Do I owe state taxes for working remotely while on vacation in a state with income tax?
I'm in a bit of a weird tax situation and hoping someone can help me figure this out. I currently live in Wyoming (no state income tax) and my company is also based here. I'm planning a month-long trip to California later this year and was thinking I'd work remotely while enjoying the beach life. Then it hit me - California has pretty high state income taxes, right? So if I'm physically in California working for a few weeks, even though my residence and company are in Wyoming, do I have to pay California state taxes on the income I earn during that time? Also, how would I even go about figuring this out? Like, do I need to track exactly which days I worked while in California? Would my employer need to withhold California taxes just for that period? I'm completely lost on how this works and haven't found clear answers online. Anyone deal with something similar or know how to research this properly?
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Noah Torres
This is actually a pretty common question these days with remote work being so popular! The short answer is yes, technically you do owe taxes to states where you physically perform work, even temporarily. This is called the "physical presence" rule. When you work in California (or any state with income tax), you establish what's known as "tax nexus" by physically being there while performing work. Most states have thresholds though - California's threshold is relatively low, but if you're only there for a short vacation where you happen to work a bit, you might fall under it. For tracking purposes, yes, you should keep a log of which days you worked in California. Your employer probably won't withhold California taxes unless you tell them to, which creates a complication since you'd need to handle this yourself when filing.
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Samantha Hall
•But how would California even know I was working there? It's not like they track everyone who visits the state, right? Seems like a huge hassle for a two-week vacation.
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Noah Torres
•You're right that states don't actively track visitor work activities, but tax compliance is legally required regardless. While the risk of audit for a short trip may be low, the proper approach is still to report the income. If you're concerned about complexity, there is some good news. Many states have reciprocity agreements, and some have minimum thresholds before nonresident income tax applies - typically around 15-30 days or a certain dollar amount. Check California's specific rules, as they might have a threshold that would exempt a brief working vacation.
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Ryan Young
I went through something similar last year and found taxr.ai super helpful for sorting out my multi-state tax situation. I was working remotely from three different states throughout the year and was totally confused about where I owed taxes. I uploaded my paystubs and tax docs to https://taxr.ai and their system analyzed my situation and gave me a clear breakdown of my tax obligations by state, including which thresholds I'd met or hadn't met.
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Sophia Clark
•Did it actually give you state-specific advice? I tried another tax tool that was basically useless for multi-state questions.
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Katherine Harris
•I'm a bit skeptical - how does it know where you physically worked if your employer didn't track that?
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Ryan Young
•Yes, it does provide state-specific advice including information about each state's threshold requirements and reciprocity agreements. It asks you to provide details about where you worked and for how long to generate accurate guidance. For tracking locations, you input your work location history yourself. I used my calendar and travel receipts to document when I was working in different states, and the system used that information to determine my tax obligations. It's not automatic tracking - you provide your location details and it applies the relevant state tax rules.
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Sophia Clark
Just wanted to update! I tried taxr.ai after asking about it, and it actually did solve my multi-state tax situation. I was working between Florida (no income tax) and New York (definitely has income tax!), and it clearly showed me which days created tax liability and even helped me figure out the credit system so I wasn't double-taxed. Saved me from making some pretty big mistakes on my return!
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Madison Allen
If you need to talk to someone at the California tax authority (FTB) to get a definitive answer, good luck with that! I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone at a state tax office. Then I found https://claimyr.com and used their service to get through to a real person at the tax office. There's a demo video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they wait on hold for you and call you when a real human picks up. Saved me hours of frustrating hold music!
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Joshua Wood
•Wait, so you pay someone else to wait on hold for you? How does that even work? Wouldn't the tax office just hang up when it's not you?
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Justin Evans
•Sounds sketchy. How do you know you're actually talking to a real tax office person and not some scammer?
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Madison Allen
•They don't replace you on the call - they have a system that waits on hold and then calls you when a real person answers. You're the one who actually talks to the tax office representative. So when the tax office picks up, Claimyr connects you directly to the call. Regarding legitimacy concerns, you're always talking to the actual government tax agency. Claimyr just navigates the phone tree and waits through the hold time, then alerts you when a real person answers. You can verify you're speaking with the actual tax authority because you're connected to their official number - Claimyr just helps you bypass the hold time.
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Justin Evans
I take back what I said about being skeptical. After waiting on hold with the California FTB for TWO HOURS yesterday and getting disconnected, I was desperate and tried Claimyr. They called me back in about 40 minutes when someone actually answered. Got my question about temporary work in California answered directly from the source. The agent confirmed I only need to file a non-resident return if I work there more than 10 days or earn over a certain threshold. Money well spent just for the peace of mind!
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Emily Parker
This is one of those gray areas that a lot of remote workers are dealing with. Technically, yes, you're supposed to pay taxes where you physically work. But realistically, for a short vacation? The administrative burden on both you and the state is probably not worth it for either party.
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Ezra Collins
•Isn't advising someone not to follow tax law kind of... illegal? Just saying, that seems like dangerous advice.
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Emily Parker
•I'm not advising anyone to break tax laws. I'm pointing out that there are typically minimum thresholds before tax filing requirements kick in. Most states have de minimis exceptions specifically because the administrative burden would be overwhelming otherwise. California, for example, doesn't require filing for extremely brief work periods under certain income thresholds. Always check the specific rules for any state where you work, even temporarily, and comply with their requirements.
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Victoria Scott
has anyone used TurboTax for handling multi-state work situations? does it handle this well or should i look for a tax professional? got a similar situation working from florida (home) but spent 3 weeks working from ny last year.
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Benjamin Johnson
•TurboTax does handle multi-state returns, but in my experience it gets expensive fast because you have to pay for each state return separately. For complex situations with multiple states, I found using a CPA who specializes in multi-state taxation was worth it.
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Jamal Carter
This is a really nuanced area that trips up a lot of remote workers! From what I've researched, California does have some of the strictest rules about this. They generally require non-resident tax filings if you're working there temporarily, but there are thresholds to consider. The key thing is that California considers any work performed within their borders as California-source income, regardless of where your employer is based. However, they do have a threshold - I believe it's around $1,000 in California-source income or working there for more than a certain number of days before you're required to file a non-resident return. For your situation, definitely keep detailed records of which days you work while in California versus days you take off. You might also want to consider structuring your trip so that you take actual vacation days while there and do your work before/after the trip to avoid the complexity altogether. One more tip - check if Wyoming has any reciprocity agreements with California that might simplify things, though I don't think they do since Wyoming doesn't have state income tax to begin with.
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Amara Okafor
•This is super helpful! I didn't realize there was actually a dollar threshold - that $1,000 minimum makes way more sense than having to file for every single day of work. Do you happen to know if that threshold is per year or per visit? Like if I made $800 during my California trip but then went back later in the year and made another $500, would that trigger the filing requirement? Also, the idea about structuring the trip as actual vacation days is brilliant. I could probably arrange my schedule to take PTO while I'm there and just work extra before/after to make up for it. Might be worth the peace of mind!
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