Moving to Louisiana: 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 establishing a domicile in Louisiana

The Office of Motor Vehicles policy is to transfer an out-of-state license within thirty days of establishing a domicile in Louisiana. Bring the out-of-state license, proof of residency and your Social Security number; the old license is surrendered when the Louisiana license is issued.

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

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 30 days of the date residency is established (the date the Louisiana license is issued)

A new resident applies for a Louisiana title and/or registration for each vehicle they own and drive on public roads within thirty days of establishing residency. OMV dates residency from the day your Louisiana driver license is issued. Vehicles transferred in from another state are subject to the road use tax; bring the signed vehicle application (DPSMV 1799), your out-of-state title and proof of liability insurance.

Keep as proof: Louisiana registration and title receipt

Applies if you are a registered voter, own a home

The Louisiana Secretary of State says that if you have multiple residences and claim a homestead exemption, you must register to vote at the homestead exemption address. If you have several residences in the state and do not claim a homestead exemption, you may register at just one of them. You need a street or rural-route address in the parish; a P.O. box does not qualify.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation showing the parish address

Deadline: At least 20 days (online with a Louisiana license/ID) or 30 days (in person or by mail) before the election

You register in the state and parish where you live. You must be registered at least 20 days before an election if you register online with a Louisiana driver's license or special ID, or at least 30 days before if you register in person or by mail. Use a street or rural-route address (a P.O. box does not qualify); if you claim a homestead exemption, you must register at that address, so the two records line up.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: Own and occupy the home on or before December 31 of the year you claim the exemption

The homestead exemption is for a home you own and occupy as your primary residence. By statute you must own and occupy it on or before December 31 of the year the exemption is claimed. Apply at the assessor's office in the parish where the home is. Only one homestead exemption can apply to a person in Louisiana.

Keep as proof: Homestead exemption approval from the parish assessor

Deadline: May 15 of the following year (an automatic six-month filing extension does not extend time to pay)

Part-year residents file IT-540B, the nonresident and part-year resident return. You report income from all sources so the department can compute the ratio of Louisiana adjusted gross income to federal AGI. Louisiana's flat rate is 3% for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025.

Keep as proof: Filed IT-540B with the part-year worksheet

Louisiana deems a person a resident who spends in the aggregate more than six months of the taxable year in the state, counted across the year rather than consecutively. A day log fixes your residency start date and your six-month count.

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

Under R.S. 47:31 a person who maintains a permanent place of abode within the state is deemed a Louisiana resident, with no day count attached. If you keep your Louisiana home, treat it as a risk: sell it, or make sure it is not a home you maintain as your permanent abode.

Keep as proof: Sale closing documents, or lease and proof the home is not maintained as your abode

Applies if you own a home

The homestead exemption is for a home you own and occupy as your primary residence, and only one can apply to a person. When the Louisiana home stops being your primary residence, tell the parish assessor and do not claim the exemption on it.

Keep as proof: Copy of the notice to the parish assessor

Applies if you are a registered voter

Louisiana voter registration requires that you reside in the state and parish where you register, so a registration kept after you move stops matching where you live. Register in your new state, and if you took the Louisiana homestead exemption, remember it required your Louisiana voter address to match.

Keep as proof: New state's registration confirmation

Deadline: May 15 of the following year (an automatic six-month filing extension does not extend time to pay)

Part-year residents and nonresidents with Louisiana-source income file IT-540B. You must report income from all sources so the department can compute the Louisiana-to-federal AGI ratio, and you are taxed on the Louisiana-source portion.

Keep as proof: Filed IT-540B with the part-year worksheet

Spending in the aggregate more than six months of the taxable year in Louisiana makes you a resident for that year regardless of where you say you live. Keep a day log so you can show your Louisiana days for each year.

Keep as proof: Exported day log for each year

Applies if you keep your old home, are a registered voter

Louisiana requires a voter with a homestead exemption to register at the homestead address, and a voter must live in the parish where registered. If you keep a Louisiana home and still claim its homestead exemption, that ties your voting address to Louisiana, so change both when you move.