Moving to Illinois: 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 30 days of establishing residency

New residents need not register until 30 days after establishing residency, as long as the vehicle is properly registered in another jurisdiction. By the end of the 30 days apply for Illinois registration, to a state address.

Keep as proof: Illinois registration

Applies if you are a registered voter

Deadline: Resident of the district 30 days before the election

To vote you must have lived in the state and election district for 30 days before the election.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation

Applies if you drive

Deadline: Within 90 days of becoming a resident

A new resident can use a valid license from home for the first 90 days of Illinois residence. After that you must apply for an Illinois license or permit.

Keep as proof: Copy of the new license

Applies if you own a home

Owner-occupied homestead property gets an annual reduction in assessed value. In counties under 3,000,000 residents it is applied automatically when the current value exceeds the 1977 value. Check with your county assessor that it is on your home.

Keep as proof: Property tax bill showing the exemption

Deadline: Annual return due date

You are a part-year resident if you were domiciled in Illinois for part of the year. File IL-1040 with Schedule NR if you received income while a resident, had Illinois-source income while a nonresident, or want a refund.

Keep as proof: Filed IL-1040 and Schedule NR

Illinois decides domicile case by case. Factors include days in Illinois or elsewhere, homestead exemption claimed, owning or renting property, utilities, driver license, vehicle registration, and voter registration.

Keep as proof: License, voter card, lease or deed, utility bills

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

If you do not intend to return, your Illinois domicile remains until a domicile in a new state or country is established. Illinois weighs days, homestead exemption, property, utilities, license, vehicle registration and voter registration.

Keep as proof: Proof of the new domicile and the date it began

Applies if you own a home, keep your old home

Deadline: In large counties, March 1 of the collection year

The general homestead exemption is for owner-occupied principal residences. Where a county assessor sends a notice of discovery in a county with 3,000,000 or more residents, you must notify the assessor by March 1 of the collection year that the home was not owner-occupied on January 1.

Keep as proof: Copy of the notice sent

Applies if you drive

Illinois's domicile review lists whether you have an Illinois driver license, a vehicle registered there, and whether you are registered to vote there.

Keep as proof: New license and voter registration

Deadline: Annual return due date

Illinois taxes income received while a resident from any source, and only Illinois-source income after you stop being domiciled there. Temporary absences do not make you a part-year resident.

Keep as proof: Filed IL-1040 and Schedule NR