“Exit tax” means different things in different conversations. No state charges a universal fee simply for moving to Texas or Florida. What is law today: residency enforcement, income sourcing, taxes that follow certain assets, and home-sale withholding when you leave.
New deep dives: States with exit taxes & cost to leave · Capital gains, home sales & wealth taxes
We also publish separate exit & residency articles for each high-tax state. This page is the index.
State-specific exit & residency guides
| State | Focus | Read |
|---|---|---|
| California | FTB residency audits; no broad exit tax; LA has no local wage tax | California exit & residency |
| New York | 183-day rule; NYC local wage tax; statutory resident tests | New York exit & residency |
| New Jersey | Property tax dominance; part-year returns; no Newark wage tax | New Jersey exit & residency |
| Illinois | Flat 4.95% tax; Chicago has no local wage tax; part-year moves | Illinois exit & residency |
Also applies nationally
- New Jersey — Home-sale withholding when leaving (often called “exit tax”)
- Washington — 7% capital gains excise on large investment gains (not wages; real estate exempt)
- Massachusetts — 4% surtax on income above $1 million (includes capital gains)
- Texas — Constitutional ban on state wealth taxes (Prop 3)
- Federal — Expatriation rules apply to renouncing U.S. citizenship, not moving CA → TX
Pending vs. in effect
| Already law | Pending / proposed |
|---|---|
| CA/NY residency audits | CA billionaire tax ballot |
| NYC local wage tax | NY surcharge debates |
| TX wealth-tax ban | NJ / IL budget proposals |
Compare savings across all four states
See High-tax state relocation summary — ranked savings vs. Texas with $300k income, business income split, and consumer-debt defaults.
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