1099 Contractor in Colorado with a Florida Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Colorado gets it, Florida cannot. A 1099 has no withholding, so the money arrives whole and the tax is yours to pay in instalments. Florida has no wage or income tax to apply to a nonresident contractor, and Colorado taxes residents on everything they earn.
Last verified
Self-employment income from personal services is sourced to the place where the services are performed. You perform them in Colorado; Florida would have no claim even if it levied an income tax, which it does not.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Colorado
Make quarterly estimated payments to Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Resident return · Colorado
File a Colorado resident return reporting your full self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Colorado | Florida | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form DR 0104 with Schedule DR 0104PN | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form DR 0104CR | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division | Florida Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Florida and working in Colorado 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: Colorado → FloridaHome state only
- Remote worker: Colorado → FloridaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Colorado → FloridaOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Colorado pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Colorado and my client is in Florida. Do I have to file a Florida tax return?
Colorado gets it, Florida cannot. A 1099 has no withholding, so the money arrives whole and the tax is yours to pay in instalments. Florida has no wage or income tax to apply to a nonresident contractor, and Colorado taxes residents on everything they earn.
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 Colorado and Florida hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Colorado and Florida rules on this page were last checked against Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division and Florida 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.
- Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Florida Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07