How US States Decide You Are a Tax Resident: The Rules, State by State, 2026

How do US states decide who is a tax resident in 2026?

US states decide tax residency mainly through domicile, a statutory test combining a home with time spent in the state, or both, and the wording differs: New York looks at domicile or a permanent place of abode with more than 183 days, while Alabama looks at domicile with no day-count test.

This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Below you will find the rules of 37 jurisdictions as we read them on official sources, closely paraphrased and with each source linked, so you can go straight to the state's own text. A state's rule can be longer and more detailed than the summary we give, so please treat each line as the place to begin rather than the whole answer. Our methodology page explains how we read sources, and each state's full data is on our USA relocation pages.

What is the difference between domicile and statutory residency for state tax?

Domicile for state tax is generally the place you treat as your permanent home and intend to return to, while statutory residency generally applies a defined test, such as Connecticut's permanent place of abode with more than 183 days, so a person can be domiciled in one state and also meet another state's test.

Domicile is about intention as well as presence, and states describe it in similar language. Illinois refers to where a person lives and intends to return after temporary absences. Oklahoma refers to a true, fixed and permanent home. Wisconsin refers to the permanent legal home one intends to return to. Because intention cannot be observed directly, it is shown through the facts of how someone actually lives.

Statutory residency works differently. Many states add a test that can apply to someone domiciled elsewhere, usually by combining a home or abode in the state with time spent there. The two routes are usually alternatives, so meeting either one can be enough. It also follows that more than one state can have a claim on the same person in the same year, and how the states then handle that overlap is a question for a qualified adviser.

Which states use a 183-day test for tax residency?

A 183-day test for tax residency appears in many states' rules, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, which pair domicile with a home or abode in the state and more than 183 days, though the exact wording of each test differs and matters.

Several states use the number in a different way, and these differences are easy to miss:

• Delaware and Kentucky pair a place of abode, rather than a permanent one, with more than 183 days, and Delaware's domicile limb refers to domicile at any time in the year.
• The District of Columbia requires a return from those who keep a place of abode for 183 days or more.
• Georgia refers to living in the state for 183 days of the preceding 365, alongside legal residence on income tax day and living there on a regular and not temporary basis.
• Iowa treats a place of abode plus more than 183 days as creating a rebuttable presumption of a permanent place of abode.
• Nebraska states more than six months in its rule, and the Department applies this as at least 183 days, with any part of a day counting.
• North Carolina presumes residence from presence for more than 183 days.
• Utah treats a place of abode plus 183 or more days as a factor weighed, not a stand-alone day test.
• Virginia refers to living in or maintaining a place of abode for more than 183 days of the year.
• West Virginia refers to physical presence for more than 183 days, or to more than 30 days with the intention of making the state a permanent residence.

Which states use a different day count for tax residency?

A different day count for tax residency appears in several states' rules: New Mexico uses 185 days or more, Oregon and Hawaii refer to more than 200 days, North Dakota to more than seven months (210 days), and Ohio's nonresident presumption requires no more than 212 contact periods, among other conditions.

Others express the test in months. Colorado pairs a permanent place of abode with more than six months of the tax year. Kansas presumes residence for anyone spending more than six months of the tax year in the state unless shown otherwise. Louisiana refers to a permanent place of abode or more than six months of the year. Maryland refers to maintaining a place of abode for more than six months of the year. Minnesota refers to more than half of the tax year, and any part of a day counts as a day. California presumes residence for anyone spending more than nine months of the tax year in the state unless they prove a temporary purpose, and its test also turns on whether presence is for a temporary or transitory purpose.

Presumptions deserve a careful reading. A presumption is a starting point that the person may be able to rebut, as the wording in Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas and California shows, and it is not the same thing as a fixed line. The reverse is also true, because a figure in one state's rule does not create a safe number anywhere else.

Which states have no day-count test for tax residency?

No day-count test for tax residency appears in the rules we read for Alabama, Montana, Oklahoma and South Carolina, and Mississippi's rule has no stated day-count test either, which means residency there turns on domicile or on the home and citizenship ties the state names, with no 183-day figure to measure against.

Mississippi treats a person who keeps a home or other place of abode in the state, or who exercises citizenship rights such as voting or the homestead exemption, as a legal resident. Montana looks at domicile, or at a permanent place of abode where the person has not established a residence elsewhere, even if temporarily absent. Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina frame the question around domicile. Arkansas, Illinois and Wisconsin also describe residence through domicile in the sources we read.

A rule without a number is not simpler to apply. It can be harder to answer, because it relies on the wider facts of a person's life rather than on one count.

State tax residency rules, state by state

The table lists every rule we currently hold. Please follow the source link for the state's complete wording, and check that the source still reflects the year you are concerned with, since some of these documents are forms or instructions issued for a particular tax year.

Which states are not yet listed in these tax residency rules?

Five income tax states are not yet listed in these tax residency rules, namely Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan and Rhode Island, because we have not yet read their rules to our standard, so we publish nothing rather than offer a summary we cannot source, against the 37 rules listed above.

States that do not tax wages are outside the list too, since this article is about residency for state income tax, and our article on states with no income tax covers them. Residency questions can still matter in such states for other taxes, such as estate tax. For the listed and the unlisted alike, the state revenue department is the authority.

Why can a state ask for evidence of your tax residency after a move?

A state can ask for evidence of your tax residency after a move because rules such as New York's domicile or more than 183 days test depend on facts that the state cannot see from a return alone, so a change of address on its own may not answer the question if the state asks.

Domicile is a question of fact and intention, so what generally matters is a consistent record of how and where you actually live. The rules themselves name some of the ties that states look at. Mississippi mentions voting and the homestead exemption. Ohio mentions a driver's licence, a homestead exemption and in-state tuition. Utah mentions a dependant in public school, in-state student enrolment and voting.

In general terms, the kinds of records that tend to matter include where your main home is and how you use it, where your family lives, where your children attend school, your licence and voter registration, where your work and professional relationships are based, and, for states with a time test, reliable records of where you were. What the state wants to see, and what weight it gives each item, varies.

The purpose of keeping such records is accuracy, so that what you file reflects your real circumstances and you can show it if asked. We do not advise on how to arrange your affairs around a test. If a move, a second home or a long stay in another state raises the question for you, please speak to a qualified US tax adviser before you file, ideally before the move itself.

If that question is part of a wider relocation, Mirabello can help you see how the pieces fit, while the tax analysis stays with your qualified adviser. You can arrange a free consultation with our team whenever you are ready.

Does a green card or visa change your state tax residency?

A green card or visa does not by itself decide your state tax residency, since the rules above turn on domicile, a home and time spent in the state, such as New York's more than 183 days in the state, while your immigration status answers a different question that federal tax law treats separately.

For someone arriving from abroad, that means three questions to keep apart: your immigration status, your federal tax position and your state tax position. Our guide to where to live on a green card or E-2 looks at how the state changes the numbers, US taxes after moving from Germany, Switzerland or Austria covers the federal side for those readers, and the USA immigration overview sets out the routes. If you are comparing residency routes more widely, our residency by investment comparison covers other countries.

For moves between states, our articles on California to Texas and New York to Florida discuss the residency test on leaving, alongside the comparison pages for California to Texas and New York to Florida. Other state-level costs are in state income tax by income level, state estate and inheritance taxes and cost of living by state.