1099 Contractor in Alaska with a Alabama Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Alabama only, and only for on-site work. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, and Alaska levies no income tax, so the single question is whether any of the services were performed in Alabama. If none were, no Alabama nonresident return is required.
Last verified
Two things make this pairing simple. Alaska levies no personal income tax, so there is no resident return; and Alabama taxes nonresidents only on services actually performed inside Alabama, which for a fully remote contractor is normally nothing.
Alabama publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Alabama-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 Alabama Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · AlabamaForm 40NR
File a Alabama nonresident return only for income from services you physically performed in Alabama. Alaska does not tax wage or self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Alaska | Alabama | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form 40NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule CR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division | Alabama Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Alabama and working in Alaska gives:Home state only — estimated payments.
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: Alaska → AlabamaWork state only
- Remote worker: Alaska → AlabamaNo state income tax on your wages
- Moved mid-year: Alaska → AlabamaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Alaska pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Alaska and my client is in Alabama. Do I have to file a Alabama tax return?
Alabama only, and only for on-site work. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, and Alaska levies no income tax, so the single question is whether any of the services were performed in Alabama. If none were, no Alabama nonresident return is required.
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 Alaska and Alabama hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Alaska and Alabama rules on this page were last checked against Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division and Alabama 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.
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Alabama Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07