Moving from New York to Florida: making the domicile change stick
Short answer: New York can still treat you as a resident for income and estate tax after you move unless the record shows you really left. Two separate tests apply: domicile (where your true home is) and statutory residency (a permanent place of abode in New York plus more than 183 days there in a year).
What to do, in order
- File a Florida Declaration of Domicile with the county clerk (F.S. 222.17), apply for homestead exemption, and move your driver's license, voter registration, and vehicle registrations.
- Keep a day-count log; any part of a day in New York counts as a New York day for the 183-day test.
- Move the items New York auditors look at: where you spend time, where your business is run, where your "near and dear" items live, and where your family is based.
- Re-sign your estate documents under Florida formalities and have them recite Florida domicile.
- If you keep a New York home or apartment, decide with counsel how to hold it; New York real property owned outright at death means a New York estate tax filing and an ancillary probate unless it is in a trust or entity.
Next step
Email the firm through the Contact page with your move date and what you still own in New York; we will map the steps and the documents to re-sign.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Simani Law, PA is licensed in Florida and New York.