1099 Contractor in Alaska with a South Carolina Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
South Carolina 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 South Carolina. If none were, no South Carolina 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 South Carolina taxes nonresidents only on services actually performed inside South Carolina, which for a fully remote contractor is normally nothing.
South Carolina publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any South Carolina-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 South Carolina Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · South CarolinaForm SC1040 with Schedule NR
File a South Carolina nonresident return only for income from services you physically performed in South Carolina. Alaska does not tax wage or self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Alaska | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form SC1040 with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form SC1040TC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division | South Carolina Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in South Carolina 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 → South CarolinaWork state only
- Remote worker: Alaska → South CarolinaNo state income tax on your wages
- Moved mid-year: Alaska → South CarolinaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Alaska pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Alaska and my client is in South Carolina. Do I have to file a South Carolina tax return?
South Carolina 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 South Carolina. If none were, no South Carolina 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 South Carolina hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Alaska and South Carolina rules on this page were last checked against Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division and South Carolina 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
- South Carolina Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07