1099 Contractor in Alabama with a New Mexico Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Alabama always, New Mexico sometimes. With no withholding on a 1099 the whole tax is yours to manage: estimate to Alabama through the year, and file a New Mexico nonresident return for any income from work you physically performed in New Mexico, claiming the credit back on the Alabama return.
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.
New Mexico publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any New Mexico-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 New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department 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 · New MexicoForm PIT-1 with Schedule PIT-B
File a New Mexico nonresident return only if you performed services inside New Mexico. New Mexico publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any New Mexico-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 New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · AlabamaSchedule CR
File the Alabama resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to New Mexico.
The two states, side by side
| Alabama | New Mexico | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 40NR | Form PIT-1 with Schedule PIT-B |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule CR | Form PIT-1 (credit for taxes paid to another state) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Alabama Department of Revenue | New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in New Mexico 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 → New MexicoBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Alabama → New MexicoHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Alabama → New MexicoTwo part-year returns
Other Alabama pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Alabama and my client is in New Mexico. Do I have to file a New Mexico tax return?
Alabama always, New Mexico sometimes. With no withholding on a 1099 the whole tax is yours to manage: estimate to Alabama through the year, and file a New Mexico nonresident return for any income from work you physically performed in New Mexico, claiming the credit back on the Alabama return.
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 New Mexico hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Alabama and New Mexico rules on this page were last checked against Alabama Department of Revenue and New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department 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
- New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07