, how can I process multistate payroll using QuickBooks online? I do not think it is possible to process one payperiod with two work locations. Thanks.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

TomD8 — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 22:58:01 GMT

@Song_Michele -- The portion of the employee's wages earned by working in California is taxable by California. The portion earned by working in Washington is not taxable by California. Washington State, of course, has no income tax.

I would pose your QuickBooks question on the QuickBooks site. This is a TurboTax forum.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

isobelgrey — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 00:56:25 GMT

But what if I have relocated to Washington State from California but my new WA employer paid 2019 taxes to California by accident. I still cannot figure out how to return this money using TurboTax, which thinks I still owe California as a part-time resident... Thanks a lot!

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

JamesG1 — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 17:47:29 GMT

Filing a CA PY Resident or Nonresident tax return would allow you to report the CA taxes withheld and, perhaps, receive a refund of some or all CA withholding that was paid in.

This link explains the CA filing requirements for each tax return.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

isobelgrey — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 21:59:48 GMT

I am not sure about that since I am filing with TurboTax as CA PY resident but it still considers WA income as CA income no matter what I do. I guess since my W2 says it was paid to CA, so it is california's. I have contacted my accounting department about that issue and if they can fix it from their side..

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

DavidD66 — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 22:33:45 GMT

If you were a resident of California when you earned the income from Washington, it's taxable by California. If you were not a California resident at the time, then it is not taxable by CA.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

ian21352 — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 18:09:48 GMT

-Between Jan - July 2020, i was working for a WA company.
-I just started a new job with a company based in CA in AUGUST 2020
-I still live in WA and plan to stay here in WA through end of DEC 2020 and possibly moving to CA in Jan 2021

My CA employer is garnering CA taxes on my paycheck. Will I have to file a CA return in April 2021? And what are the chances that I will get those $ back considering I don't live in CA and make use of any services there.

Thanks

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

TomD8 — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 19:54:56 GMT

@ian21352

Any work you actually (physically) perform inside CA is taxable by CA, regardless of your state of residence.

If you're a W-2 employee working 100% remotely from a WA location for a CA employer, and you remain a resident of WA for all of 2020, then your income from that remote work is not taxable by CA. However, at year's end you'd have to file a non-resident CA return, showing zero CA income, in order to get a refund of any incorrectly withheld CA taxes.

If you're an independent contractor (you receive a 1099-MISC instead of a W-2) working remotely for a CA employer, then your income is taxable by CA.

Re: I live in Washington State and Worked from Washington State for a California Business. Do I p...

ian21352 — Mon, 10 May 2021 02:43:03 GMT

This is odd. I am following all the steps in TTax, and declare that I was not, have never been a CA resident for all of 2020. TTax for CA still says that I owe taxes. I already paid some bc my CA based company and am hoping to get the $ back.

in the help section, it shows the case below and I followed the instructions -- but TTax still says that I owe taxes on the wages based on the few months that were paid through my CA employer

--- Help Section ---

How much of my wages did I earn in California?

Since you’re filing a nonresident return for California, you should only enter wages that you earned while working in California. Don’t include any wages that were earned in your resident state.

Example: Nolan lived in Oregon all year. He worked at a job in Oregon for 6 months, and he worked at a job in California for 6 months. He received a W-2 for his job in Oregon that shows he earned $40,000 in wages. Also, he received a W-2 for his job in California that shows he earned $60,000 in wages. Nolan should only report the $60,000 from his California W-2 on his California nonresident return.