1099 Contractor in Arkansas with a Michigan Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Pay Arkansas by instalments, and watch your Michigan days. Reciprocity agreements do not help here: every one of them covers wage withholding, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off. Arkansas taxes the full profit, Michigan taxes the on-site share, and the Arkansas credit reconciles them.
Last verified
The client's location is the wrong thing to track. What matters is where you were sitting when you did the work — which is why a contractor's exposure to Michigan is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
Michigan publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Michigan-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 Michigan Department of Treasury nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Arkansas
Make quarterly estimated payments to Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · MichiganForm MI-1040 with Schedule NR
File a Michigan nonresident return only if you performed services inside Michigan. Michigan publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Michigan-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 Michigan Department of Treasury nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · ArkansasForm AR1000TC
File the Arkansas resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Michigan.
The two states, side by side
| Arkansas | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 6 (Form MI-W4) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form AR1000NR | Form MI-1040 with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form AR1000TC | Form MI-1040 (credit for income tax imposed by another state) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration | Michigan Department of Treasury |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Michigan and working in Arkansas 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: Arkansas → MichiganBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Arkansas → MichiganHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Arkansas → MichiganTwo part-year returns
Other Arkansas pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Arkansas and my client is in Michigan. Do I have to file a Michigan tax return?
Pay Arkansas by instalments, and watch your Michigan days. Reciprocity agreements do not help here: every one of them covers wage withholding, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off. Arkansas taxes the full profit, Michigan taxes the on-site share, and the Arkansas credit reconciles them.
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 Arkansas and Michigan hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Arkansas and Michigan rules on this page were last checked against Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration and Michigan Department of Treasury 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.
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Michigan Department of Treasury — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07