Do I have to file taxes in two states if I moved?
Moved states last year? You probably file a part-year return in each state, but only if both states have income tax. Move to Florida or Texas, and you file just one. Here's exactly how part-year returns work, how to split income, and the remote worker trap most people miss.
If you moved from one income-tax state to another, yes, you generally file a part-year resident return in each state. If you moved to a state with no income tax, you file a part-year return only in the state you left. Your federal return stays the same either way: one Form 1040 covering all income for the full year.
The answer gets more complicated if you work remotely for an employer in your old state, if you moved abroad without formally changing your domicile, or if you moved more than once during the year. This guide covers all of those situations.
Moving between two income-tax states means filing a part-year return in each one. Each state taxes only the income earned while you lived there. The move date is the pivot; everything before it belongs to the old state, everything on or after it belongs to the new state. Your W-2 may show withholding for the wrong state; that is common and corrected through the part-year return allocation. If you moved to a no-income-tax state (Florida, Texas, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Washington, Tennessee, New Hampshire), file only in the state you left. Remote workers whose employers are based in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Nebraska face additional exposure under the "convenience of the employer" doctrine even after moving. Moving abroad without formally changing domicile may not end your old state's tax claim.
The short answer: it depends on which states you moved between
Three scenarios cover most situations:
- Moved between two states that both have income tax: yes, you file a part-year resident return in both. Each state taxes the income you earned while you were a resident there. If you moved from Illinois to Virginia on June 1, Illinois gets January through May 31, and Virginia gets June 1 through December 31.
- Moved from an income-tax state to a no-income-tax state: you file a part-year return only in the state you left, covering the period you lived there. No state return is required in Florida, Texas, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Washington, Tennessee, or New Hampshire for 2026. If you moved from California to Florida on April 1, you file a California part-year return for January through March 31. No Florida return.
- Moved from a no-income-tax state to an income-tax state: file a part-year return only in the new state, covering the period after you arrived. No return for the state you left.
In all three scenarios, your federal return is unchanged. You file one Form 1040 reporting all income for the full year. The state returns are separate from and in addition to the federal return.
Stickiest states for US citizens
| Your Move | Old State Return | New State Return | Total Returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income-tax state → income-tax state | Part-year return for the period you lived there | Part-year return for the period you lived there | 2 state returns + 1 federal return |
|
Income-tax state → no-income-tax state
FL, TX, NV, SD, WY, AK, WA, TN, NH
|
Part-year return for the period you lived there | No return required | 1 state return + 1 federal return |
| No-income-tax state → income-tax state | No return required | Part-year return for the period you lived there | 1 state return + 1 federal return |
| Moved abroad — domicile properly changed | Part-year return for the period you lived there | No U.S. state return | 1 state return + 1 federal return |
| Moved abroad — domicile not changed | Likely full-year resident return | No U.S. state return | 1 state return + 1 federal return, but the state return is full-year rather than part-year |
What a part-year resident return is and how it works
A part-year resident return is a state income tax return filed for the portion of the year you lived in that state. Most states use the same return form as a full-year resident with a part-year election box or a separate part-year schedule. The form asks for your residency start and end dates, which determine which income gets reported on that return.
The move date is the pivot point. It splits the tax year into two residency periods. Getting the date right matters because it determines how income is allocated between states and can affect how much each state claims.
What counts as the move date is the day you established residency in the new state: typically the day you arrived and began living there with the intent to make it your permanent home. Not the day your furniture arrived. Not the day you updated your driver's license. The day you moved in.
The two part-year returns together should account for all your income for the year without overlap. If the allocation is done correctly, neither state taxes the same income twice.
How to allocate income between the two states
Wages and salary
Wages are sourced to the state where the work was physically performed. If you worked in Illinois from January through May and in Virginia from June through December, Illinois gets the January through May wages and Virginia gets the June through December wages. This is straightforward when you relocated your physical workplace along with your home.
The W-2 problem
Your employer's payroll system follows pay periods, not your exact move date. Payroll systems follow pay periods, not your exact move date. You'll allocate income to the correct state on your part-year returns regardless of what the W-2 shows. If your W-2 shows all withholding in the wrong state, you may receive a refund from one state and owe the other. This is expected and correct, the W-2 does not control the allocation.
After moving, update your state withholding with your employer by submitting a new withholding form for the new state. This prevents the same mismatch from appearing on next year's W-2.
How to stop state tax withholding when you move abroad
Investment income, dividends, and interest
Income from interest, dividends, and pensions is usually considered to be from your state of residence. A dividend payment received while you lived in Illinois goes to Illinois. A dividend received after you moved to Virginia goes to Virginia. Track which payments arrived before and after the move date.
Self-employment income
Allocated based on where the work was performed, same as wages. If you performed services in both states during their respective residency periods, track which work happened where. Estimated tax payments may need to be adjusted to reflect the new state's requirements.
Pension, Social Security, and retirement income
Generally allocated to the state of residence at the time of receipt. Some states exempt Social Security entirely. The exemption follows whichever state you lived in when the payment arrived.
The credit for taxes paid to another state
If the same income gets taxed by both states, a credit prevents true double taxation. Most states allow a resident taxpayer to claim a credit for income taxes paid to another state on the same income. Claim a credit for taxes paid to the other state on one state's return, usually your new state. This prevents double taxation on the same income.
The credit is typically the lower of what you paid to the other state or what you would have owed your home state on the same income.
This most commonly applies when you earn income sourced to your old state after moving — rental income from a property still located there, or wages from work you physically performed in the old state during a visit. The old state claims that income as source income; the new state may give you a credit so you're not paying both.
The remote worker complication
Moving to a new state does not automatically end your old state's claim on your wages if your employer remains based there.
If you work remotely for an employer in a different state than where you live, some states may still tax that income under "convenience of the employer" rules. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska are common examples.
New York is the most aggressive. If you work remotely for a New York employer from your new home in Florida or Texas, New York may tax your full salary as New York-source income regardless of where you physically sit. The rule applies when you choose to work remotely for your own convenience rather than because your employer required it.
The practical impact: if you moved to Florida, which has no income tax, you receive no credit offset for the New York tax. New York taxes income, and Florida has no mechanism to reduce that tax. This can result in a full New York tax bill on wages earned while physically sitting in Florida.
The available options are limited. Your employer can establish a legitimate remote work requirement based on business need rather than employee convenience. Or you can factor this exposure into your financial planning as you evaluate the move. This is not a new rule, and it is actively enforced.
How to leave New York residency
If you moved abroad: when state taxes still apply
Moving to another country does not automatically end your old state's tax claim. If you move internationally and own no property in the US, you won't have to file state taxes. But that assumes you have cleanly ended your old-state residency. Most people have not.
If you never formally changed your domicile, still have an old-state driver's licence, still vote in old-state elections, still have financial records pointing there, the old state may still consider you a full-year resident and tax your worldwide income. Filing a part-year return only works when domicile was properly changed.
For the year of the move, the correct approach when domicile was properly changed is to file as a part-year resident for the months you lived in the state, and as a nonresident (or no return at all) for the rest of the year.
The practical steps are the same as for any state exit: file a Declaration of Domicile in a new state, obtain a driver's license there, update voter registration, and ensure all financial and government records reflect the new state. Without these steps, the old state's claim persists regardless of where you physically live.
State taxes and federal taxes are separate questions for expats. The FEIE and Foreign Tax Credit reduce federal tax on foreign income. They do not reduce old-state tax obligations if the old state still considers you a resident.
Do I owe state income tax if I live abroad?
Florida residency requirements for tax purposes
Practical steps: what to actually do
- Document your move date. The exact date you established residency in the new state. Keep evidence: lease start date, utility connection date, hotel or Airbnb confirmation if you arrived before the lease began. The date you can prove matters more than the date you believe it was.
- Gather income by period. Before the move date is the old state's portion. On or after the move date is the new state's portion. Your W-2 may not reflect this correctly, use pay stubs to manually track wages by period if needed.
- File the correct form in each state. Look for the part-year resident designation on each state's standard return. Most tax software handles multi-state returns but verify that the income allocation it calculates matches your actual records.
- Claim the credit for taxes paid to another state if applicable. If both states taxed the same income, check whether your new state offers a credit. Usually entered on a credit schedule attached to the new state's return.
- Update employer withholding. Submit a new state withholding form to payroll reflecting your new state. If you are a remote worker for an employer in a convenience-of-employer state, understand whether that state will continue withholding on your wages and plan accordingly.
- Update government records. File IRS Form 8822 to update your address with the IRS. Update Social Security Administration, passport records, and all financial institutions to the new state address.
How to inform the IRS about a new domicile
Frequently asked questions
What if my W-2 shows withholding only for my old state, even after I moved?
This is common. File part-year returns and allocate income correctly regardless of what the W-2 shows. You will likely get a refund from the old state for over-withheld taxes and owe the new state for under-withheld taxes. Update your employer's payroll records to fix this for the current year.
What if I moved to a state with no income tax?
File a part-year return only in the state you left, covering the period before the move. No state return is required in Florida, Texas, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Washington, Tennessee, or New Hampshire. Florida residency requirements for tax purpose
What if I moved back within the same year?
States treat this as multiple residency periods. You may have three residency periods in the same tax year: old state, new state, old state again. File part-year returns covering each period accurately. This is one of the more complex scenarios, and professional help is worth it.
Do I have to file in a state where I only lived briefly?
Generally yes, if that state has income tax and you earned income there while a resident. Some states have filing thresholds below which no return is required; check the specific state's rules. Very short periods with minimal income may generate near-zero tax, but the filing obligation may still technically exist.
Can two states tax the same income?
They can, but most states provide a credit to prevent it. The credit is claimed on the return for the state with lower priority, usually the new state credits taxes paid to the old state on income the old state sourced there. Stickiest states for US citizens
Do I still owe state taxes if I moved abroad?
Possibly, if you never formally changed your domicile. Moving internationally without taking steps to end your old-state residency leaves the old state's claim intact. Do I owe state income tax if I live abroad?
Conclusion
The year you move, you probably file two state returns: one part-year return for each state that has income tax, covering the portion of the year you lived there. The move date is the pivot. Get it right: allocate income to each period, and claim the credit for income taxed by both states.
If you are a remote worker for an employer in New York or another convenience-of-employer state, moving does not automatically end that state's claim on your wages, plan for this before the move, not after.
If you moved abroad and your old-state domicile remains unresolved, the old state's claim may follow you. Formalizing the change of domicile is what ends it.
SavvyNomad's CPA-access service connects you with cross-border tax professionals who handle multi-state and expat returns.
