13 Sep How should my college student file his state tax returns?

Q. My son is a college student in Pennsylvania. He plans to get a part-time job. What do we need to know about his tax withholding? He is a permanent resident of New Jersey but would he be better off filing as if he is a PA resident?
— Mom

A. It’s an exciting time for your son.

The simple answer is that nothing needs to be done.

The states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania have a reciprocal tax agreement whereby each state will not tax the wage income of a nonresident employee, said Neil Becourtney, a certified public accountant and tax director with Smolin, Lupin & Co. in Red Bank.

“New Jersey will not tax the wages of any Pennsylvania resident employed in the Garden State and likewise, Pennsylvania will not tax the wages of any New Jersey resident employed in the Keystone State,” Becourtney said.

The agreement does not apply to non-wage income such as from a rental property or a pass-through business entity, he said.

Your son’s employer is obligated to withhold New Jersey tax on your son’s wages as though he was working in New Jersey, he said.

“This avoids your son having to file a Pennsylvania nonresident income tax return,” he said. “A single taxpayer with $10,000 or less of total gross income is not required to file a Form NJ-1040 (tax is automatically zero) and would only bother doing so to obtain a refund of tax withheld.”

Even if living off campus, typically, a college student being supported by their parents does not become a resident of the state in which they are attending school, Becourtney said.

Numerous steps would need to be taken to truly change residency for state income tax purposes, which is beyond your question, he said.

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This story was originally published in September 2026. 

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