Moving to California: 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 drive

Deadline: Within 10 days of establishing residence (Veh. Code 12505(c))

The DMV says that if you become a California resident you must get a California driver's license within 10 days. Vehicle Code 12505(c) sets the same 10-day limit after establishing residence, and you may not drive for employment on an out-of-state license at all.

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

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 20 days of becoming a resident

A vehicle previously registered in another state or country must be registered in California within 20 days of your becoming a resident. The DMV page also notes smog inspections and insurance (financial responsibility) requirements.

Keep as proof: California registration card

Deadline: 15 days before an election to vote in it; no legal deadline otherwise

You may register if you are a U.S. citizen and a California resident. Re-register when your residence address changes. Registration closes 15 days before Election Day. Voter registration is one of the factors the FTB looks at when it weighs your connections.

Keep as proof: County voter registration confirmation

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: No later than February 15 to receive the full exemption for that year

A qualifying owner-occupied home gets a $7,000 reduction in taxable value if it was your principal residence on the January 1 lien date. It is a one-time claim (form BOE-266) filed with the county assessor, available from the assessor.

Keep as proof: Filed BOE-266 and the county confirmation

Deadline: By the return due date for the year you moved in, if you meet the filing requirement

If you were a resident for part of the year, you file Form 540NR as a part-year resident. You pay tax on all worldwide income received while a California resident and on California-source income while a nonresident.

Keep as proof: Filed Form 540NR and the supporting income split

Time spent in California versus outside it is the first factor in FTB Pub. 1031, and more than nine months in the year creates a presumption of residency under R&TC 17016. Dated records are what you rely on if your start date is ever questioned.

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

A California resident is anyone present for other than a temporary or transitory purpose, or domiciled in California but outside it only temporarily. Spending more than nine months of the taxable year in California creates a presumption of residency; spending less creates no presumption that you are a nonresident.

Per FTB Pub. 1031, a change of domicile requires abandoning your prior domicile, physically moving to and living in the new place, and intending to remain there permanently or indefinitely, shown by your actions. Its own example says declaring yourself a Nevada resident did not work when the person kept spending six or seven months a year in a retained California home.

Keep as proof: Signed lease or deed in the new state, move-in records, any declaration of domicile you file there

Deadline: Around the move date, and keep them consistent afterward

FTB Pub. 1031 says you are a resident of the place with your closest connections, and it is the strength of ties, not their number. The listed factors include time in each place, location of spouse and children and of your principal residence, driver's license state, vehicle registration, professional licenses, voter registration, banks, doctors, accountants and attorneys, social ties such as place of worship and clubs, real property and investments, and permanence of work in California.

Keep as proof: New license, registration, voter confirmation, bank and provider records in the new state

Applies if you own a home, keep your old home

Location of your principal residence and of your real property are both factors in FTB Pub. 1031. Selling the home, or leasing it out to others, takes away a tie; keeping it available for your own use leaves one the FTB can weigh against you. Its examples with safe results involve the home being sold or rented out.

Keep as proof: Closing statement or signed lease with an unrelated tenant

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

Deadline: Promptly after you arrive in the new state; follow that state's own deadlines

The state that issued your license, the state where your vehicles are registered and the state where you are registered to vote are each named factors in FTB Pub. 1031. Moving all three to your new state, and not holding California ones as well, removes three ties the FTB can point to.

Keep as proof: New-state license, registration and voter confirmation

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: December 10 is the last day to terminate the exemption without penalty

Claimants are responsible for notifying the county assessor when they are no longer eligible for the homeowners' exemption. The exemption requires the home to be your principal residence on the January 1 lien date. The DMV also lists a California property tax exemption as evidence of California residency.

Keep as proof: Copy of the notice sent to the county assessor

Deadline: By the return due date for the year you left, if you meet the filing requirement

You pay California tax on all worldwide income received while a resident and on California-source income after you leave. File Form 540NR with a clear residency end date. Answer the residency questions on the return consistently with what you tell the new state.

Keep as proof: Filed Form 540NR and the income split worksheet

Time in California versus outside it is the first factor in FTB Pub. 1031. After you leave, keep dated records of where you spend nights so you can answer a residency inquiry for the move year and the years after.