Live in Washington, work in Idaho
State income tax on wages · single filer · tax year 2026
Idaho takes
$2,327
on wages earned there
Washington takes
$0
after the credit it gives
Both together
$2,327
state tax for the year
Cost of the line
$2,327
a year, above working at home
What crossing the line costs
costs youIdaho charges more than Washington would, and Washington only credits you up to its own bill — so the difference stays with you. Solid is what you actually pay; the faded part of the Washington bar is the credit it hands back. State income tax only — federal and payroll tax apply on top, and a city wage tax may too.
Which state taxes you, and what it costs
- Crossing this line costs money. Idaho taxes what you earn there. Washington taxes you too, because you live there, and then gives you credit for what Idaho already took. The catch is the size of that credit. It stops at what Washington would have charged on its own. So you end up paying the bigger of the two bills, which here means $2,327 a year instead of $0. The commute itself accounts for $2,327 of that.
- This is the busiest way into Idaho. 20,377 jobs in the state belong to Washington residents, more than any other state sends. It is worth knowing that the rules below are not an edge case — they apply to a lot of people.
- Idaho taxes wages earned inside its borders by non-residents, and Washington taxes its residents on the same wages wherever they are earned. The resident credit resolves the overlap but does not erase it: Washington credits tax paid to Idaho only up to what it would itself have charged on that income, so the commuter settles at the higher of the two liabilities rather than the sum. At the reference salary that is $2,327 against $0 for the same earner working at home — $2,327 attributable to the state line itself. ⚠️ The corollary is the part most readers have backwards: moving to a cheaper home state while keeping the job in Idaho changes the split between the two treasuries and not the total.
- Measured against every other state sending commuters into Idaho, this is the largest single flow: 20,377 jobs held by Washington residents, ahead of all 2 corridors of this size into that state. Census LODES counts jobs rather than people, so a worker holding two positions in Idaho appears twice.
Where the money goes
A $75,000 salary
- Federal income tax$7,670
- Social Security and Medicare$5,738
- Yours$61,593
| Federal income tax10.23% | $7,670 |
|---|---|
| Social Security and Medicare7.65% | $5,738 |
| Yours82.12% | $61,593 |
Which rung you are on
A $75,000 salary
| This rung starts at | $66,500 |
|---|---|
| Next rung starts at | $121,800 |
| Room before it | $46,800 |
Federal only, measured on gross pay — so the first rung is what the standard deduction covers.
The arithmetic, step by step
| Idaho takes, on wages earned there | $2,327 |
|---|---|
| Washington charges its residents | $0 |
| Less the credit Washington gives | $0 |
| Total state tax | $2,327 |
| If you also worked in Washington | $0 |
| Difference | $2,327 |
On a reference salary of $60,000 a year, single filer. Both states run progressive schedules, so the figures do not simply scale — use the tool above for your own salary.
What this page does not cover
- One thing this page leaves out: city taxes. Some cities charge their own tax on people who work there, and it sits on top of everything above. Philadelphia is the well-known one. New York City only charges its own residents, so commuting in adds nothing. Check whether the city you work in is one that charges, because the Idaho state figure is not the whole story if it does.
- The figures take the simple case: one job, in Idaho, worked in person. Money from several states makes the credit a proportion instead of a cap. Working remotely from Washington can pull you under a different rule entirely, depending on the state.
- Every dollar figure here uses a salary of sixty thousand a year. It is a stated benchmark, not a guess at what people on this route earn. Scale them to your own pay. Which state ends up dearer, Washington or Idaho, generally holds at other salaries — though the gap between them can widen or narrow as you cross tax brackets.
- These figures cover the STATE layer only. City and municipal wage taxes sit on top of them and are not included: a commuter into Philadelphia pays its wage tax on top of anything here, and Ohio's municipalities run their own credit system, which this site models in its own families. New York City, by contrast, taxes only its residents, so a commuter into it adds nothing at the city level. Whether Idaho or Washington carries a local layer is a separate question from the state arithmetic above.
- The arithmetic assumes all wages are earned in Idaho and that there is no other income. That matters for the credit: where income comes from several states, Washington limits the credit to the share of its own tax attributable to the Idaho portion, computed as a ratio rather than the straightforward cap used above. It also assumes days are worked in Idaho rather than remotely — several states tax a non-resident's remote days as though they were worked at the employer's location, which reverses the usual expectation and is handled on this site's reciprocity pages.
- Dollar amounts are computed at a stated reference salary of sixty thousand rather than a corridor wage average, which no published source provides per state pair. Because both states' liabilities and the credit between them are functions of the same income, the direction of the Washington to Idaho comparison holds at other salaries even though the amounts do not — with one qualification worth stating, that a progressive schedule can change the SIZE of the gap at higher incomes, and in Idaho's case a bracket crossed on one side and not the other is exactly where that happens.
Questions people ask
Do I pay state tax twice, to Washington and Idaho?
Not twice over. Both states have a claim — Idaho because you earn the money there, Washington because you live there — but Washington gives you credit for what Idaho took. The credit stops at what Washington would have charged on its own, so what you actually pay is the bigger of the two bills. Here that comes to $2,327 for the year.
Would moving out of Washington lower my state tax if I keep working in Idaho?
Moving rarely helps while the job stays in Idaho. The work state takes its share first and does not care where you live. A cheaper home state simply means it has less of its own tax to credit, and you still pay Idaho the same. The saving people imagine here mostly is not there.
Do I have to file tax returns in both Washington and Idaho?
Usually yes, and it catches people out. Washington wants a return because you live there. Idaho usually wants one too, because you earned money inside it — even in the cases where you end up owing it nothing. Filing in a state and paying it are separate things, and the return is often what proves you do not owe.
What if I work from home in Washington some days instead of going to Idaho?
It depends on the state, and the answer is not the one most people expect. You might assume a day worked at your kitchen table in Washington is taxed by Washington. Usually that is right, and your Idaho share shrinks to the days you were actually there. But a few states tax days you work at home as though you had been in the office, unless your employer required you to be elsewhere. It is worth checking which kind Idaho is before assuming.
How is liability allocated between residence and work state on the same wages?
Both jurisdictions assert a claim on the same wages — Idaho on a source basis, Washington on residence. The residence state grants a credit for tax paid to the source state, limited to the residence state's own liability on that income. Net combined liability therefore equals the greater of the two liabilities rather than their sum, $2,327 at the reference salary, and the split between the two treasuries is the only thing the credit changes.
Does changing residence reduce combined liability while the work state is unchanged?
No, while the source state is unchanged. Idaho's claim arises from where the services are performed and is unaffected by residence. Because the residence credit is capped at the residence state's own liability, combined liability equals the greater of the two — so substituting a lower-tax residence reduces the residence-state component toward zero while leaving the total at Idaho's level. The binding variable is the work location, not the home one.
What filing obligations arise in each state on this corridor?
Generally two. Washington requires a resident return reporting all income; Idaho requires a non-resident return reporting the income sourced to it, which is also the mechanism by which the resident credit is substantiated. ⚠️ A filing obligation is distinct from a liability: a reciprocity exemption or a zero net position removes tax without necessarily removing the return, and the non-resident return is frequently what establishes the credit claimed on the resident one.
How do remote working days affect sourcing between these two states?
Ordinarily wages are sourced to where the services are performed, so days worked remotely from Washington fall outside Idaho's jurisdiction and the source-state apportionment shrinks accordingly. ⛔ The exception is the "convenience of the employer" rule, which several states apply: a non-resident's remote days are sourced to the employer's location unless the remote work is required by the employer rather than chosen by the employee. The figures on this page model in-person attendance in Idaho throughout.