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1099 Contractor in Rhode Island with a Indiana Client: Where Do You File?

Home state, plus the client state if you work thereNo withholding — 1099

Answer

Rhode Island taxes all of it; Indiana taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Rhode Island quarterly. A Indiana client alone creates no Indiana filing obligation — performing services inside Indiana does, and Rhode Island 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 Indiana is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.

Indiana publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Indiana-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 Indiana Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.

What you file

  1. 1Quarterly estimated payments · Rhode Island

    Make quarterly estimated payments to Rhode Island Division of Taxation on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.

  2. 2Nonresident return · IndianaForm IT-40PNR

    File a Indiana nonresident return only if you performed services inside Indiana. Indiana publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Indiana-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 Indiana Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.

  3. 3Resident return · Rhode IslandForm RI-1040NR Schedule II

    File the Rhode Island resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Indiana.

The two states, side by side

 Rhode IslandIndiana
Taxes wagesYes — graduatedYes — flat
Reciprocity partnersNone5 (Form WH-47)
Convenience ruleNoNo
Nonresident returnForm RI-1040NRForm IT-40PNR
Credit for other-state taxForm RI-1040NR Schedule IISchedule 6 (Form IT-40PNR)
Nonresident safe harbourNone publishedNone published
Local income taxNoYes
Revenue departmentRhode Island Division of TaxationIndiana Department of Revenue
Last verified

The other direction

Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Indiana and working in Rhode Island gives:Home state, plus the client state if you work there.

Indiana to Rhode Island →

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.

Other Rhode Island pairs

Questions people actually ask

I live in Rhode Island and my client is in Indiana. Do I have to file a Indiana tax return?

Rhode Island taxes all of it; Indiana taxes only what you earn on its soil. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so you pay Rhode Island quarterly. A Indiana client alone creates no Indiana filing obligation — performing services inside Indiana does, and Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island and Indiana hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.

How current is this?

The Rhode Island and Indiana rules on this page were last checked against Rhode Island Division of Taxation and Indiana 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.