Reciprocity state pair

Live in Pennsylvania, 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.

By Abu HasnatPage updated Nov 7, 2026Data: Pennsylvania and West Virginia revenue departments (methodology)

Official tax guidance for both states

Check withholding, filing requirements and current forms with each state's tax agency.

Pennsylvania: Department of Revenue (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 Pennsylvania, 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 PA 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. For Pennsylvania or Virginia domiciliaries, spending more than 183 days in West Virginia can create West Virginia residence; check the annual instructions.

This pair's wage-exemption or credit guidance checked 2026-11-02. Individual return calculations and other source dates are separate.

I live inI work inAnnual wages ($)Filing status

State income tax: $3,070 a year

Modeled annual state income tax for living in Pennsylvania and working in West Virginia: about $3,070 on $100,000 of wages.

Conditions for this pair: A qualifying PA 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. For Pennsylvania or Virginia domiciliaries, spending more than 183 days in West Virginia can create West Virginia residence; check the annual instructions.

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 Pennsylvania, work in West Virginia

Official agency starting points: Pennsylvania 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.

Tax to West Virginia

nonresident

Tax to Pennsylvania

$3,070

resident

Total state tax

$3,070

Typical state returns

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.

Modeled state income tax for Pennsylvania residence and West Virginia work
Step	West Virginia work state	Pennsylvania home state
Tax before the modeled other-state credit	$0	$3,070
Modeled other-state credit subtracted	$0	$0
Tax after that credit	$0	$3,070

Total: $0 + $3,070 = $3,070 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 PA	Modeled total	If you worked in PA
$50,000	$0	$1,535	$1,535	$1,535
$75,000	$0	$2,303	$2,303	$2,303
$100,000	$0	$3,070	$3,070	$3,070
$150,000	$0	$4,605	$4,605	$4,605
$250,000	$0	$7,675	$7,675	$7,675

Single filer, all wages earned in West Virginia, 2026 state tax rules, standard deductions. Local income taxes not included.

What to do

Reciprocity: A qualifying PA 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. For Pennsylvania or Virginia domiciliaries, spending more than 183 days in West Virginia can create West Virginia residence; check the annual instructions.
Keep a record of the days you work in each state, especially if you sometimes work from home.

Local income taxes

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania local Earned Income Tax (Act 32) is generally withheld at the higher of the resident rate or the work-location nonresident rate. Out-of-state employees owe the Pennsylvania worksite municipality's nonresident EIT rate and applicable Local Services Tax; a 0% Pennsylvania resident rate does not exempt their worksite wages. State wage reciprocity does not remove these separate local taxes. Philadelphia uses its separate Wage Tax: from July 1, 2026, 3.735% for residents and 3.425% for nonresidents on taxable work in the city. Check your actual home/work municipality and local credit rules; local taxes are not calculated here.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay West Virginia income tax if I live in Pennsylvania?

If you qualify for the wage-reciprocity exemption, no West Virginia state income tax on covered employee wages: under reciprocity Pennsylvania taxes them. City and county taxes require a separate check. A qualifying PA 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. For Pennsylvania or Virginia domiciliaries, spending more than 183 days in West Virginia can create West Virginia residence; check the annual instructions.

Do I have to file taxes in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia?

Usually you file only one state return (a resident return in Pennsylvania), 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 Pennsylvania taxes them, about $3,070 on $100,000 in this model. The estimate includes resident county tax where modeled; other local taxes or credits are separate.

Rules reviewed 2026-09-24 from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Estimates only; confirm with each state's revenue department.