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