A tax question
 

I moved here permanently in August. I have had absolutely no income here since then. Do I need to file a tax return for 2018 anyway as a Florida resident?
Thanks, Steve

Are you asking about a Florida tax return or a Federal tax return, or one from the state you were from? In anty case, I would just go to HR Block, as they can and are familiar with other states.

There is no Florida state tax.

If you are referring to your Federal tax return, you have to file a Federal return if you had income from Jan 1 to August. If that income was earned in another state that has an income tax, then you need to file a part year resident state tax return for that state. Florida has no income tax, so there is no state return to file in Florida.

I will be filing in NY, fed and state. I'm guessing since I had no Florida income as a resident I don't have to do anything here.
Steve

:coolsmiley:

As mentioned Fl has no income tax so you are ok.
Since a pension, social security check and interest and dividends are all income it seemed strange that you had no income for the last part of the year.

If you moved from a state that has an income or personal property tax, be prepared to prove exactly when and how you became a Florida resident. When I moved from Virginia, they prorated my car tax from the date that I actually received a Florida title for my car, and required me to send them a copy of my Florida title.

At the risk of stating the obvious no state income tax means no return.

I haven't had any "income" as I think of it since I retired 2 years ago. I've been living off what I think of as "savings". However, those savings are in a IRA and whenever I take some out to buy little things like food, gasoline, etc., it is considered by the government to be income and I have to pay federal taxes on it. Thanks to living in Florida, at least I don't have to pay state taxes.

When I first moved here, I had 2 months worth of income in North Carolina so I had to pay state taxes for that. My taxes were complicated enough that year that I had an accountant do them. Now they are so dirt simple that I did them using the new streamlined 1040 form. And with no state income taxes, I didn't have to bother with a state form.

I moved here from Massachusetts in April of 2006. Received a nice retirement bonus in May 2006. Massachusetts decided it was taxable income to them. It is important that you are legally moved to Florida. Your thoughts of permanently moved may not pass all tests.

Make sure all subsequent income does not have tax from a prior state deducted. Could be hard to get back.

I too am another ex-new yorker
 

Recent news story Cuomo stated that his tax revenue is down because so many people have left NY. Cuomo specifically mentioned they went to low tax states such as Florida.

Some SCREAM tax the rich. I was never rich. On my best years, on my last dollars, I paid 56% fed, 13% to social security (self employed). 6% to NY State, ?? 3% NY City Commuter tax, 10,000 real estate tax on a 1200 sq foot home on a 50x100 lot. Oh my auto insurance is roughly half what it was in NY. Hear in the Villages both our home and our property are almost twice what we had in NY. Our cost of living is FAR LOWER. Truth NY does have better Pizza and bagels. Florida water? Another debate.

Re: your taxes. My view, we hire a pro. Yes, you can use inexpensive programs and more and more people do. Is it worth it? It is like most things freedom of choice. If, there is an IRS inquiry, audit, who do you think is better able to handle it John Smith citizen f the villages or John Smith CPA?

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Steve, my advice to you is not to solicit tax advice on a message board. At best you are getting tax advice from people who may or may not have a clue as to what they are talking about, and even if they do, can you imagine telling the IRS "but I got this advice from TOTV"? The IRS has help lines, and you can also get an appointment for free tax advice on-line from Villages Tax-Aide.