With Disney, beautiful beaches and no income taxes, Florida seems like heaven on Earth!
But what if you live in Florida but travel to a neighboring state for work? Well, working in a state with an income tax while living in Florida means you’ll have to pay taxes to the state you earn your income from.
For Florida residents, working in a bordering state such as Georgia, Alabama or Mississippi, you’ll have to pay tax only on the income you received there. To report this, you will file a non-resident return for the state you work in when filing your taxes.
I Live in Florida and Work in Georgia
According to the Georgia Department of Revenue website, non-residents who work in Georgia or receive income from a Georgia source…
“…are required to file a Federal income tax return and required to file a Georgia income tax return… If you are a legal resident of another state, you are not required to file a Georgia income tax return if your only activity for financial gain or profit in Georgia consists of performing services in Georgia for an employer as an employee when the compensation for services performed does not exceed the lesser of five percent of the income received in all places during the taxable year or $5,000.”
That means if you have income from a job, rental income, income from entities (trusts, estates, partnerships, s-corporations, LLCs) in Georgia, then plan on filing a non-resident tax return for the state and pay Georgia taxes for that income.
Georgia Income Tax Rates (single filers):
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1% on the first $750 of income
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2% on income between $751 and $2,250
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3% on income between $2,251 and $3,750
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4% on income between $3,751 and $5,250
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5% on income between $5,251 and $7000
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6% on income over $7,000
Georgia Income Tax Rates (joint filers):
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1% on the first $1,000 of income
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2% on income between $1,001 and $3,000
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3% on income between $3,001 and $5,000
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4% on income between $5,001 and $7,000
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5% on income between $7,001 and $10,000
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6% on income over $10,000
I Live in Florida and Work in Alabama
If you’re a Florida resident but travel to Alabama for work, you are liable to pay Alabama taxes on the income earned in the state and file a non-resident return for Alabama. According to Alabama’s website, you must file a non-resident Alabama return…
“If you received taxable income from Alabama sources or for performing services within Alabama and your gross income from Alabama sources exceeds the allowable prorated personal exemption. Nonresidents must prorate the personal exemption. If your Alabama gross income exceeds the prorated amount, a return must be filed.”
Alabama Income Tax Rates (single filers):
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2% on first $500 of income
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4% on income between $501 and $3000
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5% on income over $3000.
Alabama Income Tax Rates (joint filers):
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2% on first $1,000 of income
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4% on income between $1,001 and $6,000
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5% on income over $6,000.
I Live in Florida but Work in Mississippi
Florida residents traveling to Mississippi will have to file a non-resident return for Mississippi. According to Mississippi’s website , non-resident filers must;
“Include all income on your Mississippi non-resident return. If you perform services partly in and partly out of the state, only the wages you paid for the services performed in Mississippi are subject to Mississippi income tax. The W-2 forms issued to you from your employer(s) should indicate the state in which the wages were paid, along with the wages you earned in that state.”
Mississippi Income Tax Rates (single filers):
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3% on first $5,000 of income
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4% on income between $5,001 and $10,000
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5% on income over $10,000.
Filing a joint tax return for Mississippi? The rates will remain the same.
Avoid confusion and file with RapidTax
Interstate taxation can get confusing, especially if you live in a state without an income tax, like Florida. The general rule of thumb is that you will have to file a non-resident return in the state you worked in but did not live in and report only the income earned in that state.
If you’re a Florida Resident, you’ll need to file your federal taxes. If you worked in states outside of the Florida lines, don’t forget to file a non-resident return for those states.
My situation is reversed. I live in New Mexico and there is a state income tax here. I work remotely for a Texas company. Texas does not have state income tax. So, I do not have state income taxes withheld because I work for the Texas company. Will I have to pay income tax in New Mexico?
Hi Andrew,
Since your employer is not withholding tax from your income to cover taxes owed to New Mexico, you will have an amount due after filing. When you file a state resident return, ALL income is reported. Once you report that you earned your income in New Mexico and no taxes were withheld, you will then have a tax bill. I suggest speaking with your employer about withholding taxes New Mexico taxes since you are working remotely.
I worked and lived in Georgia from Jan 2015 until July 31st 2015. I then moved to Florida on September 1st 2015 and have not worked or earned anything in Florida. I know I need to file my state taxes for those eight months in Georgia, but how do I do that? I think I’m still a Georgia resident even though I’m here in Florida. I’m probably making this seem more complicated then it is. Thanks!
Hi Michelle,
Not to worry as taxes are easy to overthink! Since you moved from Georgia to Florida this past tax year, you will file a part-year resident tax return for Georgia. Also, even if you earn an income in Florida in the future, you will never need to file a state tax return for FL because it is income tax-free.
I moved to Florida in July from NJ, but changed my license in Aug. I was physically working in NJ and now working remotely from my home in FL to the same company. How do I file my taxes?
Hi Sindy,
Since Florida is an income tax free state, you won’t need to worry about filing a state tax return for FL. When it comes to New Jersey, you will need to file a part-year resident tax return for the time you were physically living and working in the state. On this return, you will report the income you earned while living in NJ. Assuming that your employer was aware that you went from working physically to remotely, they should have stopped withholding NJ taxes from your paychecks after you started working from FL. You can double check your pay stubs to be sure. If they continued to withhold NJ taxes, you will be refunded taxes withheld AFTER you moved. You will also need to file a federal tax return and report your annual income earned.
I live in Georgia and usually work there as well. Recently my employer sent me to work in Florida for two weeks but withheld Georgia taxes from my pay. Is this correct?
Hi Lynn,
This is accurate. You are liable for taxes in the state where you physically work and the state where you reside. In your case, Georgia is your resident state so you will always be taxed from there. Florida is income-tax free so you won’t ever be taxed from that state.
Hi!
I lived in Florida (at this moment, i’m in Brazil) for many years, but I have a house in Maryland. Now, i’ve being charged for residential tax in maryland, but i lived there for just 4 months in the past.
So, two questions:
1. How can I prove that i dont live there in Maryland, and all these years i was in Florida?
2. I googled some info and I found two forms: 505 and 505NR to request the tax return or exemption. Is that right? If not, how can I proceed?
Tks all!
Hi Giovanni,
I would advise that you contact the state of Maryland before proceeding with any specific tax forms. Assuming you received something in the mail with the amount due, give the contact on the document a call to see why you owe. If your Maryland address was ever filed as your main domicile/place of residence (and never updated), then this could be the issue. Also, if you are earning income on the house in MD from charging rent while you are in Brazil or when you were in FL, then you would be responsible for paying taxes on that. There are a few different reasons that you could be liable for tax on your MD house. The first step is to confirm with the document you received.