Live in WV, work in MD, paid by 1099G

[Rssmith1]

Hi all, 

I live in WV and commute to work in MD. Although i am essentially an employee, I am paid as a trainee through a taxable grant which is reported through a 1099G. I have two questions:

1. MD-WV are reciprocal tax states, however i'm unsure whether my income is a salary, therefore do I owe taxes to MD or WV?

2. Because of COVID i've been teleworking from my home in WV the majority of the year. Does this effect which state I owe taxes to?

Thanks in advance 

[JotikaT2]

Since Maryland and West Virginia have state reciprocity, you only need to file your state tax return in West Virginia. 

All of your income, including 1099-G income, will be taxed in your resident state and therefore, that is the only state you need to file your income tax return in.

State reciprocity

[Rssmith1]

Thanks @JotikaT2 . This makes sense to me and is what I planned on doing, however I was told that reciprocity only applied to salary and wages and because my income is reported as a taxable grant then I owed Maryland instead, which is where my confusion came from. 

[JotikaT2]

Thank you for that clarification.

As long as you can show the income reported on the 1099-G represents wages for your services, you only need to file in West Virginia.  If everything points to earnings not related to employment, then you could still need to file a nonresident tax return in Maryland.  It will depend upon the terms of your employment.  Be sure you can support your position when you file your tax return.  If there is doubt cast as to it being from employment, you would need to file in Maryland.