PA Taxes taken but we don't live there

[twerkema]

My husband worked for one day at a client site in PA. His W-2 shows PA taxes taxes out for the ONE DAY of work. We live in a different state that has no state taxes. Do I now have to file a PA return? Is this how it's supposed to work? Seem shady to tax income when it's not even him working at his corporate location.

[TomK2023 · Accepted solution]

Yes, you will have to file a Pennsylvania tax return, and indicate that he is a nonresident.  PA law taxes the income you earn, receive and realize from PA sources.

[Hal_Al]

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. You will have to file a non resident PA state return and pay PA tax on the income earned there.

The fact that you live in a state without an income tax does not get you out of paying tax to the state you physically worked in.  The reverse is also true: if a PA resident worked a day in your state, he would still have to pay tax to PA on that day's wages.