1099 Contractor in South Dakota with a Arkansas Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Usually nothing is due anywhere. As a South Dakota resident you file no state return, and Arkansas reaches only the part of your self-employment income that comes from work physically done inside Arkansas. Keep a record of any days you spend working on Arkansas soil.
Last verified
Two things make this pairing simple. South Dakota levies no personal income tax, so there is no resident return; and Arkansas taxes nonresidents only on services actually performed inside Arkansas, which for a fully remote contractor is normally nothing.
Arkansas publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Arkansas-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 Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · ArkansasForm AR1000NR
File a Arkansas nonresident return only for income from services you physically performed in Arkansas. South Dakota does not tax wage or self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| South Dakota | Arkansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form AR1000NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form AR1000TC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | South Dakota Department of Revenue | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Arkansas and working in South Dakota gives:Home state only — estimated payments.
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 Dakota → ArkansasWork state only
- Remote worker: South Dakota → ArkansasNo state income tax on your wages
- Moved mid-year: South Dakota → ArkansasOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other South Dakota pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in South Dakota and my client is in Arkansas. Do I have to file a Arkansas tax return?
Usually nothing is due anywhere. As a South Dakota resident you file no state return, and Arkansas reaches only the part of your self-employment income that comes from work physically done inside Arkansas. Keep a record of any days you spend working on Arkansas soil.
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 Dakota and Arkansas hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The South Dakota and Arkansas rules on this page were last checked against South Dakota Department of Revenue and Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration 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 Dakota Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07