NJ State Income Tax

[k2at]

Was just told some distressing news which I would like to verify. I was just informed that because I am a former New Jersey State employee and receive a pension check from the State government, I will have to continually pay NJ State income tax even after I become a Florida resident. I was of the opinion I would be able to stop paying NJ income tax when I became a Florida resident even though the source of my pension is the State of New Jersey.

[gettin out]

How far will corzine go !!!! Thats why so many people leave new jersey when they retire!:cus::cus:

[johnfarr]

I receive a State pension from CA and do not pay CA State tax on it. I'd call the NJ State pension folks to clarify.

[meriboo]

I receive and Illinois state pension and am not taxed on it....from Ill or down here in Florida. I sure would check on your dilemma.

[Army Guy]

I agree, check on it, that just doesn't sound right. Especially if you own no property.

Army Guy

[Ooper]

Check out this link, it may help. At least there are some kinks to contact.

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/pensions/fact12.htm

There is one statment in it that also may help...

"If you live outside New Jersey, you are not required to pay New Jersey income tax on the pension you receive from the retirement system. ..."

[GEORGE J]

We receive a retired teachers pension check from NJ. We have lived in SC for the past 7 years and have paid no taxes to NJ (of course SC gets a chunk). We have just closed on a house in TV (Amelia) and will not have to pay taxes on the pension in FL. :2excited:

[k2at]

U r all making me feel a lot better. I will get in contact with NJ pension and see what the real "scoop" is. Nothing about NJ would surprise me.

[JoeB1]

The state Public Employees Retirement System in CA. did this for many years. No matter where you moved they said they had the right to tax your retirement, since you made the money in CA. When you recieved the money you put in during your employment in CA, their felt it should be taxed at the CA rate.
A number of years ago a large number of retirees sued the PERS board and won. CA. has not tried that one again. So you have legal precident on your side, but hopefully it won't get to that. I think CA. already set the law for this situation, through all the suites brought from a variety of states.

Good luck.

[clyd709]

:pepper2:When I lived in Florida I received a Pension from Connecticut. Did not have to payState Tax in Florida so enjoy your Retirement with the few extra Dollars you will be getting from your Pension

[njbchbum]

Fact sheet #12 from the NJ State Treasurer's Office [http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/pensions/fact12.htm] states:

If you live outside New Jersey, you are not required to pay New Jersey income tax on the pension you receive from the retirement system. The Division of Pensions and Benefits does not withhold income tax for other states. Check with your home state's tax office to determine if your pension is taxable in your state of residence.

Hope this helps! Where did you work and when did you retire? I took the '08 buyout and danced my way out of L&PS! I had done a stint with the Dept of Personnel prior to L&PS. I still wake up at 5:30am - but now i just laugh my a** off and go back to sleep!

[k2at]

Your information is correct. I just got off the phone with a NJ pension representateve and was assurred that once I become a Florida resident, I fill out a Florida form and send it to New Jersey whereby they will cease taking out NJ State income tax. Boy, that is a relief.

Worked for the Dept of Human Services and then the Dept of Military and Veterans Affaires. I took the 2003 buyout package, which I believe is the same as the 08. Gave me 43 years of State service. That buyout was nice as I was going to retire when I did even before I was aware of a buyout. It was like putting icing on the cake.

[VEEMAN]

k2at.....I also worked for the State of New Jersey, have recently retired, and currently receive a pension from the State. During my entire career as an employee of the State of New Jersey, I resided across the Delaware River in the Pennsylvania. The two States, NJ & PA, had a tax reciprocity agreement regarding the payment of State taxes........my Pennsylvania State tax was deducted from my New Jersey paycheck and sent directly to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
At this time, Pennsylvania does not tax my pension and to the best of my knowledge, neither will the State of Florida (when I get there...we bought a lot in Bonita).......some States do tax pension/retirement checks however. Under a separate response to you, njbchbum provided a link (treasury/pensions) for you to follow. It should answer most of your $$ questions.
I took the 08 buyout from Corzine and worked for the Department of Health.

[Bogie Shooter]

Was just told some distressing news which I would like to verify. I was just informed that because I am a former New Jersey State employee and receive a pension check from the State government, I will have to continually pay NJ State income tax even after I become a Florida resident. I was of the opinion I would be able to stop paying NJ income tax when I became a Florida resident even though the source of my pension is the State of New Jersey.

Just wondering why you did not call NJ Pension Fund when You "were informed"?

[VEEMAN]

what do you other state pensioners have to say.................after 43 years as a State of New Jersey employee it is possible that k2at has suffered from "post traumatic stress" ???? lol

[k2at]

I had every intention of contacting the Divsion of Pensions in Trenton, but as you probably know when one calls the Division you get "ur call is very important to us" but not important enough to get to u in under an hour of waiting on the phone. I have found that one of the beauties of this board is that if one has a problem or concern, someone in TV has already "been there, done that" and one gets an answer almost immediately.

Tnks all for the help! By the way, the PTSD comment does not warrant a response.

[784caroline]

Its all based on establishing residency here in Florida..not simply buyng a house here and living in it for 6 months a year. . This is especially true if you will continue to own real property or own a business in the state you are leaving. You need to show that you are abandoning your prior state and you do that by a number of actions
-- registering to vote in florida
--registering your car(s) in Florida
--Getting a florida drivers licence (not just a florida only DL)
--Filing you federal tax from a Florida address
--actually living in your Florida home for more than 6 months
-- filing for homestead exemption
-- have a Florida based bank account and better yet if you have the SS or pension checks direct deposited

It has been known that high tax states such as New York monitor change of residency when you file the final state tax return for part-year residency.

[Hancle704]

I don't know about the situation you described about NJ taxing your NJ State Pension but I was happy to find that upon moving from NJ to TV our real estate tax burden dropped to less than 25% of what we were paying in NJ. I suspect had we stayed in NJ our Real Estate tax burden would have continued to climb.

[ceejay]

Nothing about NJ would surprise me.

That's why we're getting out of here, too. Coming to TV in a couple of weeks just to get out of Jersey...I guess we have to pay an "exit" tax to leave...money well spent!

[TrudyM]

In my research I found the following on the net.
From FLA gov site.
In order to register to vote, you need only give a street address at the time of registration. There is no time factor. It can be as soon as you have an address.
For a driver's license, you must have resided in Florida for 30 days and provide proof of residency such as an envelope with your Florida address.
Each county offers a "proof of domicile" form that you may pick up at the circuit court office in the Florida county in which you live once you have moved here

From a Bing search re tax implications.
Tax Law (Questions About Taxes) - State residency and federal home sale exclusion
Expert: Ivan Roth - 9/12/2007

Question
Hi - I am retired and have homes in New Jersey and Florida. I spend about 7 months in Florida and the remaining months in New Jersey. I have not claimed Florida as my primary residence however i.e., i pay New Jersey state tax on my pension, capital gains, etc and do not get the Florida Homestead Exemption. I'd like to make Florida my primary residence and get the tax advantages but am worried that I will lose the Federal Home Sale Exclusion on my New Jersey home when/if I sell it. I've owned my New Jersey home for a long time and have a large gain to report when/if I sell. My understanding is that the IRS will use the address I file under to determine my primary residence. If correct, can I file my Federal income tax using my NJ address while claiming Florida primary residency for FL homestead exemption purposes? I suspect that if I do this (use NJ address for Federal return) I would still have to pay NJ income tax on my income however. Thanks for your advice on this matter.
Answer
hi Peter you certainly have a lot on the plate
lets start with 2 facts the maximum tax savings on the sale of a principal residence amounts to 37500 if single or 75000
if filing a joint return
you have 36 months to sell your property after it was no longer your principal residence and still get the benefits.

You should also consider that some of your pensions deferred on NJ income may still be subject to NJ income even as resident of FLA

Now lets consider your annual tax in NJ as compared to None in Florida (but remember if you NJ deferred pensions you may still be subject to NJ taxes on income earned in NJ.
so trying to save future federal capital tax you are paying current NJ income

You also should consider that one of the major factors that determine your main residence is the amount of time you spend in each but there are other factors to consider you should read IRS publication 523 at www.irs.ustreas.gov to be sure that the facts do support that you main residence is the NJ home

Hope this helps more than just adding to the confusion.:undecided:

[scottke]

As we are now full-time Florida residents, DL's, license plates, voter registration, where do we go to get the form that goes to NJ that tells them to stop taking NJ taxes out of the pension. Thought giving them a change of address was sufficient. Thanks.

[PJOHNS2654]

Clinton signed a bill in the early nineties forbidding this double taxation. I retired from Calif. in 96 and was concerned about paying taxes after I left the State. Was relieved when this bill was passed prior to my retirement.:coolsmiley:

[wdwduo]

SCottke:
If you are registered on the NJ State Pensions website, you can access your account and stop the state income tax withholding right there. The website handles all the state backed pensions. Otherwise you'll likely have to download a paper form and mail it, I think they'd be reluctant to drop withholding over the phone.
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