1099 Contractor in Alabama with a Georgia Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Alabama taxes all of it; Georgia taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Alabama quarterly. A Georgia client alone creates no Georgia filing obligation — performing services inside Georgia does, and Alabama then credits that tax.
Last verified
Reciprocity agreements are the first thing contractors ask about and the first thing that does not apply to them. Every agreement in the country is a wage-withholding arrangement, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off.
Georgia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Georgia-source wage income above the state's general filing threshold requires a nonresident return, and that threshold is reset each year — check the current figure on the Georgia Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Alabama
Make quarterly estimated payments to Alabama Department of Revenue on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · GeorgiaForm 500 with Schedule 3
File a Georgia nonresident return only if you performed services inside Georgia. Georgia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Georgia-source wage income above the state's general filing threshold requires a nonresident return, and that threshold is reset each year — check the current figure on the Georgia Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · AlabamaSchedule CR
File the Alabama resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Georgia.
The two states, side by side
| Alabama | Georgia | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 40NR | Form 500 with Schedule 3 |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule CR | Form 500 Schedule 2 |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Alabama Department of Revenue | Georgia Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Georgia and working in Alabama gives:Home state, plus the client state if you work there.
Same two states, different situation
The withholding answer turns on how you are paid and where the work happens, not only on which two states are involved.
- W-2 commuter: Alabama → GeorgiaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Alabama → GeorgiaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Alabama → GeorgiaTwo part-year returns
Other Alabama pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Alabama and my client is in Georgia. Do I have to file a Georgia tax return?
Alabama taxes all of it; Georgia taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Alabama quarterly. A Georgia client alone creates no Georgia filing obligation — performing services inside Georgia does, and Alabama then credits that tax.
Do reciprocity agreements help a 1099 contractor?
No. Every state reciprocity agreement in the country is an arrangement about wage withholding between two revenue departments, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off. Whether Alabama and Georgia hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Alabama and Georgia rules on this page were last checked against Alabama Department of Revenue and Georgia Department of Revenue on 2026-08-07. We re-check the full grid every December after state legislative sessions close, and re-check the convenience-of-the-employer states quarterly because that is where the rules move fastest.
Sources
Every fact above comes from the revenue department that publishes the rule. We do not cite secondary summaries, and we do not restate a figure we could not find at source.
- Alabama Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Georgia Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07