Moving to Texas: 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 own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 30 days of moving to Texas

Register each vehicle within 30 days of moving. Bring proof of ownership (title or registration from your previous state) and proof of Texas-minimum liability insurance. Residents of the listed emissions counties (such as Harris, Dallas and Travis) need a passing emissions inspection before registering.

Keep as proof: Texas registration receipt and windshield sticker photo

Applies if you drive

Deadline: Within 90 days of moving to Texas

New residents may drive on a valid out-of-state license for up to 90 days after moving, then need a Texas license from DPS. An unexpired out-of-state license can be transferred; DPS asks for proof of Texas residency, and proof of Texas registration and insurance for each vehicle you own. Driver license office services are by appointment.

Keep as proof: Copy of the new Texas license (front and back) and the surrendered-license receipt

Deadline: At least 30 days before Election Day to vote in that election

Voter registration in Texas is county-based: you register in the county where you live. To vote in an election you must be registered by the 30th day before Election Day.

Keep as proof: Voter registration certificate (kept with your residence records)

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: General deadline: before May 1 (per the Comptroller)

If you own the home and use it as your principal residence, apply with the appraisal district for the county where the property is (Form 50-114). The application must list each owner, state that you claim no residence homestead exemption on another home in Texas or outside Texas, and include a copy of your Texas driver's license or state ID, so get the Texas license first. It is strong written evidence that Texas is your home.

Keep as proof: Filed Form 50-114 and the appraisal district's approval notice

The Texas Constitution bars a tax on individuals' net income, so there is no Texas individual income tax return. Your move-year filing obligation sits with the state you left (a final part-year or nonresident return), so use that state's leave list.

Keep as proof: Copy of the old state's final part-year or nonresident return

Texas has no income tax and no residency test of its own, so the state you left decides whether you moved by looking at where you actually were.

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 own a home

Deadline: In writing before May 1 after your entitlement ends

Texas homestead exemptions that renew automatically do not end on their own: if you stop being entitled, you must notify the appraisal office in writing before May 1 of the year after your entitlement ends. If the chief appraiser finds an exemption was wrongly allowed in any of the five preceding years, the value is added back to the tax roll for those years.

Keep as proof: Copy of the notice to the appraisal district and the sale or rental paperwork

Applies if you own a home, keep your old home

A home keeps its homestead character only if you intend to return and occupy it and the absence is under two years, or the absence is due to military service or living in a care facility, and you do not establish a different principal residence. Establish a new principal residence elsewhere and the Texas exemption ends.

Keep as proof: Dated record of when the Texas home stopped being your principal residence (lease, listing, closing statement)

Applies if you are a registered voter

Texas voter registration is county-based. If you are moving within Texas, update your registration online through Texas.gov; if you are leaving, register in your new state.

Keep as proof: New voter registration confirmation

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: Before May 1 after your entitlement ends

Texas bars more than one residence homestead exemption in a year, and the Texas application requires you to state that you claim no residence homestead exemption outside Texas. If your new state gives a homestead or primary-residence exemption on the new home, end the Texas exemption first.

Keep as proof: Copy of the written notice to the appraisal district and the new state's homestead approval

There is no Texas individual income tax and so no part-year or final Texas return. File federal and your new state's returns as usual; any income still sourced to Texas is not subject to a Texas individual income tax.