1099 Contractor in Connecticut with a Delaware Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Connecticut always, Delaware sometimes. With no withholding on a 1099 the whole tax is yours to manage: estimate to Connecticut through the year, and file a Delaware nonresident return for any income from work you physically performed in Delaware, claiming the credit back on the Connecticut 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 Delaware is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
Delaware publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Delaware-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 Delaware Division of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Connecticut
Make quarterly estimated payments to Connecticut Department of Revenue Services on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · DelawareForm PIT-NON
File a Delaware nonresident return only if you performed services inside Delaware. Delaware publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Delaware-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 Delaware Division of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · ConnecticutSchedule 2 (Form CT-1040)
File the Connecticut resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Delaware.
The two states, side by side
| Connecticut | Delaware | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | Only against convenience-rule states | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Form CT-1040NR/PY | Form PIT-NON |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule 2 (Form CT-1040) | Schedule I (Form PIT-RES) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Connecticut Department of Revenue Services | Delaware Division of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Delaware and working in Connecticut 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: Connecticut → DelawareBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Connecticut → DelawareConvenience-of-the-employer rule — both states tax you
- Moved mid-year: Connecticut → DelawareTwo part-year returns
Other Connecticut pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Connecticut and my client is in Delaware. Do I have to file a Delaware tax return?
Connecticut always, Delaware sometimes. With no withholding on a 1099 the whole tax is yours to manage: estimate to Connecticut through the year, and file a Delaware nonresident return for any income from work you physically performed in Delaware, claiming the credit back on the Connecticut 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 Connecticut and Delaware hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Connecticut and Delaware rules on this page were last checked against Connecticut Department of Revenue Services and Delaware Division 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.
- Connecticut Department of Revenue Services — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Delaware Division of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07