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