1099 Contractor in Vermont with a Washington Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
The client's state is irrelevant here twice over. Washington does not tax personal income, and even if it did, a client's mailing address does not by itself source your income to that state. Vermont taxes the profit as resident income.
Last verified
Nothing is withheld from a 1099, so the tax that a W-2 employee never sees is money you are holding on someone else's behalf. In this pairing all of it belongs to Vermont, and none of it to Washington.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Vermont
Make quarterly estimated payments to Vermont Department of Taxes — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Resident return · Vermont
File a Vermont resident return reporting your full self-employment income.
The two states, side by side
| Vermont | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IN-111 with Schedule IN-113 | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule IN-117 | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Vermont Department of Taxes | Washington State Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Washington and working in Vermont gives:Client state only, 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: Vermont → WashingtonHome state only
- Remote worker: Vermont → WashingtonHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Vermont → WashingtonOne part-year return — the state you left
Other Vermont pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Vermont and my client is in Washington. Do I have to file a Washington tax return?
The client's state is irrelevant here twice over. Washington does not tax personal income, and even if it did, a client's mailing address does not by itself source your income to that state. Vermont taxes the profit as resident income.
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 Vermont and Washington hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Vermont and Washington rules on this page were last checked against Vermont Department of Taxes and Washington State 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.
- Vermont Department of Taxes — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07