Am I supposed to be paying income taxes in two different states? Moved mid-year and confused

You're asking exactly the right questions! When you move between states during a tax year, you'll typically need to file part-year resident returns in both states. Each state wants their fair share of taxes based on income earned while you were living there. For your situation, you'd file as a part-year resident in Arizona for the period from January through June, reporting income earned while living there. Then you'd file as a part-year resident in Colorado for July through December, reporting income earned during that period. The good news is you generally won't be double-taxed on the same income - most states have provisions to prevent this. Your HR department mentioning "tax reciprocity" is interesting, but that typically applies to people who live in one state and work in another simultaneously. Since you actually moved your residence, you're dealing with part-year residency in both states instead.

I went through something similar last year when I moved from Nevada to Washington. I was totally confused about state taxes until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which saved me so much stress. It analyzed my situation and clearly showed what I needed to file in each state. The site asks questions about your move date and where you earned income, then breaks down your tax obligations by state. What's really helpful is that it explains WHY you need to file certain forms rather than just telling you what to do. For your situation with Arizona and Colorado, it would make it really clear which income belongs where.

Just wanted to follow up on my question about taxr.ai - I decided to give it a try for my situation (I work remotely but travel between states a lot). It actually provided way more clarity than I expected! I was worried about having to file in multiple states, but the site walked me through exactly which states required filing based on their specific threshold rules. It even flagged some specific deductions I could take for my scenario that I had no idea about. Definitely recommend for anyone dealing with multi-state tax situations like the original poster. Saved me from making some pretty big mistakes that would have cost me hundreds.

If you're having trouble getting clear answers about your state tax situation, I totally get the frustration. I was in the exact same boat last year after moving from Michigan to Texas. Called the state tax departments multiple times but kept getting stuck in automated systems. Finally found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual human at both state tax departments in under 15 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The Arizona and Colorado departments should be able to give you official guidance on your specific situation. For me, getting direct answers from the state tax representatives was crucial because my situation had some weird complications. Worth checking out if you're spinning your wheels trying to get official answers!

I owe you an apology and wanted to update everyone. After my skeptical comment, I actually tried Claimyr to reach the California tax board about a seriously messed up notice I received. I was desperate after trying for days to get through myself. It actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back in about 20 minutes connecting me directly to a CA tax representative. The rep was able to see that there was an error in their system that had triggered the incorrect notice. Problem solved in one conversation instead of weeks of stress. For the original poster, definitely worth using this to get the official word from both Arizona and Colorado tax departments. Sometimes the only way to get a definitive answer for your specific situation is to speak directly with the state authorities.

Just to add something important that nobody's mentioned yet - make sure you keep track of all your moving expenses and receipts! If you moved for work, some states (including Colorado) allow deductions for moving expenses even though they're no longer deductible on federal returns after the 2017 tax changes. Also, don't forget to update your vehicle registration and driver's license promptly after moving. Some states have been cracking down on people who move but don't update these things, and it can create questions about your actual residency date.

I actually just went thru this exact situation moving from Illinois to Michigan last year. One thing that tripped me up was that I had some retirement income that was taxed differently in each state. Make sure you check if either Arizona or Colorado have any special tax treaties or agreements! Some states have agreements to avoid double taxation on certain types of income. I ended up owing way less than I expected because of this.