Living in CA- working in TX- Company in GA

[Eureka30030]

I am taking a new semi-remote job and wondering how this will affect my taxes/withholdings. I live in California and would do some remote work here, but would also need to periodically be on site in Texas (maybe Virginia for a few months too) to oversee the project & work out any kinks, but the company hiring me & running payroll is in Georgia. I have no idea how this works out on payroll taxes/withholdings (does the company need to register with CA EDD) or how I would need to file taxes on that income... I know Texas does not have income tax, and I would almost never be working in the company's home state of GA... 

[Anonymous_]

I will page @Critter-3 

[TomD8]

Your home state of CA can tax ALL your income, regardless of where you earn it.'

Other states, if they have an income tax, can tax any income you earn by actually (physically) working within those states.

The location of your employer is irrelevant, except to the extent that you physically work in the state where the employer is located.

So it sounds like you will definitely have to file a non-resident Virginia return, and possibly a non-resident Georgia return, in addition to your home state CA return.

CA and VA are "reverse-credit" states.  That means that you'll be able to claim a credit on your VA tax return for the taxes you pay to CA on the income taxed by both states.

On the other hand, CA will grant you a credit for the taxes you pay to GA (if any) on the income taxed by both those states.

Since the majority of your non-resident income will be from VA, I'd recommend that you have your employer withhold CA taxes.  That's because your VA tax obligation will be significantly reduced by the credit you'll receive for your CA taxes.

In TurboTax, you should complete your state tax returns in this order: GA (if necessary), CA, VA.  The sequence is important in order for the program to correctly calculate and apply the credit.