Moved from Iowa to Washington Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Iowa once, and then nothing. Because Washington does not tax personal income, this move takes you out of the state income tax system entirely. File the Iowa part-year return for the pre-move income and make sure Iowa withholding actually stopped when you left.
Last verified
Moving to a state with no income tax ends your state filing obligation on the day your residency changes — but not a day earlier. Iowa taxes everything you received while you still lived there.
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. Washington has no wage income tax, so the move ends your state filing obligation.
The two states, side by side
| Iowa | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — flat | No |
| Reciprocity partners | 1 (Form 44-016) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126 | Not applicable |
| Part-year return | Form IA 1040 with Schedule IA 126 | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form IA 130 | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Iowa Department of Revenue | Washington State Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Washington and working in Iowa gives:One part-year return — the state you moved to.
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 → WashingtonHome state only
- Remote worker: Iowa → WashingtonHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Iowa → WashingtonHome state only — estimated payments
Other Iowa pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Iowa to Washington mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Iowa once, and then nothing. Because Washington does not tax personal income, this move takes you out of the state income tax system entirely. File the Iowa part-year return for the pre-move income and make sure Iowa withholding actually stopped when you left.
How do I split my income between Iowa and Washington?
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 Washington return. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The Iowa and Washington rules on this page were last checked against Iowa Department of Revenue and Washington State 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
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07