1099 Contractor in Tennessee with a Hawaii Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Hawaii only, and only for on-site work. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, and Tennessee levies no income tax, so the single question is whether any of the services were performed in Hawaii. If none were, no Hawaii nonresident return is required.
Last verified
The most common contractor worry — that invoicing an out-of-state client creates a filing obligation there — is usually unfounded. What creates the obligation is physical presence, and Tennessee residents have no home-state return in any case.
Hawaii publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Hawaii-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 Hawaii Department of Taxation nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · HawaiiForm N-15
File a Hawaii nonresident return only for income from services you physically performed in Hawaii. Tennessee does not tax wage or self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Tennessee | Hawaii | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form N-15 |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule CR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Tennessee Department of Revenue | Hawaii Department of Taxation |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Hawaii and working in Tennessee 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: Tennessee → HawaiiWork state only
- Remote worker: Tennessee → HawaiiNo state income tax on your wages
- Moved mid-year: Tennessee → HawaiiOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Tennessee pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Tennessee and my client is in Hawaii. Do I have to file a Hawaii tax return?
Hawaii only, and only for on-site work. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, and Tennessee levies no income tax, so the single question is whether any of the services were performed in Hawaii. If none were, no Hawaii nonresident return is required.
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 Tennessee and Hawaii hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Tennessee and Hawaii rules on this page were last checked against Tennessee Department of Revenue and Hawaii Department of Taxation 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.
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Hawaii Department of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07