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1099 Contractor in Indiana with a Michigan Client: Where Do You File?

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

Answer

Indiana taxes all of it; Michigan taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Indiana quarterly. A Michigan client alone creates no Michigan filing obligation — performing services inside Michigan does, and Indiana 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 Michigan is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.

Michigan publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Michigan-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 Michigan Department of Treasury nonresident instructions before filing.

What you file

  1. 1Quarterly estimated payments · Indiana

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

  2. 2Nonresident return · MichiganForm MI-1040 with Schedule NR

    File a Michigan nonresident return only if you performed services inside Michigan. Michigan publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Michigan-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 Michigan Department of Treasury nonresident instructions before filing.

  3. 3Resident return · IndianaSchedule 6 (Form IT-40PNR)

    File the Indiana resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Michigan.

The two states, side by side

 IndianaMichigan
Taxes wagesYes — flatYes — flat
Reciprocity partners5 (Form WH-47)6 (Form MI-W4)
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm IT-40PNRForm MI-1040 with Schedule NR
Credit for other-state taxSchedule 6 (Form IT-40PNR)Form MI-1040 (credit for income tax imposed by another state)
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedNone published
Local income taxYesYes
Revenue departmentIndiana Department of RevenueMichigan Department of Treasury
Last verified

The other direction

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

Michigan to Indiana →

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 Indiana pairs

Questions people actually ask

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

Indiana taxes all of it; Michigan taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Indiana quarterly. A Michigan client alone creates no Michigan filing obligation — performing services inside Michigan does, and Indiana 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 Indiana and Michigan hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.

How current is this?

The Indiana and Michigan rules on this page were last checked against Indiana Department of Revenue and Michigan Department of Treasury 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.