1099 Contractor in Pennsylvania with a New York 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 New York to work and that portion becomes New York-source, needing a New York 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 New York is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
New York publishes no de minimis exemption from the nonresident return. There is a separate 14-day rule that relieves an employer from withholding for a nonresident expected to work 14 days or fewer in New York during the year — but that is a withholding convenience for the employer, not a filing exemption for the employee.
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 · New YorkForm IT-203
File a New York nonresident return only if you performed services inside New York. New York publishes no de minimis exemption from the nonresident return. There is a separate 14-day rule that relieves an employer from withholding for a nonresident expected to work 14 days or fewer in New York during the year — but that is a withholding convenience for the employer, not a filing exemption for the employee.
- 3Resident return · PennsylvaniaSchedule G-L
File the Pennsylvania resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to New York.
The two states, side by side
| Pennsylvania | New York | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 6 (Form REV-419) | None |
| Convenience rule | Yes — general rule | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Form PA-40 (nonresident) | Form IT-203 |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule G-L | Form IT-112-R |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue department | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue | New York State Department of Taxation and Finance |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in New York 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 → New YorkBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Pennsylvania → New YorkConvenience-of-the-employer rule — both states tax you
- Moved mid-year: Pennsylvania → New YorkTwo part-year returns
Other Pennsylvania pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Pennsylvania and my client is in New York. Do I have to file a New York 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 New York to work and that portion becomes New York-source, needing a New York 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 New York hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Pennsylvania and New York rules on this page were last checked against Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance 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
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07