Moving to Alaska: residency checklist

Your domicile is the place you treat as your permanent home, so the new home has to be the one you really live in. States compare your homes: California's FTB lists the location of your principal residence as a factor, New York's Tax Department reviews the homes you keep and how you use each, and Utah's code compares the living accommodations you have in each state.

Keep as proof: Signed lease or deed, move-in date, and a first utility bill at the new address

File IRS Form 8822 for your home mailing address (the form's instructions say a change generally takes 4 to 6 weeks). USPS says mailers such as banks and government agencies do not forward sensitive mail like driver's licenses, voter registration, credit cards, bank statements or insurance papers, so change your address with each sender directly. Utah's code counts the address you list on mail and tax returns.

Keep as proof: Copy of Form 8822 with proof of mailing, plus address-change confirmations from your bank and insurers

California's FTB lists the state where you are registered to vote as a residency factor, and New York's guidelines look at where you are registered and whether you vote there, including in primary and local elections. The federal National Mail Voter Registration Form can report a change of address and asks for the address where you were registered before; follow your own state's instructions on it, because each state runs registration differently.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation (card or online confirmation page)

Applies if you have children

States look at where your family lives. California's FTB lists the location of your spouse/RDP and children, New York's Tax Department says where minor children attend school can be one of the most important factors, and Utah's code counts where a dependent is enrolled in school.

Keep as proof: School enrollment confirmation and the first report card or school record showing the new address

California's FTB lists where your banks are and where your doctors, dentists, accountants and attorneys are. Not every state weighs these: Minnesota's statute says the Commissioner and courts may not consider where your attorney, CPA or financial adviser is or where you open accounts, and New York's guidelines call the mere location of bank accounts a non-factor. Treat this as supporting evidence, not proof on its own.

Keep as proof: New-patient and account-opening confirmations showing the new address

New York's guidelines list legal documents that name a place as your domicile or primary residence, such as a will, as a factor (a secondary one), and Utah's code counts asserting residency in a document you file with a court or government body. Ask your attorney to review your will, trust and powers of attorney so they match your move.

Keep as proof: Signed copies of the updated documents

iReside logs where you are every day, so you have auditable proof of the day you moved and of the days you spend in your old state. Day counts matter: Minnesota's statute requires adequate records of days spent outside the state, and New York's guidelines treat a diary or calendar as support for where you spent your time. Keep the record for as many years as your old state can still check.

Keep as proof: iReside day report for the year

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 10 days of entering the state or taking a job in Alaska

The Alaska DMV says if you are working in Alaska or establishing residency, you must register your vehicle within 10 days of entering the state or beginning employment. A nonresident may operate a vehicle with a current registration from another state for 60 days.

Keep as proof: Alaska registration

Deadline: Register on or before the registration deadline; you must have lived in Alaska and your district at least 30 days before the election

To register you must be a U.S. citizen, an Alaska resident (you live in Alaska and intend to remain) and 18 by election day, and not be registered in another state unless you are willing to cancel that registration. To vote you must have lived in Alaska and your election district at least 30 days before the election and be registered on or before the registration deadline. Register online with an Alaska driver's license or state ID (the details must match your DMV record), on paper or in person. Applying for the Permanent Fund Dividend also registers you unless you opt out within 30 days of the notice.

Keep as proof: Voter ID card or registration confirmation

Applies if you drive

Deadline: Within 90 days (30 days for a commercial license) of becoming a resident

The Alaska DMV says you must transfer your out-of-state driver license within 90 days, or 30 days if you are a commercial driver. An Alaska license is also listed by the PFD Division as acceptable proof of Alaska residency.

Keep as proof: Copy of the Alaska license (front and back)

Deadline: Before January 1 of the qualifying year for the dividend you plan to claim

The PFD Division says physical presence is not, by itself, enough to establish residency; you must also take at least one additional step showing ties and intent to remain indefinitely. It accepts proof such as an Alaska license or ID, voter registration, vehicle registration, a W-2 or paystub, a lease in your name, or mortgage papers. It does not count utility bills, bank statements, or employer or military-provided housing.

Keep as proof: Copies of the license, voter registration, vehicle registration, lease or mortgage, and paystubs

Applies if you are a registered voter

The PFD application requires that you have not claimed residency in any other state or country since the cutoff date on the form, and that you were an Alaska resident during all of the prior calendar year. The Division also weighs ties to another state or steps taken to establish residency elsewhere without severing a prior residency.

Keep as proof: Old-state voter cancellation, license surrender, final resident tax return

Deadline: Application season runs January 1 through March 31 each year

The PFD Division says the application season is January 1st through March 31st each year, and applications are available only during that season. The eligibility test requires you to have been an Alaska resident during all of the prior calendar year.

Keep as proof: PFD application signature page and filing confirmation (myPFD)

PFD absence rules are counted in days: up to 180 days for any reason in a calendar year, and you must report all absences over 90 days. A dated log lets you answer those questions accurately.

A home you keep is the first thing a state looks at. New York's guidelines weigh whether you made real efforts to sell it (for example by hiring a real estate firm) and moved your belongings out, and California's FTB lists the location of your principal residence. If you keep the old home, the old state may compare it with your new one, and keep a day log.

Keep as proof: Listing agreement, closing statement, lease termination or new rental lease for the old home

New York's guidelines treat the location of items you hold near and dear (family heirlooms, art, collections, photo albums, pets) as a primary factor, and note that a mover's bill of lading or an insurance statement can document the move. Items left behind in the old state can suggest you have not given it up.

Keep as proof: Mover's bill of lading or inventory, and an insurance policy showing the new address

File a permanent change of address at the Official USPS Change of Address site (identity verification required) or at a Post Office. USPS says to allow at least 7 to 10 business days after approval for it to start, so file before moving day.

Keep as proof: USPS confirmation email

Applies if you are a registered voter

California's FTB lists where you are registered to vote as a residency factor, New York's guidelines look at where you are registered and how you voted, and Utah's code treats voting in the state, without being registered in another state, as establishing domicile there. Register in your new state (the federal form asks for your previous registration address), then stop voting from the old one and ask your old election office how to cancel.

Keep as proof: Confirmation that the old registration was cancelled or moved

California's FTB lists where your social ties are, such as your place of worship, professional associations and clubs, and Utah's code counts membership in a church, club or similar group in the state. Resign, transfer or switch to non-resident status where you can, and join local groups in your new state.

Keep as proof: Resignation or transfer letters and new membership confirmations

Keep iReside running through the move year and after: it logs where you are every day, so you have auditable proof of when you left and of any days you spend back in the old state. Minnesota's statute requires adequate records of days spent outside the state, and New York's guidelines treat a diary or calendar as support for where you spent your time. Keep the record for the years your old state can still check.

Keep as proof: iReside day report for the year

Applies if you are a registered voter

To stay eligible while absent you must maintain your Alaska residency and intend to return to remain indefinitely. The PFD Division warns that establishing residency elsewhere, such as registering to vote or filing a resident tax return in another state, can cause you to lose eligibility. If you are permanently leaving, claiming new residency elsewhere ends that claim.

Keep as proof: Record of when you registered or filed in the new state

Applies if you drive, own a vehicle, are a registered voter, own a home

The Division considers how long you were away compared with time in Alaska, how often and how long you return, and ties to Alaska or another jurisdiction such as a home, taxes, vehicle registration, voter registration and driver's license.

Keep as proof: Records showing where your license, registration, voting and home are

Past 180 days a year, the PFD Division accepts only listed reasons, such as full-time education, active-duty military service, medical treatment, caring for a critically ill family member or settling a relative's estate. Even then the Division adds limits on extra days. Permanently relocating is not itself on the list.

Keep as proof: Documentation of the allowable reason (orders, enrollment, physician statement)

Applies if you are a registered voter

Alaska's Division of Elections lets you cancel by phone through a Regional Elections Office, or in writing by form, email, fax or mail with your name and an identifier. The Division's rules for registering say a voter may not be registered in another state unless willing to cancel that registration. Registering to vote elsewhere can also count against PFD eligibility.

Keep as proof: Cancellation confirmation

A resident may be absent up to 180 days for any reason in a calendar year and remain eligible; beyond that, only listed allowable absences count (education, military, maritime service, medical care, family care, estate settlement and others, each with extra-day limits). You must report all absences over 90 days in a calendar year, and unreported absences are treated as fraud.

After more than 180 days absent in each of the five preceding qualifying years, the department presumes you are no longer an Alaska resident. You can rebut it with clear and convincing evidence that you were physically present in Alaska at least 30 cumulative days in the past five years and that you are a resident as AS 43.23.295 defines.

Keep as proof: Day log showing days in Alaska each year

Deadline: With each PFD application

The PFD Division requires you to report all absences over 90 days in a calendar year, or if you are out of state when you apply. It says failure to report absences is fraud and could result in assessment of dividends paid. Its forms page lists an Additional Absences form and an Extended Absence Questionnaire.

Keep as proof: Copies of absence forms and the day log you used