Moving to Indiana: 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 are a registered voter

Deadline: Register by the 29th day before the election

Indiana's registration period runs through the 29th day before an election, and you must have lived in the precinct for the 30 days before the election to vote there.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation

Applies if you are employed

Deadline: County is fixed as of January 1

Every Indiana county has a local income tax. Your county of residence is where you keep your primary home as of January 1, and it stays fixed for the whole year. Form WH-4 tells your employer which county applies; a new WH-4 after moving sets the county for the next year.

Keep as proof: Copy of WH-4

Applies if you drive

Deadline: Within 60 days of moving to Indiana

You have 60 days to get an Indiana license if you hold a valid one from another state. Visit a BMV branch, surrender all other states' credentials, and pass a vision screening. A temporary license valid 30 days is issued while documents are verified.

Keep as proof: Copy of the new license

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 60 days of moving to Indiana

Apply for an Indiana title (or submit State Form 1014) within 60 days for every vehicle with an out-of-state title. A late application brings an administrative penalty. You must visit a BMV branch.

Keep as proof: Indiana title and registration

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 60 days of becoming a resident

Indiana's FAQ says a new resident has sixty days before plates are required, citing IC 9-18-2-1.

Keep as proof: Registration receipt

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: January 15 of the year taxes are first due and payable

File with the county auditor where the home is. The application must be filed on or before January 15 of the year the property taxes are first due and payable, and the home must be your principal place of residence. A change in title can require re-filing.

Keep as proof: Filed application or auditor confirmation

Deadline: Annual return due date

Part-year residents who received income while living in Indiana file Form IT-40PNR. Residents of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin with only Indiana wages file IT-40RNR instead.

Keep as proof: Filed IT-40PNR

Indiana's domicile test looks at your intent plus the factors it lists, such as claiming a homestead credit, voting, where you spend the most days, your employment, driver license, voter registration, vehicle registration, mailing address, and bank accounts.

Keep as proof: New license, voter card, vehicle registration, bank statements

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 keep your old home

Indiana presumes you did not change domicile in a year if you kept a permanent place of residence in Indiana and did more than one of: claimed an Indiana homestead credit, voted in Indiana, lived more days in Indiana than any other state, claimed a federal benefit based on Indiana as principal residence, or had Indiana employment. You can rebut with substantial contrary evidence.

Keep as proof: Proof of new domicile and sale or lease of the Indiana home

Applies if you are employed

Deadline: County is fixed as of January 1

County income tax uses your January 1 county of residence (and county of work) for the whole year. A change during the year does not change the county for that year, and a new WH-4 only sets the next year. Indiana's reciprocal agreements do not apply to county tax.

Keep as proof: WH-4 and prior-year county

Applies if you own a home, keep your old home

Deadline: Within 60 days after the change of use

File a certified statement with the county auditor within 60 days after the change of use. If you do not, you owe the taxes the deduction saved plus a civil penalty of 10% of the additional tax.

Keep as proof: Copy of the certified statement

Deadline: Annual return due date

You are a full-year Indiana resident only if you keep your legal residence in Indiana from January 1 to December 31. If you leave and become domiciled elsewhere, file Form IT-40PNR and you are taxed on all income from all sources for the part of the year you were a resident, and on Indiana business income for the part you were not (Bulletin 55's wording for a move abroad; the overview gives the same form for any part-year resident).

Keep as proof: Filed IT-40PNR