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REMOTE EMPLOYEES

Hiring a remote employee in Utah

Your company is in another state and one employee lives and works from home in Utah. Which state's taxes apply, unemployment, paid leave and Utah's employer rules, each with its official source.

Facts from the official sources listed at the end of this page; the oldest was read from an archived copy dated February 16, 2026. For employers. General information, not legal or tax advice: confirm a rule with the agency before you rely on it.

Utah at a glance

Income tax
Utah withholding
Reciprocity
None
Unemployment
$50,700 wage base, Set by industry new employer
Paid leave
None
New hire report
Within 20 days

Which state's taxes apply

Work state
Utah taxes wages for work done in Utah. Withhold Utah income tax on the employee's wages.Source: Utah State Tax Commission, Publication 14, Withholding Tax Guide (Rev. 04/26) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Withholding form
Federal Form W-4Source: Utah State Tax Commission, Publication 14, Withholding Tax Guide (Rev. 04/26) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Reciprocity
No state exempts Utah residents from its withholding by reciprocity.Source: Utah Administrative Code R865-9I-14, Requirement of Withholding (Tax Commission, effective 2026-01-01) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Convenience rules
If your company is in Delaware, New York or Pennsylvania, the employee is assigned to an office there and works there on some days, that state taxes the days worked from home in Utah for the employee's convenience.Source: Delaware Division of Revenue, 2025 Form PIT-NON Instructions, Non-Resident Individual Income Tax Return (PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; NYS DTF, TSB-M-06(5)I, New York Tax Treatment of Nonresidents and Part-Year Residents: Application of the Convenience of the Employer Test to Telecommuters and Others (May 15, 2006, PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026; PA Department of Revenue, PA Personal Income Tax Guide, Gross Compensation (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Office days in your company's state
That state's day limit, if it has one, decides whether it withholds on those days: see its page, or the helper below.
An employee from another state working in Utah
Utah has a 20-day rule: no Utah withholding for a nonresident who works in Utah 20 days a year or fewer, when the employee's home state has no income tax or a similar exclusion, if the rule's other conditions are met.Source: Utah State Tax Commission, Publication 14, Withholding Tax Guide (Rev. 04/26) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026

Where to withhold: two states

Pick your company's state, the state where the employee lives and works from home, and the days a year the employee works at your office. The answer reads each state's rules from the data on these pages.

Your company is in
Employee lives and works from home in
Days a year at your office
Assigned to an employer office in New YorkMatters only in the states with a convenience rule (Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania), and only with office days there.

Income tax withholding

  • Utah: all wages.

No New York withholding: the employee does no work in New York.

Unemployment

Utah: the employee works from home there, so the work is localized in Utah.

Simplified: resident credits, dollar tests, local taxes and a move during the year are not worked out here. Each state's rule and its source are on its page.

Unemployment

The employee works from home in Utah, so the work is localized in Utah: pay Utah unemployment tax, not your company state's.

Agency
Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS), Unemployment InsuranceSource: Utah DWS, Employer Handbook (PDF) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Wage base
$50,700 IndexedSource: Utah DWS, Unemployment Insurance Employer Tax Rates (FAQ) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
New employer rate
Set by industry Industry rate: the two-year average benefit ratio of all employers in the new employer's industry, times the reserve factor (1.10 for 2026), plus the social cost (0.1% for 2026); assigned on registration. New out-of-state contractors pay the 7.1% maximum unless they buy an existing business. Surcharges not includedSource: Utah DWS, Unemployment Insurance Employer Tax Rates (FAQ) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026

Open the account: Utah payroll tax registration

Utah has no paid leave program funded through payroll.

Utah employer rules

Employment law applies where the employee works, so these follow the employee into Utah.

Final pay
Fired: Within 24 hours of separation Quit: By the next regular payday (without a written contract for a definite period)Source: Utah Labor Commission, Wage Claim (Frequently Asked Questions) (opens in a new tab), checked October 6, 2026
Pay frequency
At least semimonthly, on regular paydays designated in advance, within 10 days after the pay period closes; employees on a yearly salary may be paid monthly, by the 7th of the following month.Source: Utah Code §34-28-3, Regular paydays (Title 34, Chapter 28, Payment of Wages, XML) (opens in a new tab), read from an archived copy dated February 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Pay notice
At hire, tell employees the payday, place of payment and rate of pay, and give notice of any change before it takes effect; or keep these facts posted conspicuously at or near the workplace. Failure is a class B misdemeanor.Source: Utah Code §34-28-4, Notice of paydays -- Failure to notify a misdemeanor (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
New hire reporting
Within 20 days of the start date.Source: Utah Code §35A-7-104, Reporting requirements (Centralized New Hire Registry Act) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
E-Verify
Private employers with 150 or more employees may not hire a new employee unless registered with, and using, a status verification system (E-Verify, an equivalent federal program, SSA's SSNVS, or an equally reliable third-party system). Not for H-2A or H-2B visa workers the employer petitioned for.Source: Utah Code §13-47-201, Verification required for new hires (Private Employer Verification Act) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026
Sick leave
No state sick leave law.Source: Utah Labor Commission, UALD Wage Claim (FAQ: paid vacation, holiday pay, sick leave) (opens in a new tab), checked October 5, 2026

When the employee moves

Re-check the work state and the registrations before the next payroll: a move changes which state's withholding, unemployment, paid leave and employer rules apply.

Registering your business in Utah, and whether one remote employee creates tax nexus for your company, are separate questions this page does not cover.

More on Utah

WORKLIO HCM

Payroll for employees who work from home in another state

Worklio HCM withholds by home and work state, reciprocity included, and handles city and county taxes. We help open state withholding and unemployment accounts when you hire somewhere new, and our registration service can register your employer tax accounts for you. Taxes are calculated, deposited and filed in every state and locality, and when an agency notice arrives, you upload it and our tax team resolves it.

Remote employees in other states

Sources

The agency page or document behind each fact, as checked.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the relevant agency or your advisor. You remain responsible for your employment taxes and for each state's rules.

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