1099 Contractor in Delaware with a Washington Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Delaware gets it, Washington cannot. A 1099 has no withholding, so the money arrives whole and the tax is yours to pay in instalments. Washington has no wage or income tax to apply to a nonresident contractor, and Delaware taxes residents on everything they earn.
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 Delaware, and none of it to Washington.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Delaware
Make quarterly estimated payments to Delaware Division of Revenue — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Resident return · Delaware
File a Delaware resident return reporting your full self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Delaware | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | Yes — general rule | No |
| Nonresident return | Form PIT-NON | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule I (Form PIT-RES) | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Delaware Division of Revenue | Washington State Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Washington and working in Delaware 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: Delaware → WashingtonHome state only
- Remote worker: Delaware → WashingtonHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Delaware → WashingtonOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Delaware pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Delaware and my client is in Washington. Do I have to file a Washington tax return?
Delaware gets it, Washington cannot. A 1099 has no withholding, so the money arrives whole and the tax is yours to pay in instalments. Washington has no wage or income tax to apply to a nonresident contractor, and Delaware 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 Delaware and Washington hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Delaware and Washington rules on this page were last checked against Delaware Division of Revenue and Washington State 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.
- Delaware Division of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07