Moved from Maryland to Arkansas Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Maryland for the first part of the year, Arkansas 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 · MarylandForm 502 (part-year resident)
File a Maryland part-year return covering the months you lived in Maryland. A part-year resident of Maryland reports the income received while a Maryland resident, plus any Maryland-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
- 2Part-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.
The two states, side by side
| Maryland | Arkansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 4 (Form MW507) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form 505 with Form 505NR | Form AR1000NR |
| Part-year return | Form 502 (part-year resident) | Form AR1000NR (part-year resident) |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form 502CR | Form AR1000TC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | Comptroller of Maryland | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Arkansas and working in Maryland 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: Maryland → ArkansasBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: Maryland → ArkansasHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Maryland → ArkansasHome state, plus the client state if you work there
Other Maryland pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Maryland to Arkansas mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Maryland for the first part of the year, Arkansas 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 Maryland and Arkansas?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Maryland resident belongs on the Maryland return and income received afterwards on the Arkansas 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 Maryland and Arkansas rules on this page were last checked against Comptroller of Maryland and Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration 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.
- Comptroller of Maryland — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Maryland — Form MW507accessed 2026-08-07
- Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07