Moving to Oregon: 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

Deadline: The date you are physically in Oregon with the intent to stay; this starts your part-year residency

Oregon's guide says domicile is the place you consider home and plan to return to, and that intent is the deciding factor. A change of domicile needs three things together: intent to abandon the old domicile, intent to acquire a specific new one, and physical presence in the new one. Intent that depends on uncertain events does not count.

Keep as proof: Lease or closing statement, move-in date record, dated proof of leaving the old domicile

Applies if you drive

Deadline: Within 30 days of establishing Oregon residency

ODOT says new residents must, within 30 days, get an Oregon driver's license if they want to drive. The state's New to Oregon page says the 30 days run from establishing residency. Most people can transfer a license from any U.S. state, territory or DC.

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

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 30 days of establishing Oregon residency

New residents must title and register their vehicle within 30 days of establishing Oregon residency. ODOT's New to Oregon page lists this next to the license requirement.

Keep as proof: Oregon title and registration card

Deadline: 21 days before Election Day to vote in that election; no legal deadline otherwise

Voter registration is optional but is a common domicile marker. The deadline to register to vote is 21 days before Election Day.

Keep as proof: County voter registration confirmation

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Before you register the vehicle (within 30 days of establishing residency)

DEQ says vehicles registered in the Portland Metro and Medford/Ashland areas must pass an emissions test to register, then be tested again every two years before the registration renews. If you live elsewhere in Oregon you register without one.

Keep as proof: DEQ Certificate of Compliance

Deadline: April 15 after the tax year; a filing extension (to October 15) does not extend the time to pay

If you were domiciled elsewhere for part of the year and in Oregon for the rest, you are a part-year resident. Oregon taxes all of your income for the resident months and any Oregon-source income for the nonresident months. Part-year residents file Form OR-40-P.

Keep as proof: Filed OR-40-P and the income split between resident and nonresident months

Oregon also treats you as a resident, even if domiciled elsewhere, if you maintain a residence in Oregon and spend more than 200 days there in the tax year. A fraction of a day counts as a whole day, and the burden of proof that a stay is only temporary is on you.

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

Oregon says domicile is never lost until you intend to abandon the old domicile, intend to acquire a specific new domicile, and are physically present in the new one. A move on uncertain intent, for example one that depends on a job working out, has not changed your domicile.

Keep as proof: New-state lease or deed, move date records, dated proof of ending Oregon ties

Applies if you keep your old home, own a home

Even if you are domiciled elsewhere, Oregon treats you as a resident if you maintain a residence in Oregon and spend more than 200 days in the state in the tax year. The same guide says a person domiciled in Oregon is taxed as a nonresident only if they keep no permanent residence in Oregon, keep one outside the state all year, and spend fewer than 31 days in Oregon.

Keep as proof: Day log for the year, plus lease or sale documents for the Oregon home

Deadline: April 15 after the tax year; a filing extension (to October 15) does not extend the time to pay

Oregon taxes all of your income for the part of the year you were an Oregon resident, plus income earned in or from Oregon sources for the rest of the year. Part-year residents file Form OR-40-P.

Keep as proof: Filed OR-40-P and the dated income split

Applies if you have a high income

Deadline: Generally April 15 after the tax year

Metro's Supportive Housing Services tax is not part of your Oregon return; it is filed separately with the City of Portland Revenue Division, as is the Multnomah County Preschool for All tax. Moving out mid-year means a part-year Metro return. See the Portland metro checklist for details.

Keep as proof: Filed Metro SHS and Multnomah PFA returns, or a record that income was under the thresholds

Oregon looks at your center of activity, including time you spend in each place and where your people and property are. The burden of proof is on you when Oregon treats an Oregon stay as a residence. Dated records are how you show where you were.