1099 Contractor in Montana with a North Dakota Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
The client's location does not decide this. Self-employment income from personal services is sourced to where the work happens, so working from Montana keeps it Montana-source and Montana-taxed. Travel to North Dakota to work and that portion becomes North Dakota-source, needing a North Dakota nonresident return.
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 North Dakota is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
North Dakota publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any North Dakota-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 North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Montana
Make quarterly estimated payments to Montana Department of Revenue on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · North DakotaForm ND-1 with Schedule ND-1NR
File a North Dakota nonresident return only if you performed services inside North Dakota. North Dakota publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any North Dakota-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 North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · MontanaForm 2 (credit for income tax paid to another state)
File the Montana resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to North Dakota.
The two states, side by side
| Montana | North Dakota | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 1 (Form MW-4) | 2 (Form NDW-R) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule | Form ND-1 with Schedule ND-1NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 2 (credit for income tax paid to another state) | Schedule ND-1CR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Montana Department of Revenue | North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in North Dakota and working in Montana 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: Montana → North DakotaReciprocal agreement — file the exemption form
- Remote worker: Montana → North DakotaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Montana → North DakotaTwo part-year returns
Other Montana pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Montana and my client is in North Dakota. Do I have to file a North Dakota tax return?
The client's location does not decide this. Self-employment income from personal services is sourced to where the work happens, so working from Montana keeps it Montana-source and Montana-taxed. Travel to North Dakota to work and that portion becomes North Dakota-source, needing a North Dakota nonresident return.
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 Montana and North Dakota hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Montana and North Dakota rules on this page were last checked against Montana Department of Revenue and North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner 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.
- Montana Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07