I moved out of a high-tax state like California. How do I prove I'm not a resident anymore?
Short answer
To stop owing tax to a state like California, you need to show you changed your permanent home and that your income is earned outside the state, so keep records like a new lease, driver's license, voter registration and travel logs.
Otavio Mayole, Co-founder, DeCypher FinancialsUpdated
High-tax states look closely at people who leave. California in particular can treat you as a resident if your ties there stay strong.
Evidence that helps:
- A lease or home purchase in your new state, and an end to your old lease or a sublease of it
- A new driver's license, car registration and voter registration
- Your business address in the new state
- Flight logs and calendars showing where you spent your days
- Doctors, banks, gyms and memberships in the new state
What can pull you back in:
- Claiming expenses for a home or health insurance in the old state
- An LLC still registered in the old state, which may owe that state's yearly fee
- Spending much of the year back there
The year you move, you'll usually file part-year returns in both states. Estimated payment vouchers based on your old residency may no longer apply.
We've amended returns for creators whose previous preparer filed them as residents of a state they'd already left.