1099 Contractor in Montana with a West Virginia Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Montana taxes all of it; West Virginia taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Montana quarterly. A West Virginia client alone creates no West Virginia filing obligation — performing services inside West Virginia does, and Montana then credits that tax.
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.
West Virginia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any West Virginia-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 West Virginia Tax Division 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 · West VirginiaForm IT-140 with Schedule A
File a West Virginia nonresident return only if you performed services inside West Virginia. West Virginia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any West Virginia-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 West Virginia Tax Division 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 West Virginia.
The two states, side by side
| Montana | West Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 1 (Form MW-4) | 5 (Form WV/IT-104) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule | Form IT-140 with Schedule A |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 2 (credit for income tax paid to another state) | Schedule E (Form IT-140) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Montana Department of Revenue | West Virginia Tax Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in West Virginia 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 → West VirginiaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Montana → West VirginiaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Montana → West VirginiaTwo part-year returns
Other Montana pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Montana and my client is in West Virginia. Do I have to file a West Virginia tax return?
Montana taxes all of it; West Virginia taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Montana quarterly. A West Virginia client alone creates no West Virginia filing obligation — performing services inside West Virginia does, and Montana 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 Montana and West Virginia hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Montana and West Virginia rules on this page were last checked against Montana Department of Revenue and West Virginia Tax Division 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
- West Virginia Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07