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1099 Contractor in Illinois with a Maine Client: Where Do You File?

Home state, plus the client state if you work thereNo withholding — 1099

Answer

Pay Illinois by instalments, and watch your Maine days. Reciprocity agreements do not help here: every one of them covers wage withholding, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off. Illinois taxes the full profit, Maine taxes the on-site share, and the Illinois credit reconciles them.

Last verified

Reciprocity agreements are the first thing contractors ask about and the first thing that does not apply to them. Every agreement in the country is a wage-withholding arrangement, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off.

Maine publishes a genuine de minimis for nonresidents — roughly 12 days of work in the state, alongside a dollar floor — below which the income is not taxed there. Maine publishes a genuine de minimis: a nonresident who performs personal services in Maine on 12 or fewer days AND earns under the published dollar floor from Maine sources owes no Maine tax on those wages. Exceeding either test brings the whole amount into Maine.

What you file

  1. 1Quarterly estimated payments · Illinois

    Make quarterly estimated payments to Illinois Department of Revenue on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.

  2. 2Nonresident return · MaineForm 1040ME with Schedule NR

    File a Maine nonresident return only if you performed services inside Maine. Maine publishes a genuine de minimis: a nonresident who performs personal services in Maine on 12 or fewer days AND earns under the published dollar floor from Maine sources owes no Maine tax on those wages. Exceeding either test brings the whole amount into Maine.

  3. 3Resident return · IllinoisSchedule CR

    File the Illinois resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Maine.

The two states, side by side

 IllinoisMaine
Taxes wagesYes — flatYes — graduated
Reciprocity partners4 (Form IL-W-5-NR)None
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm IL-1040 with Schedule NRForm 1040ME with Schedule NR
Credit for other-state taxSchedule CRForm 1040ME Schedule A
Nonresident safe harbour30 days12 days or a dollar floor
Local income taxNoNo
Revenue departmentIllinois Department of RevenueMaine Revenue Services
Last verified

The other direction

Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Maine and working in Illinois gives:Home state, plus the client state if you work there.

Maine to Illinois →

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.

Other Illinois pairs

Questions people actually ask

I live in Illinois and my client is in Maine. Do I have to file a Maine tax return?

Pay Illinois by instalments, and watch your Maine days. Reciprocity agreements do not help here: every one of them covers wage withholding, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off. Illinois taxes the full profit, Maine taxes the on-site share, and the Illinois credit reconciles them.

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 Illinois and Maine hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.

How current is this?

The Illinois and Maine rules on this page were last checked against Illinois Department of Revenue and Maine 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.