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Travel nurses often work in 3–5 states per year. Each state where you earn income may require a non-resident tax return. TaxHomeBase tracks your per-state income and identifies exactly which returns you need to file.

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How It Works

When you add an assignment, TaxHomeBase automatically:
  1. Allocates your income to the assignment’s state based on weeks worked
  2. Calculates state tax using that state’s brackets
  3. Determines whether a non-resident return is required
  4. Counts days worked per state from assignment date ranges

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No-Income-Tax States

9 states have no income tax. If all your assignments are in these states, you may not need to file any state returns beyond your home state: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wyoming
New Hampshire and Tennessee tax investment income but not wage/salary income, so travel nurse earnings are exempt.

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Reciprocity Agreements

16 states have reciprocity agreements that can exempt you from filing a non-resident return. If your tax home state has a reciprocity agreement with your work state, you only owe tax to your home state. States with reciprocity: DC, IL, IN, IA, KY, MD, MI, MN, MT, ND, NJ, OH, PA, VA, WV, WI For example: A travel nurse with a tax home in PA who works in NJ would generally not need to file a NJ non-resident return under the reciprocity agreement — that income would instead be reported on the PA return.
Reciprocity only applies when you have a tax home set in TaxHomeBase. Without a tax home state, reciprocity is conservatively not applied.

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Filing Sequence

The order you file matters:
  1. Non-resident state returns first — Returns are typically prepared for each state where income was earned (that requires filing)
  2. Home state return last — The home state return generally claims credits for taxes paid to other states, so it’s prepared after the non-resident returns
TaxHomeBase’s Filing Guide on the State Income page shows the recommended sequence with deadlines.
Filing non-resident returns first lets you claim tax credits on your home state return, avoiding double taxation.

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Non-Resident Forms

Each state has its own non-resident tax form. TaxHomeBase shows the form name and filing deadline for each state on the State Income page. Common examples:
StateFormDeadline
California540NRApril 15
New YorkIT-203April 15
Massachusetts1-NR/PYApril 15
TexasNoneNo income tax

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Days-Per-State Tracking

Some states use day-count formulas for non-resident income allocation. TaxHomeBase counts the number of days you worked in each state (derived from assignment date ranges) and displays them as badges on state cards.

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How TaxHomeBase Helps

  • State Income page — Per-state breakdown with income, tax, effective rate, days, reciprocity status
  • Tax Estimate — State tax breakdown in the overall tax calculation
  • Export — State income breakdown CSV and per-state details in the PDF package
  • Tax Filing Preview — Dashboard card showing expected returns and state chips