New Jersey Residency When Moving to Florida
Domicile, the 183-day rule, the part-year return, keeping a New Jersey home, and selling as a nonresident
Reviewed by the Fairlight Accounting cross-border tax team — U.S. & Canadian Tax Desks
New Jersey taxes residents on worldwide income. You remain a resident if New Jersey is still your domicile, or if you keep a permanent home there and spend more than 183 days in the state. Moving to Florida means changing domicile and staying under the day limit if you keep a home; the move year is a part-year return.
On this page
The tests
| Test | Rule |
|---|---|
| Domicile | Your true, permanent home; requires abandoning New Jersey and establishing Florida |
| Statutory residency | A permanent home in New Jersey plus more than 183 days there in the year |
| Part-year | Resident return (NJ-1040) for the resident period; nonresident return for New Jersey-source income after |
Keeping a New Jersey home
Owning a shore house or keeping the family home is allowed, but it can count as a permanent home for the statutory test — keep New Jersey days at 183 or fewer, with a margin, and document them. New Jersey's estate tax was repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2018, but if you die a Florida domiciliary still owning New Jersey real estate, its inheritance tax applies to that property: nothing for Class A heirs (spouse, children, grandchildren, parents), 11–16 percent above US$25,000 for Class C (siblings, children-in-law), and 15–16 percent for Class D (everyone else).
Selling New Jersey real estate as a nonresident
A nonresident seller makes an estimated tax payment at or before closing — the gain times New Jersey's top rate (10.75 percent for 2026), but never less than 2 percent of the consideration in the deed — on Form GIT/REP-1 (or prepaid with GIT/REP-2), credited on the nonresident return for the sale year. A former main home whose entire gain is excludable under IRC §121 is exempt (Form GIT/REP-3).
After the move
New Jersey-source income continues to be taxable to a nonresident (New Jersey wages, New Jersey rental property, a New Jersey business); retirement income is protected from nonresident taxation by federal law (the pensions after moving guide).
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop being a New Jersey resident?
Change your domicile to Florida, and if you keep a New Jersey home, spend no more than 183 days there.
Do I file a New Jersey return the year I move?
Yes — a part-year resident return for the resident period.
Does New Jersey tax my pension after I move?
No — federal law bars states from taxing nonresidents' retirement income.
What withholding applies when I sell my New Jersey home after moving?
An estimated payment at closing — the greater of 2 percent of the consideration or 10.75 percent of the gain — credited on your nonresident return, unless the GIT/REP-3 principal-residence exemption applies.
Official sources
The New Jersey Division of Taxation explains: “If New Jersey is not your domicile, you are only considered a resident if you maintain a permanent home and spend more than 183 days here.” — New Jersey Division of Taxation, GIT-6, Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents: Understanding Income Tax (May 2026), https://www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/pubs/tgi-ee/git6.pdf
Next step
Fairlight Accounting is a cross-border accounting and tax practice with a U.S. Tax Desk and a Canadian Tax Desk. Our U.S. Tax Desk handles New Jersey part-year and nonresident returns, residency planning, and nonresident real estate sales. See pricing or book a call.
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