Do I Pay State Taxes If I Live in Florida and Work in Georgia?

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):

• 1% on the first $750 of income

• 2% on income between $751 and $2,250

• 3% on income between $2,251 and $3,750

• 4% on income between $3,751 and $5,250

• 5% on income between $5,251 and $7000

• 6% on income over $7,000

Georgia Income Tax Rates (joint filers):

• 1% on the first $1,000 of income

• 2% on income between $1,001 and $3,000

• 3% on income between $3,001 and $5,000

• 4% on income between $5,001 and $7,000

• 5% on income between $7,001 and $10,000

• 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):

• 2% on first $500 of income

• 4% on income between $501 and $3000

• 5% on income over $3000.

Alabama Income Tax Rates (joint filers):

• 2% on first $1,000 of income

• 4% on income between $1,001 and $6,000

• 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):

• 3% on first $5,000 of income

• 4% on income between $5,001 and $10,000

• 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.