Moving to Idaho: 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 30 days of moving to Idaho

ITD's current guide says you must get an Idaho driver's license or ID card within 30 days of moving to Idaho, whether or not your out-of-state ID has expired. Students at an Idaho college or university and active-duty military and dependents have exceptions. Idaho Code 49-302 lets a nonresident drive on a home-state license only while Idaho residency has not been established.

Keep as proof: Copy of the Idaho license

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 30 days of moving to Idaho

ITD says that whether or not your out-of-state registration has expired, you must title and register your vehicle within 30 days of moving to Idaho. A DMV employee inspects the vehicle identification number when you bring the vehicle in.

Keep as proof: Idaho title and registration

Applies if you are a registered voter

Deadline: Lived in Idaho and the county 30 days before the election

An Idaho elector must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18, and a resident of Idaho for 30 days before the election. Register online up to 11 days before the election (a current Idaho license or ID is required online), or in person during early voting or on Election Day with a photo ID and proof of residence such as a lease, utility bill or bank statement. You may be registered in only one place. Idaho's tax guidance lists voter registration among facts used when residency is questioned.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation

Idaho says domicile is the place of your permanent home and where you intend to return, the center of your personal and business life; you can have only one. Evidence of a change of domicile includes where your family lives, a comparison of homes in different places, where you are involved in business, where and how you spend time during the year, where you keep items near and dear to you, and giving up your old driver's license or homeowner's exemption.

Keep as proof: Dated documents for each factor

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: Apply by the last business day of the year

The homestead exemption applies if the home is owner-occupied and your primary dwelling place, meaning the single place where you have your true, fixed and permanent home. You certify to the county assessor that you are applying, that it is your primary dwelling place, and that you have not applied elsewhere. To get it for the current tax year, apply by the end of the county's business hours on the last business day of the year; approved applications received after the second Monday in July are granted as tax cancellations.

Keep as proof: Approved exemption notice from the county assessor

Deadline: With your Idaho return for the year you moved

If you changed your domicile to or from Idaho during the year you are a part-year resident. Idaho taxes all income received while living in Idaho plus Idaho-source income when not living there. Form 43 is the return for part-year residents, and Idaho Code 63-3030 requires one if total gross income from those two sources is more than $2,500.

Keep as proof: Copy of the filed Form 43

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

Deadline: On the day you move and establish a new domicile

Idaho says your domicile doesn't change until you abandon it, get a new one, and are living in the new one. Evidence includes where your family lives, a comparison of homes, where you do business, where and how you spend time, where you keep items near and dear to you, and giving up your driver's license or homeowner's exemption.

Keep as proof: A dated move-in record and new-state license

Deadline: With your Idaho return for the year you left

If you changed domicile from Idaho during the year you are a part-year resident. Idaho taxes all income received while you lived there plus Idaho-source income afterward. Form 43 is the part-year return, required under Idaho Code 63-3030 when total gross income from those sources is more than $2,500. A six-month extension is automatic if you pay at least 80% of the tax by the unextended due date (63-3033).

Keep as proof: Copy of the filed Form 43

Applies if you own a home

Idaho lists giving up your homeowner's exemption as evidence of a domicile change. The exemption itself is allowed only if the home is owner-occupied and your primary dwelling place, so it should not continue on a home you no longer live in.

Keep as proof: Copy of your request to remove the exemption

Applies if you keep your old home

Deadline: Each tax year

You are an Idaho resident if you keep a home in Idaho for the entire tax year and spend more than 270 days in Idaho, or if you are domiciled there for the entire year.

Keep as proof: Day log (iReside)