Before you start

An SSN or ITIN
Form W-4 with your employer for federal withholding — there is no Alaskan equivalent
Records of foreign income and foreign financial accounts
Proof of primary residence, if you own and want the residential exemption

Step-by-step

1
Complete the federal W-4 on day one and stop there
There is no state withholding certificate in Alaska because there is no state income tax. The Department of Revenue's own guidance is that 'no employee withholding for state income tax is required'. If a payroll system asks you for a state form, it has been configured for somewhere else.
Via employerWho: YouFirst week of employment
2
Apply for the residential exemption by 15 March if you buy
Anchorage exempts 40% of an owner-occupied home's assessed value up to a maximum of USD 75,000, and applications are due by 15 March for that tax year. It is not automatic and no one at the closing table files it for you. Residents aged 65 and over — and qualifying widows and widowers aged 60 and over — can have up to USD 150,000 of assessed value exempted, which is a much larger number and is also applied for.
OnlineWho: YouBy 15 March annually
3
Determine your US tax residency
The substantial presence test counts weighted days across three years to decide whether the US taxes your worldwide income or only US-source income. Certain students and scholars are exempt from counting days for a period, which matters at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Your visa category does not settle this.
OnlineWho: You
4
Check for an applicable tax treaty
The US has income tax treaties with around 70 countries. In most states you would then have to work out whether the state conforms; in Alaska there is no state income tax to conform, so a federal treaty position is the whole analysis. Confirm your own article rather than assuming.
OnlineWho: You
5
File the federal return by 15 April — and only that one
The tax year is the calendar year. There is no Alaska individual return, no city return and no local earnings tax, which makes this one of the simplest filing situations in the United States. Note the Permanent Fund Dividend is taxable income federally, so the year you first receive one, it appears on your federal return.
OnlineWho: YouBy 15 April annually
6
File an FBAR if foreign accounts exceed USD 10,000
Aggregate foreign financial account balances above USD 10,000 at any point in the year trigger a FinCEN filing, separate from your tax return. An ordinary current account at home is often enough to cross it.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Form W-2 from each employer, issued by 31 January
Form 1099s for freelance, interest and investment income — including the one for your Permanent Fund Dividend once you receive one
Passport and travel history for the substantial presence day count
Foreign account statements for FBAR reporting
Proof of primary residence for the Anchorage residential exemption

Things most newcomers don’t know

Alaska takes neither income tax nor sales tax, and Anchorage adds no sales tax either — which is not true of most Alaskan towns.

The state has no individual income tax and no sales and use tax; the Department of Revenue says so on both program pages. But Alaskan municipalities may and mostly do levy their own sales tax — Juneau charges 5% — and Anchorage is the large exception. What Anchorage levies instead is property tax plus targeted excises on hotel rooms, rental vehicles, alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and fuel. Comparing 'Alaska' to another state without checking the specific town's sales tax is the standard error.

Source: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division

The residential exemption is worth real money and it is opt-in, with a 15 March deadline.

Anchorage exempts 40% of assessed value up to USD 75,000 for an owner-occupied primary residence, and the application is due by 15 March. Miss the date and you pay the unreduced bill for the year. The senior exemption goes to USD 150,000 and is likewise applied for. Nobody registers you automatically — this is the Anchorage equivalent of the STAR credit trap in New York, and people lose a year to it just as routinely.

Source: Municipality of Anchorage — Property Appraisal exemptions

Your Permanent Fund Dividend is federally taxable, and it arrives in the autumn.

The dividend is income for federal purposes and is reported to the IRS. There is no state tax on it because there is no state income tax, but the federal bite is real, and for a family of four at the 2025 rate of USD 1,000 a head it is a four-figure addition to gross income arriving with no withholding attached. Plan for it in the year you first become eligible rather than discovering it the following April.

Source: Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Division

There is no state form, no city form and no local earnings tax — which is genuinely rare.

Ohio and Michigan cities tax where you work, Indiana counties tax where you live, Kansas City and St. Louis run their own earnings taxes, and New York City and Yonkers levy resident income taxes. Anchorage levies none of that, and Alaska has no state return at all, so the federal 1040 is the entire annual filing job. If you have moved from a state-plus-city filing regime, the amount of paperwork that simply disappears is the most concrete tax fact about this place.

Source: Alaska Department of Revenue Tax Division — personal income

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying a home and missing the 15 March deadline for the residential exemption.
Assuming all of Alaska is sales-tax-free — most municipalities levy one, Anchorage is the exception.
Forgetting that the Permanent Fund Dividend is federally taxable and arrives without withholding.
Looking for an Alaska state income tax return that does not exist and paying someone to prepare it.
Comparing an Anchorage salary to a Seattle one on gross without pricing groceries and heating.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.