Moving to Pennsylvania: 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 60 days of establishing Pennsylvania residency (30 days for a commercial license)

Out-of-state non-commercial license holders must get a PA license within 60 days of establishing Pennsylvania residency (30 days for a CDL). Apply through PennDOT.

Keep as proof: Copy of the new PA license (front and back) and the date issued

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 20 days of moving to Pennsylvania

PennDOT says you must apply for a Pennsylvania title and registration within 20 days of moving to Pennsylvania. This is much shorter than the license deadline.

Keep as proof: PA registration card and title

Applies if you are a registered voter

Deadline: At least 15 days before the election you want to vote in

You must register at least 15 days before an election to vote in it. You can register online, by mail, or at a PennDOT Photo License Center when you get your license. If you are already registered in Pennsylvania you only update your address.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation or voter ID card

Your domicile changes only when you stop using the old home as your primary base, intend to make Pennsylvania your primary base, and are physically present with an abode here. The Department says the change takes effect on the first day of physical presence in the new location, and temporary absences do not change it. It looks at where you spend the most time and where you hold active bank accounts, among other ties.

Keep as proof: Lease or deed, PA license, voter registration, bank statements at the PA address

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: By March 1 before the tax year you want relief for

Only an owner-occupied primary residence qualifies. The application goes to your county assessment office and must be filed by the preceding March 1 to get relief for the next tax year. The governor cannot extend this date.

Keep as proof: Approved homestead application or county notice

Deadline: April 15 following the tax year (next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday)

If you moved in during the year you are a part-year resident: you file the PA-40 and fill in the part-year oval. You are taxed as a resident for the part of the year you lived here and as a nonresident for the rest.

Keep as proof: Filed PA-40 and your move-in date records

A person domiciled elsewhere is still a Pennsylvania statutory resident with a permanent place of abode here and more than 183 days (midnight to midnight) in the state. A daily log is how you would show the 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

Deadline: On the day you establish the new home

Your domicile does not change until you stop using Pennsylvania as your primary base, intend to make the new place your primary base, and are physically present with an abode there. The change takes effect on the first day of physical presence in the new location. Moving your records, accounts, license and voter registration all point the same way.

Keep as proof: New lease or deed, new license, new voter registration, bank and utility records at the new address

Applies if you are a registered voter

Deadline: When you register in your new state

When you move out of state, notify the county where you are registered. The Department of State provides a cancellation form.

Keep as proof: Copy of the cancellation form

Applies if you own a home, keep your old home

The exclusion applies only to a primary residence used as the owner's domicile. If you keep the house as a second home or rental, check with your county assessment office whether the exclusion should end.

Keep as proof: County assessment office confirmation

Deadline: April 15 following the tax year (next business day if it falls on a weekend or holiday)

Mark the part-year oval on the PA-40. You are taxed as a resident until you leave and as a nonresident after. Department guidance says part-year residents are generally not taxed on ordinary interest, dividends, or intangible gains earned while a nonresident. Pennsylvania-source income (for example wages earned in the state) stays taxable.

Keep as proof: Filed PA-40 and your departure date records

Applies if you keep your old home

Even after you change domicile, you are a Pennsylvania resident for the year if you maintain a permanent place of abode here and spend more than 183 days in Pennsylvania. Regulation 101.1 also treats a PA domiciliary as a nonresident only if they keep no PA abode, keep one elsewhere, and spend no more than 30 days in the state. A cottage used only for vacations is not a permanent place of abode.

Keep as proof: Day log showing days in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania weighs where you spend the greatest amount of time and where your strongest connections are, and a PA abode plus more than 183 days makes you a resident. Keep travel records and new-state bills with it.