Virginia Residency When Moving to Florida
Domicile, the 183-day actual resident rule, the part-year return, and no estate tax
Reviewed by the Fairlight Accounting cross-border tax team — U.S. & Canadian Tax Desks
Virginia taxes residents on worldwide income. You remain a resident if Virginia is your domicile, or if you maintain a place of abode there for more than 183 days of the year — an "actual resident." Moving to Florida means establishing Florida domicile and not keeping a Virginia abode for over half the year.
On this page
The residency tests
| Test | Rule (2026) |
|---|---|
| Domicile | Your permanent home — requires establishing Florida |
| Actual resident | Living in Virginia, or maintaining a place of abode there, for an aggregate of more than 183 days of the year — either is enough, and the days need not be consecutive |
| Part-year | Form 760PY for the move year |
Estate tax
Virginia's estate tax, which was equal to the federal credit for state death taxes, was effectively repealed for deaths on or after July 1, 2007, so domicile matters less for Virginia estates than for Maryland or Massachusetts ones. Members of Congress and military families have special rules: a member of Congress domiciled in another state is not a Virginia resident, and under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act a service member neither loses nor acquires a domicile for tax purposes by being present or absent under military orders — and the service member and spouse may elect either one's residence or domicile, or the permanent duty station.
After the move
Virginia-source income stays taxable to a nonresident: wages for work performed in Virginia, rental property there, and business income from Virginia operations. Retirement income from qualified plans, IRAs, and pensions is protected from nonresident taxation by federal law (the pensions after moving guide). The move year is a part-year return (the part-year guide), and the date your domicile changed is the dividing line (the domicile change guide).
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop being a Virginia resident?
Change your domicile to Florida and don't keep a Virginia abode for more than 183 days.
Does Virginia have an estate tax?
No — it was repealed.
Do I file in Virginia the year I move?
Yes — a part-year return (Form 760PY).
Can military members keep Virginia or Florida domicile?
Federal law lets service members keep a home-state domicile when stationed elsewhere.
Official sources
Virginia Tax explains: “A person who lives in Virginia, or maintains a place of abode here, for more than 183 days during the year, or who is a legal (domiciliary) resident of the Commonwealth, is considered a Virginia resident for income tax purposes.” — Virginia Department of Taxation, Residency Status, https://www.tax.virginia.gov/residency-status
Federal law provides: “No State may impose an income tax on any retirement income of an individual who is not a resident or domiciliary of such State (as determined under the laws of such State).” — U.S. Government Publishing Office, 4 U.S.C. 114 — Limitation on State income taxation of certain pension income (United States Code, 2024 Edition), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title4/html/USCODE-2024-title4-chap4-sec114.htm
Next step
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