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. Colorado keeps taxing until domicile actually changes — domicile — the place a person considers their home; the permanent place of abode to which they intend to return whenever away, with no fixed day threshold to hide behind. Below: what follows leavers, and the Florida steps that build the record.
At Colorado's top marginal rate (4.4%), every $100,000 of taxable income is $4,400 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. Colorado 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 Colorado guide →
The headline delta: Colorado taxes its top bracket at 4.4% 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 $4,400 of state tax that stops accruing once Colorado 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 Colorado 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.
More than six months of the tax year, in aggregate, while maintaining a permanent place of abode in Colorado. The rule is a prong of the resident definition itself, and Colorado states it in months — no 183-day count is published. An abode can be a house, condominium, apartment, room in a house, or mobile home.
Domicile is the place a person considers home — the abode they intend to return to whenever away — and it continues until deliberately changed. The Department's evidence list includes the residency status claimed on returns, driver's license, vehicle and voter registration, where the spouse and dependents live, real property ownership and occupation, and in-state tuition status.
Colorado-source income: wages for work physically performed in Colorado, income from a Colorado business, and income from Colorado real and tangible property. Retirement income received by nonresidents is not Colorado-source. A later sale of Colorado property of $100,000 or more also carries closing-table withholding of the lesser of 2% of the sales price or net proceeds.
2026.1 Edition · Revised 2026-07-25 · DomusDay Research