1099 Contractor in North Dakota with a Rhode Island Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
North Dakota taxes all of it; Rhode Island taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay North Dakota quarterly. A Rhode Island client alone creates no Rhode Island filing obligation — performing services inside Rhode Island does, and North Dakota 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 Rhode Island is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
Rhode Island publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Rhode Island-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 Rhode Island Division of Taxation 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 · Rhode IslandForm RI-1040NR
File a Rhode Island nonresident return only if you performed services inside Rhode Island. Rhode Island publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Rhode Island-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 Rhode Island Division of Taxation 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 Rhode Island.
The two states, side by side
| North Dakota | Rhode Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 2 (Form NDW-R) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form ND-1 with Schedule ND-1NR | Form RI-1040NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule ND-1CR | Form RI-1040NR Schedule II |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner | Rhode Island Division of Taxation |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Rhode Island 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 → Rhode IslandBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: North Dakota → Rhode IslandHome state only
- Moved mid-year: North Dakota → Rhode IslandTwo part-year returns
Other North Dakota pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in North Dakota and my client is in Rhode Island. Do I have to file a Rhode Island tax return?
North Dakota taxes all of it; Rhode Island taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay North Dakota quarterly. A Rhode Island client alone creates no Rhode Island filing obligation — performing services inside Rhode Island does, and North Dakota 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 North Dakota and Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island rules on this page were last checked against North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner and Rhode Island Division of Taxation 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
- Rhode Island Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07