Guides / New York to Florida
Moving from New York to Florida.
Florida has no personal income tax and New York audits departures more aggressively than almost any state, which makes this the single most consequential planning decision many of our clients make. The move itself is straightforward. What determines whether it works is the quality of the record you build in the first year and how carefully you deal with the income that stays connected to New York.
The two hurdles
What has to be true
Change your domicile, with evidence
Domicile continues until a new one is established, and the burden of showing the change is on you, by clear and convincing evidence. New York weighs the use and value of your homes, active involvement in a business, where you spend time, where your treasured possessions are, and where your close family is. The pattern of your life has to actually move, not just your address.
Then stay under the statutory residency test
Even with Florida domicile firmly established, keeping a New York place of abode and spending more than 183 days in the state makes you a New York resident anyway, taxed on worldwide income. Selling or genuinely giving up the New York residence removes this risk entirely; keeping it means counting days rigorously every year. See New York residency audits.
The year of the move is a part-year return
You file a New York part-year resident return for the year you leave, splitting income between the resident and nonresident periods. That return is what flags the change, and it is frequently the year an examination focuses on. It should be prepared with the audit in mind rather than as routine compliance.
Some income remains New York-sourced forever
Nonresidents still pay New York tax on income from New York real property, on income from a business carried on in New York, on wages for services performed in New York, and on gains from certain interests in entities holding New York real property. Moving does not sever those.
Retirement income generally does not follow you
Federal law prevents a state from taxing the retirement income of a nonresident, covering qualified plans, IRAs, and nonqualified deferred compensation paid in substantially equal periodic payments over at least ten years or over life expectancy. Nonqualified deferred compensation paid as a lump sum, however, is not protected, so payout structure matters a great deal in a departure year.
The first year
In roughly this order.
- Fix the housingSell, lease out, or genuinely relinquish the New York abode if you can.
- Establish FloridaDeclaration of domicile, license, registration, voter registration, homestead.
- Move your lifeAdvisers, physicians, memberships, and the possessions you actually value.
- Count and keepTrack days from day one and retain the corroborating records.
The practical work
What to actually do
Florida has formal steps worth taking
File a declaration of domicile with the clerk of the circuit court in your Florida county, obtain a Florida driver’s license and register your vehicles, register to vote and then vote, and apply for the homestead exemption on your Florida residence by the statutory deadline. None of these is individually decisive and together they form the backbone of the record.
Move the relationships, not just the paperwork
Auditors look at where your physicians and dentists are, where your religious and social affiliations sit, which club memberships you kept, where your safe deposit box is, and where your advisers are. Keeping a full New York life while claiming Florida domicile is the pattern that fails.
Items near and dear are examined literally
Family photographs, art, heirlooms, and pets are treated as evidence of where home is. It sounds unserious and it is applied seriously. If the valued possessions stayed in the New York apartment, that fact will be used.
Watch remote work for a New York employer
New York’s convenience of the employer rule generally treats days worked from Florida for a New York employer as New York workdays unless the work is performed outside the state out of the employer’s necessity. For someone who moved but kept the same job, this single rule can eliminate most of the expected benefit, and it deserves attention before the move rather than after.
Equity compensation is allocated by where you worked
Options and restricted stock granted while you worked in New York are generally allocated to New York based on workdays between grant and vesting, and remain taxable there when they vest or are exercised after the move. Timing an exercise around a relocation rarely produces the result people expect. See equity compensation.
Estate planning changes too
New York’s estate tax still reaches real and tangible property located in New York even for a nonresident, and Florida has no state estate tax. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care documents should be reviewed under Florida law, and trusts created while you were a New York domiciliary may remain New York resident trusts unless specific conditions are met. See the New York estate tax cliff.
This page is general information about how the rules work, not tax or legal advice for a specific situation. Facts change outcomes. Talk with the firm before acting on anything here.
Questions
Common questions
How long does it take to become a Florida resident for tax purposes?
There is no waiting period. Domicile changes when you actually move and intend Florida to be your permanent home, and it can happen on a single day. What takes time is building the evidence that makes the change provable, which is why the first year matters most.
Can I keep my New York apartment?
You can, and it substantially raises your risk. Keeping a permanent place of abode means the 183-day statutory test applies to you every year, with the burden of proving day count on you. Many people find that giving up the New York residence is the single cleanest step available.
Do I still pay New York tax on my rental building in Brooklyn?
Yes. Income from New York real property remains New York-source income for a nonresident, as does gain on its sale, and the same applies to gain on interests in entities that mainly hold New York real property.
Will New York audit me?
Departures with meaningful income are audited at a high rate. That is not a reason to avoid moving; it is a reason to move properly and keep records. An audit against a well-documented change of domicile is an inconvenience. Against a poorly documented one it is expensive.
What about my pension and IRA distributions?
Federal law generally prevents New York from taxing them once you are a nonresident, and that protection extends to nonqualified deferred compensation paid in substantially equal installments over at least ten years. A lump sum payout of nonqualified deferred compensation is not protected, so the timing and form of payment should be settled before you move.
The first year decides the next ten.
We work departure years regularly from both ends, in New York and in Florida. Getting the sequence right, and the documentation, is far cheaper than defending it later.