Laid Off Just After Moving to FL

[Cnee]

I moved to Florida from Virginia (where I've worked for the past 6 years) for an internship in January and was laid off due to COVID-19 on April 17. I applied for unemployment in Florida because the Virginia website specifically says that your last job must have been in Virginia to qualify. It looks like I am being denied in Florida because I didn't work there in the base period. If I apply in Virginia, will it affect my ability to claim Florida residency for the whole year? Will I need to pay Virginia state taxes on my internship pay and on my pay from my new job in Florida? I plan to register my vehicle in Florida when things reopen, since I now have a permanent job in Florida.

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

Since you lived in Virginia from January until April when you were laid off, you are already going to be required to file a part-year resident return for Virginia if your income from the internship exceeds the state filing requirements.  The part-year return will only tax income earned during the period of time you lived in Virginia and will not tax your income earned once you moved to Florida.  

If you do receive unemployment from the state of Virginia while you are a resident of Florida, then you may actually be filing two returns for Virginia -- one part-year return and one non-resident return.  

Virginia -- Residency Status

@Cnee

[joeinflorida]

I know this is an old thread. But what if my wife received unemployment benefits from the State of Virginia (Virginia business) but lived in Florida for the entire year (all 365 days). Would we file a Virginia state tax return? We don't have state tax in Florida.

[Vanessa A]

No, Virginia does not tax unemployment benefits. They are only taxed at the federal level.