Moved from Alabama to North Carolina Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Alabama for the first part of the year, North Carolina for the rest. Each state's part-year return reports the income received during that state's residency period and prorates the standard deduction, exemptions and credits accordingly. Keep evidence of the date you actually changed domicile.
Last verified
A mid-year move splits the tax year in two, and each state taxes its own half. That is a residency question, so the machinery that governs commuters — reciprocity agreements, convenience rules, nonresident withholding — is beside the point here.
What you file
- 1Part-year return · AlabamaForm 40 (part-year resident)
File a Alabama part-year return covering the months you lived in Alabama. A part-year resident of Alabama reports the income received while a Alabama resident, plus any Alabama-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
- 2Part-year return · North CarolinaForm D-400 with Schedule PN
File a North Carolina part-year return covering the months you lived in North Carolina. A part-year resident of North Carolina reports the income received while a North Carolina resident, plus any North Carolina-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
The two states, side by side
| Alabama | North Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 40NR | Form D-400 with Schedule PN |
| Part-year return | Form 40 (part-year resident) | Form D-400 with Schedule PN |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule CR | Form D-400TC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Alabama Department of Revenue | North Carolina Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in North Carolina and working in Alabama gives:Two part-year returns.
Same two states, different situation
The withholding answer turns on how you are paid and where the work happens, not only on which two states are involved.
- W-2 commuter: Alabama → North CarolinaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Alabama → North CarolinaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Alabama → North CarolinaHome state, plus the client state if you work there
Other Alabama pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Alabama to North Carolina mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Alabama for the first part of the year, North Carolina for the rest. Each state's part-year return reports the income received during that state's residency period and prorates the standard deduction, exemptions and credits accordingly. Keep evidence of the date you actually changed domicile.
How do I split my income between Alabama and North Carolina?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Alabama resident belongs on the Alabama return and income received afterwards on the North Carolina return, with each state prorating your deductions, exemptions and credits to its own part of the year. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The Alabama and North Carolina rules on this page were last checked against Alabama Department of Revenue and North Carolina Department of Revenue on 2026-08-07. We re-check the full grid every December after state legislative sessions close, and re-check the convenience-of-the-employer states quarterly because that is where the rules move fastest.
Sources
Every fact above comes from the revenue department that publishes the rule. We do not cite secondary summaries, and we do not restate a figure we could not find at source.
- Alabama Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- North Carolina Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07