How to handle paying state taxes in two states after moving mid-year?
Title: How to handle paying state taxes in two states after moving mid-year? 1 So I relocated to a different state in the middle of 2024 but totally spaced on updating my address with my employer for almost 3 months. Because of this oversight, I kept paying state taxes to my old state even though I was physically living in my new state for several paychecks. When I finally got around to fixing it in December, I realized this might mess up my taxes for the 2024 filing year. My W2 shows withholdings for my previous state that don't match when I actually lived there. Do I need to just ignore what my W2 reports for state taxes withheld and manually adjust my state filing to correctly show what I should owe based on when I actually moved? I'm worried about getting hit with penalties if I don't handle this correctly.
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Jamal Brown
5 You'll need to file part-year resident returns in both states. Don't ignore your W2 information - that's what the IRS and state tax authorities already have on file. For your old state, you'll file a part-year return covering January through your move date, reporting only income earned while living there. Any excess withholding will be refunded. For your new state, you'll file a part-year return from your move date through December 31, reporting income earned after moving. Most tax software handles this situation well - you'll enter your W2 exactly as is, then indicate your residency dates for each state. The software will properly allocate your income based on those dates. Make sure you have documentation showing your actual move date (lease, closing documents, utility bills, etc.) in case of questions.
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Jamal Brown
•12 Thanks for the help! So even though I had taxes withheld for my old state for about 3 months AFTER I moved, I should still enter the W2 exactly as is? Won't that make it look like I earned more in my old state than I actually did?
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Jamal Brown
•5 Yes, enter your W2 exactly as is. This ensures your reported withholdings match what's on file with tax authorities. When you indicate your actual residency dates in each state, the tax software will calculate the correct income allocation regardless of where taxes were withheld. Your old state will see you were only a resident for part of the year and tax you accordingly, then refund any excess withholding. This happens frequently with people who move states, and tax systems are set up to handle it.
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Jamal Brown
8 I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which saved me tons of headaches. My situation was a mess because I had worked remotely for a while from my parents' place in another state before officially moving to a third state, and my employer had withheld taxes for yet a different state where their HQ is located. The tool analyzed my situation and broke down exactly how much income should be allocated to each state based on physical presence, which forms I needed for each state, and how to handle the over/under withholding issues. So much easier than trying to figure it out myself or paying a CPA hundreds of dollars.
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Jamal Brown
•15 Does it actually determine which specific dates you owe taxes to each state? I moved in July but didn't change my address with HR until October so I'm in a similar boat.
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Jamal Brown
•19 I'm skeptical that an online tool could really handle complex multi-state taxation accurately. Wouldn't I be better off just going to H&R Block or something?
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Jamal Brown
•8 Yes, it determines exactly which dates you owe to each state based on your physical presence - you just input your actual move date and it handles the calculations. You can even account for temporary stays in other states if that applies to your situation. For someone with skepticism about online tools, I totally get that. The difference is that taxr.ai specializes specifically in multi-state taxation rather than being a general tax preparer. I found it gave much more detailed state-specific guidance than when I tried using a national tax prep chain for a similar issue before. It's built specifically for these edge cases that big tax prep companies often handle with generic advice.
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Jamal Brown
19 I have to admit I was wrong about taxr.ai. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it for my situation (moved from California to Texas mid-year). The interface guided me through documenting my exact moving timeline and provided precise calculations for my part-year California return. It even flagged that I qualified for a special tax credit in California that I would have missed otherwise! What impressed me most was how clearly it explained which income was taxable where, especially for my investment income which wasn't tied to either state specifically. Saved me from overpaying by almost $1,300 compared to what I was planning to do. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with multi-state issues.
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Jamal Brown
7 If you're struggling to get answers from your state tax departments about your situation, I highly recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was pulling my hair out trying to reach the NY state tax department about a similar multi-state issue, and after three weeks of calling and hanging on hold for hours, I gave up. Then I found Claimyr - they got me connected to an actual human at the NY tax department in less than 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The NY agent was able to confirm exactly how I should handle my situation and even noted something in my account so I wouldn't get flagged for audit over the discrepancy. Saved me so much stress.
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Jamal Brown
•3 Wait, how does this actually work? Do they just call for you or something? I've been trying to reach Massachusetts tax department for weeks with no luck.
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Jamal Brown
•19 Sounds like a scam. Why would I pay someone else to call the tax department when I can just keep trying myself? They probably just use some trick to skip the line that we could all use ourselves if we knew it.
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Jamal Brown
•7 They use a sophisticated system that navigates phone trees and holds your place in line, then calls you once they've reached a human representative. You're then connected directly to the agent. It's not just "calling for you" - their technology continuously redials and navigates the system until it gets through, something that would be impractical for an individual. For those wondering if it's worth it versus doing it yourself - it depends how much you value your time. In my case, I had already spent about 7 hours on hold across multiple attempts with no success. Having someone else handle that part while I continued working was absolutely worth it. No magical line-skipping tricks - just automated persistence that most of us don't have time for.
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Jamal Brown
19 Following up on my Claimyr comment - I actually tried the service after posting my skeptical response, and I owe everyone an apology. After wasting THREE DAYS trying to reach my state tax office, Claimyr got me connected in 37 minutes while I worked on other things. The Massachusetts tax rep I spoke with explained exactly how to handle my withholding situation and even gave me a reference number to include with my filing. She said they see this kind of situation all the time with people who move mid-year. The peace of mind alone was worth it, and I never could have gotten through myself with their current hold times (she mentioned they're severely understaffed). Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!
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Jamal Brown
22 Quick tip from someone who dealt with this last year: make sure you keep REALLY good documentation of your actual move date. I had to provide my old lease termination, new lease start, moving truck rental receipt, and utility connection/disconnection dates during an audit because the state tax authority questioned my part-year residency claim.
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Jamal Brown
•14 Did you have any issues with credit card statements showing purchases in both states during the "transition period"? I traveled back to my old state several times after moving for work and I'm worried that might cause problems.
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Jamal Brown
•22 Traveling back to your old state after moving shouldn't cause problems as long as you have clear documentation of your permanent residence change. In my case, I continued to make purchases in my old state for about 2 months after officially moving because I was finishing up a project there. The auditor was primarily concerned with establishing when my legal residence changed. The lease documents and utility connections were the most important evidence. Just make sure you can show a clear timeline of when your permanent residence shifted from one state to another, and temporary visits back to your old state won't matter for tax purposes.
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Jamal Brown
10 Has anyone dealt with this situation when working remotely? I technically moved in March but continued working remotely for my employer in the original state until June. Not sure if I should count those months as income in my old state or new state.
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Jamal Brown
•17 Remote work makes it complicated! Generally, you pay taxes based on where you physically perform the work, not where your employer is located. So if you moved to State B but were working remotely for an employer in State A, you typically owe taxes to State B once you're living there.
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