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