Several high-tax states now levy a separate, higher rate on income above roughly $1 million. Washington, which had no personal income tax, has enacted one that starts in 2028. Massachusetts added a constitutional surtax in 2023. New Jersey has taxed income above $1 million at its top rate since 2020.
Florida levies no personal income tax. That difference only helps a person whose former state agrees that they left. Each state applies its own residency test, and each test turns on two things: where your permanent home is, and how many days you spend in the state.
This guide covers the three millionaire taxes, the residency rule each state uses, and what Florida’s side of the ledger looks like. Each figure links to the statute or revenue department that sets it.
How the Residency Tests Work
Washington, Massachusetts, and New Jersey use the same two-part structure.
Domicile. You are a resident if the state is your domicile, meaning your permanent home. New Jersey’s guidance puts the general rule plainly: you have only one domicile, and it continues until you establish a new permanent home elsewhere.
Statutory residency. You can also be taxed as a resident without being domiciled in the state. This applies if you keep a home there and spend more than 183 days there in the year.
For a person who moves to Florida, the domicile question is about intent and the evidence for it. The statutory question is a day count. A former state can raise either one. New York uses a similar structure, covered in our New York guide, and California’s test is described in our 183-day rule guide.
Washington
Status: enacted, first tax year 2028. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6346 (Chapter 238, Laws of 2026) passed the Senate on March 11, 2026 and was approved by the Governor on March 30, 2026.
The tax. Under the session law, “beginning January 1, 2028, a tax is imposed on the receipt of Washington taxable income” at 9.90 percent. Taxable income starts from federal adjusted gross income. Each individual gets a standard deduction of $1,000,000, so only income above that amount is taxed. Spouses and registered domestic partners share one combined $1,000,000 deduction, “regardless of whether they file joint or separate returns.” From October 2029 the deduction is adjusted for inflation every other year. The law states that estimated payments are not required before July 1, 2029.
Capital gains. Washington already taxes long-term capital gains separately. The Department of Revenue describes a 7% tax on the sale or exchange of long-term capital assets, above a standard deduction of $278,000 for 2025. The new law removes long-term gains from the income-tax base, adds back gains taxed under the capital gains tax, and allows a credit for capital gains tax paid in the same year.
Who it reaches. The session law defines a resident in two ways:
- A person domiciled in Washington during the year. The exception requires all three of these: no permanent place of abode in Washington all year, a permanent place of abode outside Washington all year, and not more than 30 days in Washington.
- A person not domiciled in Washington who “maintained a place of abode and was physically present in this state for more than 183 days during the taxable year.”
For this test, a “day” means “a calendar day or any portion of a calendar day.” A part-year resident is a resident for the part of the year when they were domiciled or kept a place of abode in Washington. For anyone who is not a resident for the whole year, the $1,000,000 deduction is reduced in proportion to the share of income that is taxable in Washington.
For a Florida move. The first year the tax applies is 2028. A person who keeps a Washington home needs to watch both the 183-day count and the 30-day ceiling in the domicile exception. Partial days count as full days under the statute.
Massachusetts
Status: in force since tax year 2023. Massachusetts voters added a paragraph to Article XLIV of the state constitution, now Article CXXI of the Amendments. It imposes “an additional tax of 4 percent on that portion of annual taxable income in excess of $1,000,000” and “shall apply to all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2023.”
The tax. The surtax sits on top of the base rate. Under M.G.L. c. 62, § 4, Part B income is taxed at not less than 5 percent and short-term capital gains at 8.5 percent. The $1,000,000 threshold is not fixed. The constitutional text requires that it “be adjusted annually to reflect any increases in the cost of living by the same method used for federal income tax brackets.”
Because the surtax applies to annual taxable income, a single large year can cross the threshold, for example the year of a business sale or a large equity vest. Reversing a constitutional amendment takes another amendment, so the surtax is not subject to an ordinary budget vote.
Estate tax. Massachusetts also taxes estates. Under M.G.L. c. 65C, § 2A, for deaths on or after January 1, 2023, no tax is due if “the value of the federal taxable estate is not more than $2,000,000.” Larger estates receive a credit that “shall not exceed $99,600.”
Who it reaches. M.G.L. c. 62, § 1(f) defines a resident as “any natural person domiciled in the commonwealth,” or a person who is not domiciled there “but who maintains a permanent place of abode in the commonwealth and spends in the aggregate more than one hundred eighty-three days of the taxable year in the commonwealth.”
For a Florida move. A person who keeps a Massachusetts house is exposed to both prongs. Under the domicile prong, the question is whether Florida has become the permanent home. Under the statutory prong, the question is whether Massachusetts days exceeded 183. The timing of a large income event relative to the change of domicile is a question for a Massachusetts tax adviser.
New Jersey
Status: in force since tax year 2020. New Jersey’s rate schedules for 2020 and after tax income between $500,000 and $1,000,000 at 8.97% and income above $1,000,000 at 10.75%. These rates apply to both single and joint filers. New Jersey has no separate surtax. The top bracket of the Gross Income Tax does the same work.
Leaving with New Jersey real estate. A seller who is a nonresident at closing faces a separate payment. The Division of Taxation states that nonresident sellers, transferors, and grantors must pay estimated Gross Income Tax of 2% of the consideration on a sale of New Jersey real property. They must pay before or at the closing, whether or not there is a gain. The payment is an estimate against the tax actually owed, not a separate tax.
Estate and inheritance tax. The Division of Taxation states that the New Jersey Estate Tax is no longer imposed for individuals who die on or after January 1, 2018. The Inheritance Tax remains. It depends on who receives the assets. No tax is due for Class A beneficiaries. Class C beneficiaries pay 11% to 16% above the first $25,000, and Class D beneficiaries pay 15% to 16%.
Who it reaches. The Division’s part-year resident guide, GIT-6, sets out the test. If New Jersey is your domicile, you are a resident unless all three of these apply: you did not keep a permanent home in New Jersey, you kept a permanent home outside New Jersey, and you did not spend more than 30 days in New Jersey. If New Jersey is not your domicile, “you are only considered a resident if you maintain a permanent home and spend more than 183 days here.”
The same guide lists the factors the Division considers for domicile. They include your intent, where you register to vote, your driver’s license and vehicle registration, family ties, the home address on your federal return, the location of bank accounts, and whether you took part in a New Jersey property tax relief program.
For a Florida move. A person who moves mid-year files a part-year return and reports only the income received during the New Jersey period. The domicile factors above are a checklist of records to update. The 30-day and 183-day figures are the day counts that matter.
New York and California
Both states apply graduated rates that rise with income, and both have their own residency tests.
New York. Under New York Tax Law § 601, the top state rate is 10.9% on taxable income over $25,000,000. New York City residents also pay a city income tax with a top rate of 3.876%, as shown in the IT-201 instructions. New York’s statutory resident test differs from the three states above. The Department of Taxation and Finance counts a statutory resident as someone who keeps a permanent place of abode for substantially all of the year and spends 184 days or more in the state. “Any part of a day is a day for this purpose.” The full picture is in our New York to Florida guide.
California. California’s residency analysis asks whether your presence or absence is for a temporary or transitory purpose, as the Franchise Tax Board’s resident-status guidance explains. Rates and the wealth tax proposals are covered in our California vs. Florida comparison and our California wealth tax post.
Florida’s Side of the Ledger
No personal income tax, by constitution. Article VII, Section 5(a) of the Florida Constitution provides that no tax “upon the income of natural persons who are residents or citizens of the state shall be levied by the state.” A change to that would require a constitutional amendment. If the Legislature proposes one, Article XI, Section 1 requires a joint resolution “agreed to by three-fifths of the membership of each house.” Under Article XI, Section 5(e), an amendment then needs “at least sixty percent of the electors voting on the measure.”
No estate tax. The Florida Department of Revenue notes that a federal change eliminated Florida’s estate tax for people who died after December 31, 2004.
Domicile is shown, not declared. Florida does not require a filing to become a resident. A Declaration of Domicile is dated evidence of intent. Your former state still applies its own test, and the evidence that test weighs is where you actually lived and how many days you spent there.
Why the Day Record Matters
Every test above has a day component. Washington and New Jersey look at a 30-day ceiling for domiciliaries who claim an exception. Washington, Massachusetts, and New Jersey look at a 183-day line for non-domiciliaries who keep a home there. New York uses 184 days. Washington and New York count part of a day as a full day.
A residency inquiry can arrive years after the year in question. A record kept day by day, as the year happens, answers the day-count question directly. A reconstruction from card statements and calendars answers it less directly. Neither one settles the domicile question alone, but the day count is the part of the analysis that a record can make plain.
A Note on Professional Guidance
This post describes what the rules say. It is not legal or tax advice. Domicile and residency determinations are fact-specific, and the timing of a move relative to a large income event can change the result. Washington’s tax is new and has not yet applied to a full tax year. Work with a CPA and a tax attorney who handle interstate domicile cases in the state you are leaving.
How Southbound Helps
Southbound builds the day record in the background. The app runs on your iPhone using iOS’s significant-location-change system and logs whether each day is spent in Florida or outside it. No check-ins or journal entries are required. The core metric is the Departure Budget: the number of days you can still spend outside Florida this year and remain on track for 183.
Your location history stays on your iPhone and in your own iCloud account. No Southbound servers receive or store it. When a former state asks where you were in a given year, the PDF day-record report gives you and your advisers a dated, day-by-day account of Florida days and days away.
This post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. State tax laws, rates, and thresholds change. Interstate domicile and residency determinations are complex, fact-specific legal matters that require qualified professional analysis. Consult a tax attorney and CPA who specialize in state residency issues before making tax planning decisions.
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Published Mar 19, 2026