Moved from Arkansas to Michigan Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Arkansas for the first part of the year, Michigan 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 · ArkansasForm AR1000NR (part-year resident)
File a Arkansas part-year return covering the months you lived in Arkansas. A part-year resident of Arkansas reports the income received while a Arkansas resident, plus any Arkansas-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
- 2Part-year return · MichiganForm MI-1040 with Schedule NR
File a Michigan part-year return covering the months you lived in Michigan. A part-year resident of Michigan reports the income received while a Michigan resident, plus any Michigan-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
| Arkansas | Michigan | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 6 (Form MI-W4) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form AR1000NR | Form MI-1040 with Schedule NR |
| Part-year return | Form AR1000NR (part-year resident) | Form MI-1040 with Schedule NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form AR1000TC | Form MI-1040 (credit for income tax imposed by another state) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration | Michigan Department of Treasury |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Michigan and working in Arkansas 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: Arkansas → MichiganBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Arkansas → MichiganHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Arkansas → MichiganHome state, plus the client state if you work there
Other Arkansas pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Arkansas to Michigan mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Arkansas for the first part of the year, Michigan 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 Arkansas and Michigan?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Arkansas resident belongs on the Arkansas return and income received afterwards on the Michigan 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 Arkansas and Michigan rules on this page were last checked against Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration and Michigan Department of Treasury 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.
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Michigan Department of Treasury — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07