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1099 Contractor in Maryland with a Arkansas Client: Where Do You File?

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

Answer

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

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 Arkansas is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.

Arkansas publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Arkansas-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 Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration nonresident instructions before filing.

What you file

  1. 1Quarterly estimated payments · Maryland

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

  2. 2Nonresident return · ArkansasForm AR1000NR

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

  3. 3Resident return · MarylandForm 502CR

    File the Maryland resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Arkansas.

The two states, side by side

 MarylandArkansas
Taxes wagesYes — graduatedYes — graduated
Reciprocity partners4 (Form MW507)None
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm 505 with Form 505NRForm AR1000NR
Credit for other-state taxForm 502CRForm AR1000TC
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedNone published
Local income taxYesNo
Revenue departmentComptroller of MarylandArkansas Department of Finance and Administration
Last verified

The other direction

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

Arkansas to Maryland →

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 Maryland pairs

Questions people actually ask

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

Pay Maryland by instalments, and watch your Arkansas days. Reciprocity agreements do not help here: every one of them covers wage withholding, and a 1099 has no withholding to switch off. Maryland taxes the full profit, Arkansas taxes the on-site share, and the Maryland 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 Maryland and Arkansas hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.

How current is this?

The Maryland and Arkansas rules on this page were last checked against Comptroller of Maryland and Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration 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.