1099 Contractor in Texas with a Maine Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
One state at most. Texas does not tax earned income; Maine does, but only what is sourced to Maine. For a contractor working entirely from Texas, that source amount is normally zero regardless of where the invoices are sent.
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 Texas residents have no home-state return in any case.
Maine publishes a genuine de minimis for nonresidents — roughly 12 days of work in the state, alongside a dollar floor — below which the income is not taxed there. Maine publishes a genuine de minimis: a nonresident who performs personal services in Maine on 12 or fewer days AND earns under the published dollar floor from Maine sources owes no Maine tax on those wages. Exceeding either test brings the whole amount into Maine.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · MaineForm 1040ME with Schedule NR
File a Maine nonresident return only for income from services you physically performed in Maine. Texas does not tax wage or self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Texas | Maine | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form 1040ME with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form 1040ME Schedule A |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | 12 days or a dollar floor |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts | Maine Revenue Services |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Maine and working in Texas 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: Texas → MaineWork state only
- Remote worker: Texas → MaineNo state income tax on your wages
- Moved mid-year: Texas → MaineOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Texas pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Texas and my client is in Maine. Do I have to file a Maine tax return?
One state at most. Texas does not tax earned income; Maine does, but only what is sourced to Maine. For a contractor working entirely from Texas, that source amount is normally zero regardless of where the invoices are sent.
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 Texas and Maine hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Texas and Maine rules on this page were last checked against Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and Maine Revenue Services 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.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Maine Revenue Services — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07