I live in RI, but the company i work for is based in MA. Primarily, I have done work in MA and had MA income taxes taken from my pay. However, this year I started working at a job site in RI (for the MA employer) and the time I spent on this job they deducted RI income tax instead of MA. My question is on my W2 - in box 16 for total state wages the amounts are the same as box 1 my federal income. Because I file a non resident return in MA does this all balance out? Is it correct for the total taxable wages to be the same?

Actually, the tax deducted is correctly taken out by RI. The reason is that the income you are earning has been sourced to RI and is subject to RI income tax.

Hence, on your W-2, you will have RI income tax withheld. This is the correct treatment.

You should not worry as you are not going to be taxed in MA, and you should generally not be taxed at a higher rate either.

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