I have just moved from VA to Florida effective July 8 (date of new 1 year apartment lease signature in Florida). I am a remote worker (employer address has always been in PA for many years per my W2). I have also changed my address effective July 8 from VA to FL on my W4 with my employer and my 2025 W2 will have my FL address.
So I have spent 187 days this year in VA and will spend the rest of the year (and beyond) in Florida. Will I be paying VA income tax only for part of the year on form 760PY as Florida has no income tax? Do I need additional documents over and above my new lease and W2 to prove that I became a Florida resident from July 8 to Dec 31 2025 and beyond? Also, because I lived in VA for the first 187 days, will I have to pay VA state income tax for the whole of 2025 because I spent more than 183 days in VA? Do I need to get my Florida driver's license and change my vehicle registration to FL immediately to prove to the govt. of VA that I left VA? What documents, if any, could the Govt. of VA dept. of taxation possibly ask for as far as my VA income tax filing for 2025 is concerned?
You will have to file a part-year resident tax return in Virginia and pay Virginia tax on the income you earned during the time that you lived there. You do not include any proof that you moved with your tax return. Virginia is not likely to question whether you moved, but if they do, the lease and your Florida driver's license would certainly help to convince them. If you use a moving company to move your belongings, save the receipt.
Under Florida law you must get a Florida driver's license within 30 days after you moved to the state. You must get car insurance in Florida and register your vehicle in Florida within 10 days after moving to the state. These are requirements of Florida motor vehicle laws. They are not necessarily required to prove that you moved, but they might help if Virginia questions your residency.