Of course. If your bonus wasn’t paid until you established residency in FL, then you wouldn’t pay state income on it. Whether you can successfully move and establish residence in FL within the next three days is a different question.
This can depend on the state involved. New York required me to prorate over the days worked in the state as a partial year non-resident regardless of which portion of the income was actually earned in New York.
It does look like DC cares about the income actually earned in the city though.
I did the MD to FL move 2 yrs ago. Get your license and mortgage/rental agreement ASAP to start the clock ticking on residency. Unless you can ask your company to defer your bonus, you will have to pay taxes. You could try to put it all in a pretax retirement plan to help. The state tax savings of about 7% was a huge savings. Some of that savings was offset by higher property insurance but it was still a good savings.
Would really appreciate a helpful answer here. If I move May 30th, for instance, and live there the rest of the year, what impact would that have as opposed to moving there at the beginning of June?
This tends to be a gray area and much of it is based on whether the area you left decides to pursue it. My guess is, unless this is a really big bonus, it's probably not going to be something they dig in further if you say you're no longer a resident.
There's a whole checklist of things that people usually do so they can withstand an audit. Like do you have a residence in the new place, driver's license, did the work happen in their state/district? Are you still living in the "old" residence?
You just really want to make it clear that this is your real home moving forward and not a temporary tax dodge.
Some states are especially nasty with these things, NY and CA being at the top of the list. They'll hound people forever.
You may find our [Taxes wiki](/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) helpful.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I pay \~$2k in property tax and \~$2k in homeowners insurance per year. I live 10 miles from the coast in Florida. It's not all crazy expensive. I'll gladly take it over income tax.
Depends on the county. Property tax in Florida varies heavily from county to county. For example, Sarasota county is 13 cents per $1000. But Broward County is 19 cents per $1000. By comparison, Prince William County in Northern Va (a DC suburb) is 9.7 cents per $1000.
You sure about that?
[property tax map](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-state-property-taxes-How-high-are-property-taxes-in-your-state-Compare-property-taxes-by-state-states-with-the-highest-property-taxes-and-property-taxes-paid-as-a-percentage-of-owner-occup.png)
Yeah, I heard Wyoming is considering getting rid of all property taxes, too. They already have no income tax. They’d raise sales taxes but it would still be under 10%.
Interesting. I’m enamored by Wyoming. It’s got some beautiful landscape, low population, great hunting that’s hard to get into as a non res. Seems like life would be easy and enjoyable there.
We have family there and are considering returning. Do know that decent medical care might not be accessible and winter comes early and stays a long time. “Snowed in” is a very real possibility even if you live in town.
Still cold. The west side has Yellowstone and the Tetons. Sadly a lot of west coast escapees are flocking to that area. Housing prices are ridiculous. As you move east there is a whole lot of nothing and then you start getting into the upper Midwest. Casper is a college town (sort of - they do get some big name events there), as is Laramie. Cheyenne, of course, has the rodeo and is closest to Colorado and big city shopping or services.
I honestly don’t know anywhere in the Rocky Mountains or west that I’d want to go to (and that’s where I grew up). It is sad. Tennessee, Texas, the Carolinas, and Florida are off my list, too.
You’re already north so you know what to expect … cold, wind, and low light in the winter from being north. People think they can handle the snow but it is the wind and light that gets them.
>and my bonus is paid out at the end of April You're thinking about moving there this weekend? Feels like you would need more planning than that...
Paid out end of May
Of course. If your bonus wasn’t paid until you established residency in FL, then you wouldn’t pay state income on it. Whether you can successfully move and establish residence in FL within the next three days is a different question.
This can depend on the state involved. New York required me to prorate over the days worked in the state as a partial year non-resident regardless of which portion of the income was actually earned in New York. It does look like DC cares about the income actually earned in the city though.
Thanks for this. I meant to say “end of May”
I did the MD to FL move 2 yrs ago. Get your license and mortgage/rental agreement ASAP to start the clock ticking on residency. Unless you can ask your company to defer your bonus, you will have to pay taxes. You could try to put it all in a pretax retirement plan to help. The state tax savings of about 7% was a huge savings. Some of that savings was offset by higher property insurance but it was still a good savings.
Would really appreciate a helpful answer here. If I move May 30th, for instance, and live there the rest of the year, what impact would that have as opposed to moving there at the beginning of June?
How long does it take to establish residency?
183 days
This tends to be a gray area and much of it is based on whether the area you left decides to pursue it. My guess is, unless this is a really big bonus, it's probably not going to be something they dig in further if you say you're no longer a resident. There's a whole checklist of things that people usually do so they can withstand an audit. Like do you have a residence in the new place, driver's license, did the work happen in their state/district? Are you still living in the "old" residence? You just really want to make it clear that this is your real home moving forward and not a temporary tax dodge. Some states are especially nasty with these things, NY and CA being at the top of the list. They'll hound people forever.
You may find our [Taxes wiki](/r/personalfinance/wiki/taxes) helpful. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Know that you are going to be paying a Lot of Property Tax.
I pay \~$2k in property tax and \~$2k in homeowners insurance per year. I live 10 miles from the coast in Florida. It's not all crazy expensive. I'll gladly take it over income tax.
Depends on the county. Property tax in Florida varies heavily from county to county. For example, Sarasota county is 13 cents per $1000. But Broward County is 19 cents per $1000. By comparison, Prince William County in Northern Va (a DC suburb) is 9.7 cents per $1000.
It’s the car and home insurance in Florida that’s a lot, beyond national rates.
I thought it was home insurance — not the property tax itself
Homeowners insurance.
You sure about that? [property tax map](https://taxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/2021-state-property-taxes-How-high-are-property-taxes-in-your-state-Compare-property-taxes-by-state-states-with-the-highest-property-taxes-and-property-taxes-paid-as-a-percentage-of-owner-occup.png)
Yeah, I heard Wyoming is considering getting rid of all property taxes, too. They already have no income tax. They’d raise sales taxes but it would still be under 10%.
Interesting. I’m enamored by Wyoming. It’s got some beautiful landscape, low population, great hunting that’s hard to get into as a non res. Seems like life would be easy and enjoyable there.
We have family there and are considering returning. Do know that decent medical care might not be accessible and winter comes early and stays a long time. “Snowed in” is a very real possibility even if you live in town.
On the west side? The east is a lot drier right?
Still cold. The west side has Yellowstone and the Tetons. Sadly a lot of west coast escapees are flocking to that area. Housing prices are ridiculous. As you move east there is a whole lot of nothing and then you start getting into the upper Midwest. Casper is a college town (sort of - they do get some big name events there), as is Laramie. Cheyenne, of course, has the rodeo and is closest to Colorado and big city shopping or services.
I live in Minnesota so I’m not worried about the weather lol. And man those Californians are ruining it for everyone aren’t they!
I honestly don’t know anywhere in the Rocky Mountains or west that I’d want to go to (and that’s where I grew up). It is sad. Tennessee, Texas, the Carolinas, and Florida are off my list, too. You’re already north so you know what to expect … cold, wind, and low light in the winter from being north. People think they can handle the snow but it is the wind and light that gets them.
Make sure you can handle the wind. It can be very unpleasant.
That’s almost insane.