Moved from Iowa to Minnesota Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Iowa for the first part of the year, Minnesota 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 · IowaForm IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126
File a Iowa part-year return covering the months you lived in Iowa. A part-year resident of Iowa reports the income received while a Iowa resident, plus any Iowa-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
- 2Part-year return · MinnesotaForm M1 with Schedule M1NR
File a Minnesota part-year return covering the months you lived in Minnesota. A part-year resident of Minnesota reports the income received while a Minnesota resident, plus any Minnesota-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
| Iowa | Minnesota | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 1 (Form 44-016) | 2 (Form MWR) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126 | Form M1 with Schedule M1NR |
| Part-year return | Form IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126 | Form M1 with Schedule M1NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form IA 130 | Schedule M1CR |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Iowa Department of Revenue | Minnesota Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Minnesota and working in Iowa 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: Iowa → MinnesotaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Iowa → MinnesotaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Iowa → MinnesotaHome state, plus the client state if you work there
Other Iowa pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Iowa to Minnesota mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Iowa for the first part of the year, Minnesota 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 Iowa and Minnesota?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Iowa resident belongs on the Iowa return and income received afterwards on the Minnesota 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 Iowa and Minnesota rules on this page were last checked against Iowa Department of Revenue and Minnesota 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.
- Iowa Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Minnesota Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07