1099 Contractor in South Carolina with a West Virginia 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 South Carolina keeps it South Carolina-source and South Carolina-taxed. Travel to West Virginia to work and that portion becomes West Virginia-source, needing a West Virginia 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 West Virginia is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
West Virginia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any West Virginia-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 West Virginia Tax Division nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · South Carolina
Make quarterly estimated payments to South Carolina Department of Revenue on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · West VirginiaForm IT-140 with Schedule A
File a West Virginia nonresident return only if you performed services inside West Virginia. West Virginia publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any West Virginia-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 West Virginia Tax Division nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · South CarolinaForm SC1040TC
File the South Carolina resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to West Virginia.
The two states, side by side
| South Carolina | West Virginia | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 5 (Form WV/IT-104) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form SC1040 with Schedule NR | Form IT-140 with Schedule A |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form SC1040TC | Schedule E (Form IT-140) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | South Carolina Department of Revenue | West Virginia Tax Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in West Virginia and working in South Carolina 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: South Carolina → West VirginiaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: South Carolina → West VirginiaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: South Carolina → West VirginiaTwo part-year returns
Other South Carolina pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in South Carolina and my client is in West Virginia. Do I have to file a West Virginia 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 South Carolina keeps it South Carolina-source and South Carolina-taxed. Travel to West Virginia to work and that portion becomes West Virginia-source, needing a West Virginia 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 South Carolina and West Virginia hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The South Carolina and West Virginia rules on this page were last checked against South Carolina Department of Revenue and West Virginia 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.
- South Carolina Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- West Virginia Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07