Paying California State Taxes

[lisaw]

I work for one state and had to travel to California to set up a project and was there for 3 months. I was not paid any monies from anyone in California, my pay came from my company. Do I still pay California taxes if my pay was received from another state or state taxes in both states? Thanks in advance.

[Hal_Al]

Yes, but "nobody" does. See http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/28/pf/taxes/business-traveler-tax-threat/  

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. 

So, there will be little or no double taxation, but you have the cost and hassle of filing two state returns. In Turbotax, do the nonresident state return first.

If you live in a state without an income tax (e.g. FL or TX), it’s more likely you should file in the work states. You can't use the "it all comes out even" rationale for not filing.

[lisaw]

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I already started it just because there is one thing I don't mess with and that is taxes !!! I was audited one time in 2009 and was so thankful I didn't cut corners like some in my business were known to do, I keep everything for a long time in the event I am ever audited again. I was just checking to make sure I wasn't paying taxes if I didn't have to 🙂 Who wants to do that ha. Take care.