In general, if you live in one state and work in another, either or both of them may charge you income tax. If you work in a state with no income tax, like Florida, and live in one that does have state income tax, such as Georgia, you may still owe tax to the state where you live.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
If you live in Georgia but work in Florida, you will have to pay Georgia income tax if you make enough money. Similarly, if you live in Florida but work in Georgia, you'll still owe Georgia income tax if you make enough money.
Paying Georgia Income Tax on Florida Income
Like many states with an income tax, Georgia charges income tax both on people who live there and people who make money there. Generally if you're a Georgia resident and you have to file a federal income tax return, you also have to file one in Georgia. Nonresidents who work in Georgia are also required to file in many cases.
Georgia does offer its residents a tax credit for tax paid in other states, up to the amount they would pay under the Georgia tax rate, but that doesn't benefit people who work in Florida, since Florida has no income tax of its own. If you can claim such a credit, you must file a copy of the other state's tax return along with your Georgia return.
If you live in Georgia and work in Florida, complete the Georgia Form 500 tax return to see how much you owe. If you make less than your Georgia deductions including personal exemption amounts, you may not owe any tax though you still may be required to file. Note that the Georgia standard deduction and personal exemption systems are different from the federal system.
Estimated Tax Considerations
If you are living in Georgia but working in Florida, your Florida employer may not be withholding Georgia tax from your individual paychecks. In that case, you are often still responsible for keeping up to date with your Georgia taxes by making quarterly estimated tax payments.
Generally you're required to do so if you'll have $1,000 or more in income that's not covered by deductions, your personal exemptions and tax withholding. File the tax on a quarterly basis by April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following tax year. You may file on the next business day if one of those days is a weekend or holiday. Use Georgia tax form 500ES to compute and pay your estimated tax.
2018 Tax Law Changes
Like the federal government, Georgia is making some changes to its tax laws effective in tax year 2018. Specifically, the state is raising the standard deduction for single people from $2,300 to $4,600. Married couples filing jointly will see the deduction rise from $3,000 to $6,000.
Unlike the federal government, Georgia is preserving personal exemptions, which are generally $2,700 for the taxpayer and each dependent for a single person or $3,700 each for the taxpayer, his or her spouse and each dependent for a married couple filing jointly.
If your deductions and exemptions are greater than your income, you will likely not owe Georgia income tax, though you still may be required to file.
2017 Georgia Income Tax Law
In 2017, the standard deduction in Georgia is $2,300 for single people and $3,000 for married couples filing jointly.
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Writer Bio
Steven Melendez is an independent journalist with a background in technology and business. He has written for a variety of business publications including Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal, Innovation Leader and Ad Age. He was awarded the Knight Foundation scholarship to Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.