1099 Contractor in Virginia with a South Carolina Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
Two possible returns, one certainty. The certainty is Virginia, which taxes residents on all self-employment income and expects quarterly estimated payments. The possibility is South Carolina, which taxes nonresidents on services actually performed inside the state — invoices sent there do not count.
Last verified
The client's location is the wrong thing to track. What matters is where you were sitting when you did the work — which is why a contractor's exposure to South Carolina is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
South Carolina publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any South Carolina-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 South Carolina Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · Virginia
Make quarterly estimated payments to Virginia Department of Taxation on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · South CarolinaForm SC1040 with Schedule NR
File a South Carolina nonresident return only if you performed services inside South Carolina. South Carolina publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any South Carolina-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 South Carolina Department of Revenue nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · VirginiaSchedule OSC
File the Virginia resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to South Carolina.
The two states, side by side
| Virginia | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 5 (Form VA-4) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 763 | Form SC1040 with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule OSC | Form SC1040TC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Virginia Department of Taxation | South Carolina Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in South Carolina and working in Virginia gives:Home state, plus the client state 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: Virginia → South CarolinaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Virginia → South CarolinaHome state only
- Moved mid-year: Virginia → South CarolinaTwo part-year returns
Other Virginia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in Virginia and my client is in South Carolina. Do I have to file a South Carolina tax return?
Two possible returns, one certainty. The certainty is Virginia, which taxes residents on all self-employment income and expects quarterly estimated payments. The possibility is South Carolina, which taxes nonresidents on services actually performed inside the state — invoices sent there do not count.
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 Virginia and South Carolina hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The Virginia and South Carolina rules on this page were last checked against Virginia Department of Taxation and South Carolina 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.
- Virginia Department of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia — Form VA-4accessed 2026-08-07
- Virginia Tax — Reciprocityaccessed 2026-08-07
- South Carolina Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07