1099 Contractor in Pennsylvania with a Alaska Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Pennsylvania only. Nothing about invoicing a Alaska client changes where your work is performed, and Alaska has no income tax in any event — so the whole obligation is Pennsylvania estimated payments during the year and a Pennsylvania resident return at the end of it.
Last verified
Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so the tax that a W-2 employee never sees is money you are holding on someone else's behalf. In this pairing all of it belongs to Pennsylvania, and none of it to Alaska.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Pennsylvania
Make quarterly estimated payments to Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Resident return · Pennsylvania
File a Pennsylvania resident return reporting your full self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Pennsylvania | Alaska | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | No |
| Reciprocity partners | 6 (Form REV-419) | None |
| Convenience rule | Yes — general rule | No |
| Nonresident return | Form PA-40 (nonresident) | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule G-L | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue | Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Alaska and working in Pennsylvania gives:Client state only, 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: Pennsylvania → AlaskaHome state only
- Remote worker: Pennsylvania → AlaskaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Pennsylvania → AlaskaOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Pennsylvania pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Pennsylvania and my client is in Alaska. Do I have to file a Alaska tax return?
Pennsylvania only. Nothing about invoicing a Alaska client changes where your work is performed, and Alaska has no income tax in any event — so the whole obligation is Pennsylvania estimated payments during the year and a Pennsylvania resident return at the end of it.
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 Pennsylvania and Alaska hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Pennsylvania and Alaska rules on this page were last checked against Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and Alaska Department of Revenue — 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.
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania — Form REV-419accessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Guide — Income Subject to Tax Withholdingaccessed 2026-08-07
- Alaska Department of Revenue — Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07