Live in Maryland, work in West Virginia
Reciprocity agreement: covered employee wages are subject to state income tax only in your home state. Give your employer the work state's exemption form and arrange home-state withholding. County and city taxes require a separate check.
Official tax guidance for both states
Check withholding, filing requirements and current forms with each state's tax agency.
- Maryland: Comptroller of Maryland - Information for Business Taxpayers (opens in new tab)
- West Virginia: West Virginia Tax Division (opens in new tab)
Agency directory checked 2026-10-01 against the IRS state-government directory. This verifies the agency links, not an individual tax result. Use forms for the year you are filing.
Before you use this estimate
This model assumes a full-year resident of Maryland, ordinary employee wages and all workdays physically in West Virginia. Check exemption eligibility before treating a work-state amount of $0 as your own result. Withholding is a prepayment, not final tax liability. Other income, a move during the year, remote work and separate local taxes or credits can change the result.
Wage-exemption conditions: A qualifying MD resident who remains a West Virginia nonresident and has only wages or salaries from West Virginia can claim the covered-wage withholding exemption. Give the employer WV/IT-104NR, the Certificate of Nonresidence on page 2 of the current WV IT-104 packet. Notify the employer when exemption status changes.
- Official tax guidance: tax.wv.gov (opens in new tab)
- Official tax guidance: tax.wv.gov (opens in new tab)
- Maryland MW507 withholding exemptions (opens in new tab)
- Official tax guidance: services.marylandcomptroller.gov (opens in new tab)
This pair's wage-exemption or credit guidance checked 2026-11-02. Individual return calculations and other source dates are separate.
State income tax: $7,283 a year
Modeled annual state income tax for living in Maryland and working in West Virginia: about $7,283 on $100,000 of wages.
Reciprocity agreement: covered employee wages are subject to state income tax only in your home state. Give your employer the work state's exemption form and arrange home-state withholding. County and city taxes require a separate check.
Maryland low-income limits: this schedule estimate does not apply Maryland's minimum-filing relief or poverty-level credit. A low-income worker may owe less or no Maryland tax. Check the official filing requirements (opens in new tab) and Form MW507 exemption instructions (opens in new tab) for your circumstances and filing year.
Conditions for this pair: A qualifying MD resident who remains a West Virginia nonresident and has only wages or salaries from West Virginia can claim the covered-wage withholding exemption. Give the employer WV/IT-104NR, the Certificate of Nonresidence on page 2 of the current WV IT-104 packet. Notify the employer when exemption status changes.
Official guidance (tax.wv.gov) (opens in new tab) · Official guidance (tax.wv.gov) (opens in new tab)
Tax guide and official sources: live in Maryland, work in West Virginia
Official agency starting points: Maryland tax agency (opens in new tab) · West Virginia tax agency (opens in new tab). These directory links identify the selected states' agencies, not your filing obligations. Check their individual-tax guidance and forms for the year you are filing.
This is the usual filing pattern, not a determination that you must file. Filing thresholds, age or dependent status, other income and withholding refunds can change which returns you need.
How this $100,000 estimate adds up
These steps follow the selected home, work state, salary and filing status. They reconcile the model's annual liability, not the amounts withheld from your paycheck.
| Step | West Virginia work state | Maryland home state |
|---|---|---|
| Tax before the modeled other-state credit | $0 | $7,283 |
| Modeled other-state credit subtracted | $0 | $0 |
| Tax after that credit | $0 | $7,283 |
Total: $0 + $7,283 = $7,283 a year. Amounts are rounded for display. Work-state wage exemptions, when applicable, are already reflected in the first row; they are not an other-state credit.
No other-state credit is subtracted in this selected scenario. Included county components stay in these amounts; excluded local taxes and credits stay excluded. Federal income tax, payroll programs and refund eligibility are outside this reconciliation.
State tax at different salaries
| Wages | To WV | To MD | Modeled total | If you worked in MD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $0 | $3,358 | $3,358 | $3,358 |
| $75,000 | $0 | $5,321 | $5,321 | $5,321 |
| $100,000 | $0 | $7,283 | $7,283 | $7,283 |
| $150,000 | $0 | $11,563 | $11,563 | $11,563 |
| $250,000 | $0 | $20,222 | $20,222 | $20,222 |
Single filer, all wages earned in West Virginia, 2026 state tax rules, standard deductions. State income tax includes Maryland's average county income tax. Other local income taxes are not included.
What to do
- Reciprocity: A qualifying MD resident who remains a West Virginia nonresident and has only wages or salaries from West Virginia can claim the covered-wage withholding exemption. Give the employer WV/IT-104NR, the Certificate of Nonresidence on page 2 of the current WV IT-104 packet. Notify the employer when exemption status changes.
- Keep a record of the days you work in each state, especially if you sometimes work from home.
Local income taxes
- Maryland: All 23 counties and Baltimore City levy resident local income tax (about 2.25%–3.3%, on the state return). Nonreciprocal nonresidents generally pay the 2.25% special nonresident tax instead of resident county tax; some home jurisdictions require Form 515. Pennsylvania reciprocal wages are exempt from Maryland state tax, but Maryland local tax may still apply. MW507 line 5 covers the Pennsylvania state exemption; lines 6 and 7 cover separate local exemptions. Form 515 may be required, depending on the Pennsylvania home jurisdiction and Maryland work county. Reciprocity is not a blanket local-tax exemption.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay West Virginia income tax if I live in Maryland?
If you qualify for the wage-reciprocity exemption, no West Virginia state income tax on covered employee wages: under reciprocity Maryland taxes them. City and county taxes require a separate check. A qualifying MD resident who remains a West Virginia nonresident and has only wages or salaries from West Virginia can claim the covered-wage withholding exemption. Give the employer WV/IT-104NR, the Certificate of Nonresidence on page 2 of the current WV IT-104 packet. Notify the employer when exemption status changes.
Do I have to file taxes in both Maryland and West Virginia?
Usually you file only one state return (a resident return in Maryland), though some states still require a nonresident return to get a refund of any wrongly withheld tax.
Will I be taxed twice?
Not at the state level on covered wages: under reciprocity Maryland taxes them, about $7,283 on $100,000 in this model. The estimate includes resident county tax where modeled; other local taxes or credits are separate.
Related
- Live in West Virginia, work in Maryland
- Moving from Maryland to West Virginia
- Moving from West Virginia to Maryland
- Live in Maryland, work in Washington, DC
- Live in Maryland, work in Delaware
- Live in Maryland, work in Pennsylvania
- Live in Maryland, work in Virginia
Rules reviewed 2026-09-24 from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Estimates only; confirm with each state's revenue department.