1099 Contractor in Pennsylvania with a Maryland 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 Pennsylvania keeps it Pennsylvania-source and Pennsylvania-taxed. Travel to Maryland to work and that portion becomes Maryland-source, needing a Maryland 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 Maryland is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
Maryland publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Maryland-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 Comptroller of Maryland nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Pennsylvania
Make quarterly estimated payments to Pennsylvania Department of Revenue on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · MarylandForm 505 with Form 505NR
File a Maryland nonresident return only if you performed services inside Maryland. Maryland publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Maryland-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 Comptroller of Maryland nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · PennsylvaniaSchedule G-L
File the Pennsylvania resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Maryland.
The two states, side by side
| Pennsylvania | Maryland | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 6 (Form REV-419) | 4 (Form MW507) |
| Convenience rule | Yes — general rule | No |
| Nonresident return | Form PA-40 (nonresident) | Form 505 with Form 505NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule G-L | Form 502CR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue department | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue | Comptroller of Maryland |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Maryland and working in Pennsylvania 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: Pennsylvania → MarylandReciprocal agreement — file the exemption form
- Remote worker: Pennsylvania → MarylandHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Pennsylvania → MarylandTwo part-year returns
Other Pennsylvania pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Pennsylvania and my client is in Maryland. Do I have to file a Maryland 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 Pennsylvania keeps it Pennsylvania-source and Pennsylvania-taxed. Travel to Maryland to work and that portion becomes Maryland-source, needing a Maryland 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 Pennsylvania and Maryland hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Pennsylvania and Maryland rules on this page were last checked against Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and Comptroller of Maryland 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
- Comptroller of Maryland — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Maryland — Form MW507accessed 2026-08-07