Mea culpa, let's get the forms open and make sure you also get your credits. You need to file the CA and possibly amend your resident state.

That case, the guy had clients inside CA. You are a 1099 person being paid by CA person so you are subject to the new rules. I am sorry about the previous tag on you.

Let's get you straight. The program should let you do a nonresident and enter the CA income. The first question is what state do you live in?   If the income is taxed in AZ, OR, or VA, those are reverse credit states. Therefore, you would claim a credit in CA for tax paid to your home state on that income. Reverse credit agreements apply to all taxable income, not just wages.

If you don't live in one of those states, then you need to prepare the CA and create a tax liability which becomes a credit to your home state, so you can get a refund.

In the forms mode, windows version, go up on the left of the list of forms and see OPEN FORM. Click on that, then CA, then any forms you want.

Reply back if you need any more help!

Actually, from someone else's question on here, it helped me find a spot on Part II / Column E / Row 12 on the 540NR form to fill in CA amount without using Schedule R that I'd heard about on the FTB website.  (Posting that info in case any else is having trouble figuring out where to enter the CA Source amount.)

And that seems to be working. It seems to let me manually enter the amount of CA Source after tax write offs on the schedule c that apply to that job. (B/c the full amount it shows for 1099 schedule c is also after full deductions which include the home office I used to do the job in GA.) So hopefully that will work.  I owe them so little. And yet I'll have to pay $135 for not filing and who knows what in interest for the past 3 years that will surpass what I originally owed.  I still think states should protest this. But what do I know? 🙂 

You should only be paying full tax on the money once though because other states give you a credit. Thanks for posting what you found. CA can be a reverse credit state that gives you the credit for what you paid your home state. CA taxes and credits based on the other state involved. It is the only one in the country with such peculiar taxing laws. I have been studying CA more intensely thanks to you!