1099 Contractor in Colorado with a West Virginia Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Colorado always, West Virginia sometimes. With no withholding on a 1099 the whole tax is yours to manage: estimate to Colorado through the year, and file a West Virginia nonresident return for any income from work you physically performed in West Virginia, claiming the credit back on the Colorado return.
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 West Virginia is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
West Virginia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any West Virginia-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 West Virginia Tax Division nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Colorado
Make quarterly estimated payments to Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · West VirginiaForm IT-140 with Schedule A
File a West Virginia nonresident return only if you performed services inside West Virginia. West Virginia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any West Virginia-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 West Virginia Tax Division nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · ColoradoForm DR 0104CR
File the Colorado resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to West Virginia.
The two states, side by side
| Colorado | West Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 5 (Form WV/IT-104) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form DR 0104 with Schedule DR 0104PN | Form IT-140 with Schedule A |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form DR 0104CR | Schedule E (Form IT-140) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue department | Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division | West Virginia Tax Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in West Virginia and working in Colorado 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: Colorado → West VirginiaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Colorado → West VirginiaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Colorado → West VirginiaTwo part-year returns
Other Colorado pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Colorado and my client is in West Virginia. Do I have to file a West Virginia tax return?
Colorado always, West Virginia sometimes. With no withholding on a 1099 the whole tax is yours to manage: estimate to Colorado through the year, and file a West Virginia nonresident return for any income from work you physically performed in West Virginia, claiming the credit back on the Colorado return.
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 West Virginia hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Colorado and West Virginia rules on this page were last checked against Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division and West Virginia Tax Division 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
- West Virginia Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07