Moving to South Carolina: 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 45 days of moving to SC

If you have a valid out-of-state license and permanently move to SC, apply for an SC license or ID within 45 days of moving. You must turn in your out-of-state license, and if it has been expired nine months or more you must also pass the knowledge and road tests.

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

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 45 days of moving to SC

You have 45 days to transfer your registration. Order matters: update your insurer to an SC-licensed company, take the VIN and your registration card to the county auditor, pay the resulting property tax bill to the county treasurer, then go to the SCDMV with Form 400, your out-of-state title or registration and the original paid property-tax receipt.

Keep as proof: SC registration, title and paid property-tax receipt

Deadline: At least 30 days before the election

There is no length-of-residency requirement; you can register at any time but must be registered at least 30 days before an election to vote in it. Section 7-1-25 governs which residence you may claim for voting.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation

SCDOR weighs where you are registered to vote, the address on your car registration and driver's license, where you bank and where your professional licenses are, among other factors. SC has no minimum number of days; domicile decides residency.

Keep as proof: Copies of SC license, registrations and voter card

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: Before the first penalty date for the payment of taxes for the first tax year you claim it

A legal residence and up to five contiguous acres that you own and occupy is assessed at four percent of fair market value. Apply to the county assessor before the first penalty date for the tax year you first claim it. You certify SC is your legal residence and domicile and that no member of your household claims legal residence in another jurisdiction; the assessor can ask for proof such as SC vehicle registrations. It is lost if the home is rented more than 72 days in a calendar year, and once approved you do not reapply unless ownership or use changes.

Keep as proof: Assessor's approval of the legal residence application

Deadline: April 15 after the tax year

A part-year or nonresident filer completes the Schedule NR and attaches it to the SC1040 (check the Schedule NR box). Do not submit Schedule NR separately.

Keep as proof: Filed SC1040 and Schedule NR

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

A person who leaves SC but does not change domicile remains domiciled in SC and a resident for income tax; there is no day count to fall back on. Move voter registration, licenses, vehicle registrations and the 4% ratio to the new state.

Keep as proof: Dated proof of the new domicile

Applies if you own a home, keep your old home

Deadline: Within six months of the change in ownership or use

If ownership or use changes, notify the assessor of the change in classification within six months. Someone who loses eligibility and fails to notify the assessor within that time owes a penalty of 100 percent of the tax paid plus interest of one-half of one percent a month (never less than $30 or more than the current year's taxes).

Keep as proof: Copy of the notice to the assessor

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Once the vehicle is registered in your new state

SCDMV says to update your insurance company first and then return your license plate once you register the vehicle in your new state, in person at any SCDMV branch or by mail. Under s. 12-37-2725, when the owner becomes a legal resident of another state and registers the vehicle there, the plate and registration can be returned for cancellation, and the county auditor then orders a credit or refund of the vehicle property tax for the complete months remaining in that tax year. The request for cancellation is made in writing to the auditor.

Keep as proof: SCDMV plate return receipt and the auditor's refund or credit

Applies if you are a registered voter

SC's election site says your record is not deleted when you move out of state: voters may request that their registration status be changed to inactive, by completing the cancellation form and sending it to the SEC or your county board. Do it after you register in your new state.

Keep as proof: Copy of the cancellation form and your new state registration

Deadline: April 15 after the tax year

A part-year or nonresident filer completes Schedule NR (with your SC residency dates) and attaches it, with a copy of your federal return, to the SC1040 by checking the Schedule NR box.

Keep as proof: Filed SC1040 and Schedule NR