I have a question about state income taxes. I work as an engineer for a construction company. As part of the job I travel a lot and work a 6 week rotation where I work for 28 days straight at the different job sites across the country followed by 14 days off back at home. I live in Washington and am a Washington resident. The company's main office is in Washington with regional offices in Florida and California. During 2013, I worked in Virginia, Florida, and California and spent my time off in Washington.

My question is, am I liable for state income taxes to Virginia and California during the 2 weeks I spend in Washington during my time off since I am not physically present in those states performing any work? Also, while working in Florida my time was being carried by the California office so I was charged California state income tax even though the work being performed was in Florida. Am I liable for that as well? Any help or direction to specific sources would be appreciated. Thank you.

#1;No; usually you have to pay taxes on where you live, and where you physically work, but if those are in two different states you usually get a credit from the state you live in for the taxes you paid to the state you worked in. If you are working remotely for a company and working out of your house, you should only have to pay income taxes to the state you live and physically work in. So,as there is no reciprocal agreements between WA and VA, you must pay tax to VA on your income as a nonresident of VA and also there is no state income tax in your home state, you may deduct the tax paid to VA on your fed return by claiming it on Sch A of 1040; UNLESS you itemize deductions on your return, you can’t claim the tax paid to VA.

#2; One of the foolish conducts usually done by CA FTB is to charge CA tax to TP that is not subject to the tax to the state; since you were physically present and actually worked and earned income in FL, you need to pay tax to FL, where your work was done;however, FL is one of the 9 states that do not charge state income tax , so you do not need to pay tax to FL and WA either. Your home state, WA,is also one of the nine states without a state income tax.