Residency rules, sticky taxes, and first-year steps (2026)
2026.1 Edition · Revised 2026-07-25 · DomusDay Research
The move changes the rate; the record decides whether it sticks. Alabama keeps taxing until domicile actually changes, with no fixed day threshold to hide behind. Below: what follows leavers, and the Florida steps that build the record.
At Alabama's top marginal rate (5%), every $100,000 of taxable income is $5,000 of state tax — an illustration at the top bracket, not an effective-rate calculation. Official rate tables are linked below.
F.S. §222.17 provides a sworn declaration recorded with the clerk of circuit court — a formal, dated public record of domiciliary intent that few states offer, and a common early step for new residents.
Source ↗The exemption requires permanent residence as of January 1 and an application to the county property appraiser by March 1. Missing the deadline waives the exemption for that year.
Source ↗Article X §4 exempts a Florida homestead from forced sale by most creditors, with exceptions for taxes and assessments, purchase-money and improvement obligations, and labor performed on the property.
Source ↗Florida is the easy half. Alabama decides whether the move counts, and it decides on evidence — the two tests below stay live until the record closes them out.
The full rules, the audit program, and every source: the complete Leaving Alabama guide →
The headline delta: Alabama taxes its top bracket at 5% while Florida has no personal income tax. At the top marginal rate — an illustration, not an effective-rate calculation — every $100,000 of taxable income is $5,000 of state tax that stops accruing once Alabama residency actually ends. The rules above decide when that is; the day count and the domicile record decide whether it holds up.
The first weeks in Florida matter more than they look: each step below produces a dated document, and dated documents are what answer a Alabama examiner years later. Do them early and the record starts on your side of the timeline.
New residents obtain a Florida driver license within 30 days of establishing residency; F.S. §322.031 applies the 30-day rule to nonresidents who take employment or enroll children in school.
Source ↗Vehicles are titled and registered in Florida within 10 days of establishing residency or taking employment (F.S. §320.38).
Source ↗Voter registration is available online, by mail, or in person through the Division of Elections; the registration books close 29 days before an election.
Source ↗A sworn Declaration of Domicile may be recorded with the clerk of the circuit court under F.S. §222.17 — a dated public record of domiciliary intent.
Source ↗The homestead exemption requires permanent residence as of January 1 and an application filed with the county property appraiser by March 1; a missed deadline waives the exemption for that year.
Source ↗Registration requires Florida coverage — minimum $10,000 personal injury protection and $10,000 property damage liability — written through a Florida-licensed agent.
Source ↗Vessels and mobile homes are titled and registered on the same 10-day timeline as vehicles.
Source ↗Florida has no personal income tax return to file; the Department of Revenue's new-resident guide (GT-800025) describes the taxes that do apply.
Source ↗Use tax can apply to out-of-state purchases brought into Florida, as described in the new-resident guide.
Source ↗Everything Florida asks of a new resident, on its own plate: the Moving to Florida guide →
Every rule on this page traces to a statute, regulation, or agency publication, listed in full on each state's own plate.
There is no such number. Rule 810-3-2-.01 taxes those domiciled in Alabama on their entire income regardless of physical presence during the year, so days out of state do not end residency by themselves. What ends it is a new domicile established elsewhere coupled with abandonment of the Alabama one — presence plus intent, both shown by dated facts.
The taxpayer. The rule requires physical presence in the new jurisdiction plus intent to establish domicile there, coupled with abandonment of the old, and places the burden of proving a change on the person asserting it. Registrations, the disposition of the Alabama dwelling, and the county homestead record are the dated pieces.
Two of them. Form 40 covers the period of Alabama residence with income from all sources, and Form 40NR covers Alabama-source income for the nonresident portion of the year. The full standard deduction and exemptions are claimed on the part-year return, and none on the nonresident return.
Wages for personal services performed in Alabama stay Alabama-source for a nonresident. Act 2025-334 excludes an employee who works 30 or fewer days in the state during the calendar year, performs duties in more than one state, and lives in a state with a similar exclusion or no income tax; past 30 days, all Alabama-earned income for the year is taxable.
2026.1 Edition · Revised 2026-07-25 · DomusDay Research