1099 Contractor in California with a Texas Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
One state, paid quarterly. Your services are performed in California, which makes the income California-source and California-taxed; Texas taxes no personal income at all. Set aside for California estimated payments — no client withholds anything for you.
Last verified
Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so the tax that a W-2 employee never sees is money you are holding on someone else's behalf. In this pairing all of it belongs to California, and none of it to Texas.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · California
Make quarterly estimated payments to California Franchise Tax Board — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Resident return · California
File a California resident return reporting your full self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| California | Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 540NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule S | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | California Franchise Tax Board | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Texas and working in California gives:Client state only, 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: California → TexasHome state only
- Remote worker: California → TexasHome state only
- Moved mid-year: California → TexasOne part-year return — the state you left
Other California pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in California and my client is in Texas. Do I have to file a Texas tax return?
One state, paid quarterly. Your services are performed in California, which makes the income California-source and California-taxed; Texas taxes no personal income at all. Set aside for California estimated payments — no client withholds anything for you.
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 California and Texas hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The California and Texas rules on this page were last checked against California Franchise Tax Board and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts 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.
- California Franchise Tax Board — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07