Move From New York to Florida in June and You File Two State Returns That Year. The $80,000 IRA Withdrawal You Took in May Belongs to Albany, and the Roth Conversion You Do in December Belongs to Nobody
When a retiree pulls money from her IRA in May and converts more to a Roth in December, two states and the federal government divide the spoils in ways that have nothing to do with where she lives when she…
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Picture a typical retiree: 63, single, and done with New York winters. In May 2026 she takes out $80,000 from her traditional IRA to pay for the move. She closes on a Florida condo in June. In December she converts another $60,000 to a Roth IRA.
When she files next spring, those two moves land in different places. New York taxes the May withdrawal. Florida taxes nothing. The December conversion shows up only on her federal return, because a federal law keeps every state away from it.
Two Tax Years Stitched Into One New York Return
New York splits the year of a move into two periods. Under N.Y. Tax Law § 638(a), a part-year resident’s New York source income is the New York adjusted gross income for the period of residence plus the New York source income for the period of nonresidence. Each period is figured “as if the taxpayer’s taxable year for federal income tax purposes were limited” to that stretch. Both amounts go on Form IT-203, Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.
That gives her two state returns in effect, and Florida’s is blank. The Florida Department of Revenue says the state has no personal income tax, “so there are no filing requirements” for individuals. Voters wrote that ban into the state constitution in 1924. A move to a state that does tax income would mean filing a second real part-year return there.
Why Albany Keeps the May IRA Withdrawal
Money she received while still a New York resident goes in the resident-period column, so the full $80,000 belongs to Albany.
New York does give retirees a break. If you were age 59½ or older for the entire tax year, you can exclude up to $20,000 of qualified pension and annuity income, and IRA distributions count. That leaves $60,000 of the May withdrawal open to New York tax.
How a December Roth Conversion Escapes Every State
For tax purposes, a Roth conversion is an IRA distribution. Under 26 U.S.C. § 408A(d)(3)(A)(i), the converted amount counts as gross income. A separate federal law, section 114 of Title 4 of the U.S. Code, bars states from taxing retirement income paid to nonresidents. New York’s own guidance says income from “certain individual retirement plans” received while you’re a nonresident stays out of the New York State amount column.
She’s a Floridian by December, so no state can tax the conversion. The IRS still takes its share. Here’s her 2026 federal math as a single filer with no other income:
| Line | Without Conversion | With Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Federal AGI | $80,000 | $140,000 |
| Standard deduction (2026, single) | $16,100 | $16,100 |
| Taxable income | $63,900 | $123,900 |
| Federal tax | $8,770 | $22,334 |
| State tax on conversion | n/a | $0 |
The conversion adds $13,564 to her federal bill. Most of it is taxed at 22%. Only the dollars above $105,700 of taxable income are taxed at 24%.
New York Still Counts the Conversion When Setting Your Rate
IT-203 has you calculate a base tax as if you were a full-year resident, then multiply it by the share of your income that comes from New York. The conversion goes into that full-year base. That pushes up the rate New York uses to the May money, even though New York never taxes the conversion itself. Before New York’s deductions, about 57% of her income is New York’s share.
The conversion can also raise her Medicare costs later. At 63, her 2026 income sets her 2028 Medicare premiums under the IRMAA two-year lookback. A MAGI of $140,000 could trigger a surcharge.
Three Moves That Shift More Income to Florida’s Column
- Take the withdrawal after the move. If she’d held off until July, the $80,000 would have come in during her nonresident period, protected by the same federal law that covers the conversion.
- Make the domicile change secure. New York says your domicile does not change until you can demonstrate that you have abandoned your New York domicile and set up a new one. If you keep a permanent home in New York and spend more than 183 days of the year there, New York can tax you as a statutory resident. Also, under New York’s special accrual rule, income you’d already earned the right to before you moved stays taxable in New York.
- Size the conversion to the bracket. After the May withdrawal, she has $41,800 of room before her taxable income hits the 24% bracket. A conversion that size costs $9,196 in federal tax, all of it at 22%.
Your move date, the timing of your withdrawals and your domicile all affect each other. The quiet years between a last paycheck and the first required withdrawal are often the cheapest time to convert, which is the whole subject of our free Roth window guide. Run the math with a CPA before you book the moving truck.
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Vilma Rios is a tax professional and tax content contributor with more than 15 years of experience in tax and accounting. She specializes in federal tax research, tax education, and translating complex tax rules into clear, practical information for individuals, families, and small-business owners.
Vilma is a Content Tax Contributor II with the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP), where she contributes to tax education and professional content. She has also presented tax information through webinars, including Spanish-language tax education, and has appeared on Telemundo 47 discussing tax topics and helping viewers understand important tax-filing requirements.
Her experience also includes tax and accounting work, tax research, IRS-related matters, and public tax education. While in college, Vilma volunteered in an IRS-sponsored tax assistance program and was recognized for her community service by local and state officials.
Known as “Your Tax Geek,” Vilma is passionate about making taxes easier to understand and helping people navigate an increasingly complex tax system.
