Moved from New Jersey to District of Columbia Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Two returns, split at the move date. New Jersey and District of Columbia both tax residents, so each takes the portion of the year you were one. This is a residency question rather than a sourcing question — reciprocity agreements and convenience rules have nothing to do with it.
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 · New JerseyForm NJ-1040 (part-year resident)
File a New Jersey part-year return covering the months you lived in New Jersey. A part-year resident of New Jersey reports the income received while a New Jersey resident, plus any New Jersey-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
- 2Part-year return · District of ColumbiaForm D-40 (part-year resident)
File a District of Columbia part-year return covering the months you lived in District of Columbia. A part-year resident of District of Columbia reports the income received while a District of Columbia resident, plus any District of Columbia-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
| New Jersey | District of Columbia | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 1 (Form NJ-165) | 2 (Form D-4A) |
| Convenience rule | Only against convenience-rule states | No |
| Nonresident return | Form NJ-1040NR | None — nonresidents exempt |
| Part-year return | Form NJ-1040 (part-year resident) | Form D-40 (part-year resident) |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule NJ-COJ | Schedule U (Form D-40) |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | New Jersey Division of Taxation | District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in District of Columbia and working in New Jersey 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: New Jersey → District of ColumbiaNonresidents are exempt by statute
- Remote worker: New Jersey → District of ColumbiaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: New Jersey → District of ColumbiaHome state, plus the client state if you work there
Other New Jersey pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from New Jersey to District of Columbia mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Two returns, split at the move date. New Jersey and District of Columbia both tax residents, so each takes the portion of the year you were one. This is a residency question rather than a sourcing question — reciprocity agreements and convenience rules have nothing to do with it.
How do I split my income between New Jersey and District of Columbia?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a New Jersey resident belongs on the New Jersey return and income received afterwards on the District of Columbia 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 New Jersey and District of Columbia rules on this page were last checked against New Jersey Division of Taxation and District of Columbia Office of Tax and 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.
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — Convenience of the Employer Ruleaccessed 2026-08-07
- District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07