1099 Contractor in West Virginia with a Colorado Client: Where Do You File?
Answer
The client's location does not decide this. Self-employment income from personal services is sourced to where the work happens, so working from West Virginia keeps it West Virginia-source and West Virginia-taxed. Travel to Colorado to work and that portion becomes Colorado-source, needing a Colorado nonresident return.
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 Colorado is measured in days on the ground rather than in invoices sent.
Colorado publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Colorado-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 Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division nonresident instructions before filing.
What you file
- 1Quarterly estimated payments · West Virginia
Make quarterly estimated payments to West Virginia Tax Division on your full self-employment income — nothing is withheld from a 1099.
- 2Nonresident return · ColoradoForm DR 0104 with Schedule DR 0104PN
File a Colorado nonresident return only if you performed services inside Colorado. Colorado publishes no de minimis day count or dollar floor for nonresidents. Any Colorado-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 Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division nonresident instructions before filing.
- 3Resident return · West VirginiaSchedule E (Form IT-140)
File the West Virginia resident return last and claim the credit for any tax paid to Colorado.
The two states, side by side
| West Virginia | Colorado | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | 5 (Form WV/IT-104) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IT-140 with Schedule A | Form DR 0104 with Schedule DR 0104PN |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule E (Form IT-140) | Form DR 0104CR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue department | West Virginia Tax Division | Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Colorado and working in West 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: West Virginia → ColoradoBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: West Virginia → ColoradoHome state only
- Moved mid-year: West Virginia → ColoradoTwo part-year returns
Other West Virginia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I live in West Virginia and my client is in Colorado. Do I have to file a Colorado tax return?
The client's location does not decide this. Self-employment income from personal services is sourced to where the work happens, so working from West Virginia keeps it West Virginia-source and West Virginia-taxed. Travel to Colorado to work and that portion becomes Colorado-source, needing a Colorado nonresident return.
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 West Virginia and Colorado hold an agreement makes no difference to a self-employed filer — sourcing rules decide the answer instead.
How current is this?
The West Virginia and Colorado rules on this page were last checked against West Virginia Tax Division and Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division 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.
- West Virginia Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Colorado Department of Revenue — Taxation Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07