Moving to Detroit, Michigan: 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: Once you have established Michigan residency (no day count stated)

Once you have established Michigan residency, apply in person at a Secretary of State office. Bring your out-of-state license, proof of legal presence, Social Security number, identity and two proofs of Michigan residency. The page states no day count. The Michigan Vehicle Code sets a day count only for commercial licenses: a resident holding another state's CDL must apply for a transfer within 30 days after establishing domicile, and you must surrender your other state licenses to get a Michigan one.

Keep as proof: Copy of the new license and the two residency documents you used

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: When you move to Michigan (no day count stated)

When you move to Michigan you are required to purchase a license plate. At a Secretary of State office bring your previous registration (expired less than 90 days if possible), the original title, Michigan No-Fault insurance, ID, and any lienholder statement.

Keep as proof: Michigan registration and title

Applies if you are a registered voter

By state law, an eligible person who applies for a Michigan license or ID is automatically registered to vote and gets instructions by mail to opt out. Update the registration if the address on it is wrong.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: June 1 (summer levy) or November 1 (winter levy)

Owners file a Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit (Form 2368) with the assessor of the city or township where the home is. Filed by June 1 it cuts that year's property taxes starting with the summer levy; filed June 2 to November 1 it starts with the winter levy. A false claim can bring perjury charges.

Keep as proof: Filed Form 2368 and assessor confirmation

Deadline: April 15 following the tax year

You are a part-year resident if you move your permanent home into or out of Michigan during the year. File MI-1040 with Schedule NR (Nonresident and Part-Year Resident). The return is due April 15 after the tax year.

Keep as proof: Filed MI-1040 and Schedule NR

Twenty-four Michigan cities levy income taxes, and Detroit is administered by the state. See the Detroit and Michigan cities lists.

Keep as proof: City tax notes

Deadline: April 15 following the tax year

Your residency status for the year decides the form: lived in Detroit all year, Form 5118 (resident); less than a full year, Form 5120 (part-year resident, with your residency dates); outside Detroit all year but earned income there, Form 5119 (nonresident). You must file and pay even if your employer did not withhold Detroit tax. The return is due April 15 following the tax year; Form 5209 by that date extends the filing time by up to six months (a federal extension is not accepted).

Keep as proof: Filed Detroit return

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 own a home, keep your old home

Deadline: Within 90 days after you stop using it as your principal residence

Within 90 days after the home stops being your principal residence, file a Request to Rescind (Form 2602) with the assessor. Failure to file brings a $5 daily penalty (up to $200) and a denied claim with back taxes and interest. Talking to the county treasurer does not count.

Keep as proof: Filed Form 2602 with date stamp

Deadline: April 15 following the tax year

File MI-1040 with Schedule NR for the year you moved your permanent home out of Michigan. You pay Michigan tax on income earned, received or accrued while living in Michigan.

Keep as proof: Filed MI-1040 and Schedule NR

If you lived in or worked in one of the 24 Michigan income-tax cities, file a part-year or nonresident city return. See the Detroit and Michigan cities lists.

Keep as proof: City returns

Deadline: April 15 following the tax year

A person who lived in Detroit less than a full year files Form 5120 and enters the residency dates. Income is split in two columns: while a resident, your income from all sources is taxable (wages, business profit, dividends, interest, gains, rentals); while a nonresident, only Detroit-source income is taxable, such as wages for work done in the city or profit from a business located there. Resident income is taxed at 2.4% and nonresident at 1.2% on the 2025 forms.

Keep as proof: Filed Form 5120

Residency turns on your permanent home, the place you intend to return to. Michigan guidance for the homestead property tax credit adds that domicile continues until you establish a new permanent home. Keep dated proof of the new one.

Keep as proof: Lease or deed, license, voter registration in the new state

Applies if you keep your old home

Even after you change your domicile, Michigan deems you a resident for the year if you live in Michigan at least 183 days during the tax year (more than half the days in a tax year shorter than 12 months). If you keep a home here, count your Michigan days.

Keep as proof: Day log showing days in Michigan