Moving your stuff takes a weekend. Moving your residency takes a year or more of consistent, documented choices. High-tax states know people leave on paper but not in practice, and they audit accordingly. This checklist covers what to do before, during and after the move.
Before the move
- Talk to a tax professional. Timing matters, especially around a home sale, a bonus, equity vesting or a business sale.
- Decide what happens to your old home. Selling it is the clearest signal. Keeping it means your day count in that state will get close scrutiny.
- Pick your new primary home. It should be at least as substantial as anything you keep in the old state.
- Start tracking your location now. Your records should cover the whole year of the move, not just the part after it.
Moving week
- Move the things that matter to you: family photos, heirlooms, art, pets, collections.
- Keep moving company invoices and inventories.
- File a change of address with the postal service.
- Note your move date, and keep evidence of where you were on that day.
First 30 to 90 days
- Get a driver’s license in your new state and surrender the old one.
- Register your vehicles in the new state.
- Register to vote in the new state and cancel your old registration.
- File a declaration of domicile or homestead exemption if your new state offers one.
- Open accounts at local banks and move your primary banking.
- Update your address with employers, banks, brokerages, insurers and the IRS.
- Find new doctors, dentists, accountants and attorneys locally.
- Join local clubs, religious organizations or community groups, and resign from the old ones where you can.
Ongoing
- Keep a daily record of where you are, with evidence.
- Watch your day count in your old state, especially if you kept a home there.
- Be careful with work patterns. If your office, clients or team are still in the old state, document where you actually do the work.
- File the right returns: often a part-year return in each state for the year of the move.
- Keep it all. Residency audits often reach back several years.
The mistake to avoid
The most common failure isn’t missing a step on this list. It’s doing everything right and then being unable to prove it three years later. Receipts get lost, calendars are vague and phone history gets deleted.
Domigo tracks your days automatically and keeps a checklist of the residency-establishing actions above, so you can see how complete your case is with a single readiness score, and produce an audit-ready report when you need one.
This checklist is general information, not tax or legal advice. Requirements vary by state; talk to a qualified tax professional about your situation.
