Moving to Utah: 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: No grace period stated: required once you are a Utah resident

The Driver Handbook says every resident of Utah who drives on the highways must have a valid Utah driver license, learner permit or temporary license. It treats you as a resident if you enter the state to make Utah home, remain six months or more in a calendar year, obtain a driver license or register a vehicle in Utah, or are gainfully employed in Utah (not on a temporary assignment). Having a Utah driver license is also a listed domicile factor.

Keep as proof: Copy of the Utah license

Applies if you are a registered voter

Deadline: Resident at least 30 days before Election Day

To register you must be a Utah resident for at least 30 days immediately preceding Election Day; online registration uses your Utah driver license or ID. Under the domicile statute, voting in Utah in a regular general, municipal general, primary or special election, without having registered or voted in another state that year, makes you considered to have Utah domicile.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation and a record of the elections you voted in

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Within 60 days of becoming a Utah resident

Utah Code 41-1a-202(3)(a) requires registration within 60 days of the owner establishing residency, and the DMV says new residents have 60 days to transfer titles and registrations. 'Resident' under that section includes someone who establishes domicile, stays six months or more in a calendar year, or declares themselves a Utah resident to get a license or registration. The state of registration of a vehicle you own or lease is also a listed Utah domicile factor.

Keep as proof: Utah title and registration

Applies if you have children

Utah is considered your domicile if a dependent you claim is enrolled in a Utah public K-12 school, if you or your spouse is a resident student at a Utah institution, or if you vote in Utah and have not registered or voted in another state. Otherwise it weighs the totality of listed facts: driver license, residential exemption, living accommodations, family presence, where earned income is earned, vehicle registration, memberships, mailing address, whether you assert residency on returns, and 183 or more days with a Utah place of abode.

Keep as proof: Dated records of each factor you point to Utah

Applies if you own a home

Deadline: File by September 15

Utah allows a 45% exemption on the market value of a primary residence occupied for at least 183 consecutive days in a calendar year. Where an application is needed, file Form TC-473A with the County Board of Equalization on or before September 15; late applications cannot be accepted. Receiving the exemption on your primary residence is a listed Utah domicile factor, and only one exemption is allowed per household.

Keep as proof: Approved exemption notice from the county

Deadline: With your Utah return for the year you moved

Use TC-40B to calculate Utah tax for a part-year resident. Enter the date you established Utah residency and the date it ended. Column A reports income earned while a Utah resident from all sources plus Utah-source income earned while not a resident.

Keep as proof: Copy of the filed TC-40 and TC-40B

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: When the home stops being your primary residence

The Tax Commission says you must inform the county if you no longer qualify for the 45% primary residential exemption. Receiving it on your primary residence is a listed domicile factor, so leaving it in place while you claim to have moved is a direct contradiction.

Keep as proof: Copy of your notice to the county and any confirmation

Applies if you have children

Utah is considered your domicile if a dependent you or your spouse claim is enrolled in a Utah public K-12 school, with an exception for a divorced or never-married noncustodial parent. A spouse who has Utah domicile can be treated as having it too, unless it is shown that for the year and the three prior years the other spouse owned no Utah property, spent no more than 30 days in Utah, had no Utah earned income, did not vote in Utah and held no Utah driver license.

Keep as proof: School enrollment and the three-year spouse records

Applies if you are a registered voter

Voting in Utah in a taxable year without registering or voting in another state makes you considered to have Utah domicile. A listed factor also looks at whether you voted in Utah in any of the three prior years and have not registered to vote in another state. Register in your new state promptly and stop voting in Utah.

Keep as proof: New-state voter registration confirmation

Applies if you drive, own a vehicle

Having a Utah driver license and registering a vehicle in Utah are listed domicile factors, as is the failure to get a permit or license a resident of the state you claim would normally obtain. Get the new state's license and registration and keep the receipts.

Keep as proof: New-state license and registration

Deadline: With your Utah return for the year you left

Use TC-40B for a part-year resident: enter the date you established Utah residency and the date it ended. Column A is income earned while a Utah resident from all sources plus Utah-source income earned while not a resident.

Keep as proof: Copy of the filed TC-40 and TC-40B

Applies if you keep your old home

Deadline: Each tax year

Whether you maintain a place of abode in Utah and spend in the aggregate 183 or more days of the taxable year in Utah is a listed factor in the domicile determination. If you keep a Utah home, log your days.

Keep as proof: Day log (iReside)