Moved from Maine to Montana Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Maine for the first part of the year, Montana 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 · MaineForm 1040ME with Schedule NRH
File a Maine part-year return covering the months you lived in Maine. A part-year resident of Maine reports the income received while a Maine resident, plus any Maine-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
- 2Part-year return · MontanaForm 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule
File a Montana part-year return covering the months you lived in Montana. A part-year resident of Montana reports the income received while a Montana resident, plus any Montana-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
| Maine | Montana | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 1 (Form MW-4) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 1040ME with Schedule NR | Form 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule |
| Part-year return | Form 1040ME with Schedule NRH | Form 2 with the nonresident/part-year schedule |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 1040ME Schedule A | Form 2 (credit for income tax paid to another state) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | 12 days or a dollar floor | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Maine Revenue Services | Montana Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Montana and working in Maine 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: Maine → MontanaBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Maine → MontanaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Maine → MontanaHome state, plus the client state if you work there
Other Maine pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Maine to Montana mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Maine for the first part of the year, Montana 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 Maine and Montana?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Maine resident belongs on the Maine return and income received afterwards on the Montana 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 Maine and Montana rules on this page were last checked against Maine Revenue Services and Montana 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.
- Maine Revenue Services — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Montana Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07