I'm an American Expat living and domiciled overseas. I received a 1099-NEC for contract work I do for a US company.

[zumms]

The employer filed a 1099 to NJ as the state, as this was my previous residence from many years ago.

In previous years he had left this section blank.  

Do I need to now file state taxes for NJ even though I did all of the work overseas?  

[MinhT1]

If there is no state tax withheld on form 1099-NEC (box 5 is blank or 0), then you can leave all 3 boxes 5,6, and 7 blank, and no state tax return is required.

If box 5 shows a positive amount, then state tax has been withheld and you need to file a nonresident state tax return to obtain a refund of state tax withheld.

[zumms]

In the 1099-NEC that the employer filled in and sent me, box 5 is blank however blank 6 and 7 are filled in with the state of NJ and the amount in box 7.   I've asked if he can remove those, but he says that he can't remove NJ as a correction, he can only change the state to another state.   He says that the form also doesn't comprehend changing an address from a US address to an overseas one.  What would you advise?

[KrisD15]

No, since you are not a resident of New Jersey, you needn't worry about it. 

[zumms]

My concern is that box 7 was filled in by my employer.  If he had sent the form to the state he indicated in box 6, then will the state (NJ) be expecting me to file state taxes?  

[AmyC]

Two possibilities:

One - the income is actually taxable in New Jersey because you are doing work that is sourced in NJ. See Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents - NJ.gov. Source income rules have been changing constantly since COVID.

Two  -You can ask the employer for a corrected form that does not show state income.

If neither of these will work, keep really good records so you can rebut any future collection efforts.