The Florida tax guide for new arrivals
Quick answer: Florida has no state income tax, which is why so many arrive from New York, New Jersey, and California, where top rates run 10.75 to 13.3 percent. But the move year has traps: part-year returns in your old state, domicile rules your old state enforces aggressively, and a few Florida taxes nobody warns you about. Reviewed June 2026.
What Florida does not tax
Wages, salaries, retirement distributions, Social Security, and investment income. No state income tax return to file at all.
What surprises movers
Documentary stamp tax on real estate (70 cents per $100 of price), tangible personal property tax on business equipment with a spring filing requirement, and sales tax above 7 percent in many counties.
The move-year return
A part-year return in your old state, done in the right order, plus a clean domicile file. High-tax states audit big earners who leave; the paperwork decides who wins.
Retirees, check both ends
Florida will not tax your Social Security, and as of 2026 only eight states still do, each with income-based exemptions. The bigger lever is usually withdrawal timing, which we plan with you.
Snowbirds have a different playbook
Splitting the year between states is its own game of day counts and documentation. We wrote a whole guide for it.
Where movers come from
Census data shows New York, New Jersey, and California lead the inflow. If that is you, your old state has specific rules about letting go. We know them.
Educational overview based on state revenue department and Census sources, reviewed June 2026. Not advice; your move year gets a real review.
Does Florida really have no state income tax?
Correct. Florida levies no personal income tax on wages, retirement income, or investment income. Nine states currently tax no wage income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming, though Washington taxes large capital gains.
What taxes surprise people who move to Florida?
Three big ones. Documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 on home purchases, so $7,000 on a million dollar home. Tangible personal property tax on business equipment, with a required filing each spring. And combined sales tax that runs above 7 percent in many counties.
How do taxes work the year I move?
You usually file a part-year return in your old state covering income earned before the move, and establish Florida domicile with actions, not intentions: license, registrations, homestead, and where your life actually happens. The move year is exactly the kind of return worth having prepared professionally.