1099 Contractor in Texas with a Pennsylvania Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Pennsylvania only, and only for on-site work. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, and Texas levies no income tax, so the single question is whether any of the services were performed in Pennsylvania. If none were, no Pennsylvania 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 Texas residents have no home-state return in any case.
Pennsylvania publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Pennsylvania-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 Pennsylvania Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Nonresident return · PennsylvaniaForm PA-40 (nonresident)
File a Pennsylvania nonresident return only for income from services you physically performed in Pennsylvania. Texas does not tax wage or self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Texas | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 6 (Form REV-419) |
| Convenience rule | No | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form PA-40 (nonresident) |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule G-L |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Pennsylvania 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 → PennsylvaniaWork state only
- Remote worker: Texas → PennsylvaniaConvenience-of-the-employer rule — employer state taxes you
- Moved mid-year: Texas → PennsylvaniaOne part-year return — the state you moved to
Other Texas pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Texas and my client is in Pennsylvania. Do I have to file a Pennsylvania tax return?
Pennsylvania only, and only for on-site work. Nothing is withheld from a 1099, and Texas levies no income tax, so the single question is whether any of the services were performed in Pennsylvania. If none were, no Pennsylvania 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 Texas and Pennsylvania hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Texas and Pennsylvania rules on this page were last checked against Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and Pennsylvania 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.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania — Form REV-419accessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Guide — Income Subject to Tax Withholdingaccessed 2026-08-07