Moved from North Dakota to South Dakota Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
North Dakota once, and then nothing. Because South Dakota does not tax personal income, this move takes you out of the state income tax system entirely. File the North Dakota part-year return for the pre-move income and make sure North Dakota 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. North Dakota taxes everything you received while you still lived there.
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. South Dakota has no wage income tax, so the move ends your state filing obligation.
The two states, side by side
| North Dakota | South Dakota | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | 2 (Form NDW-R) | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form ND-1 with Schedule ND-1NR | Not applicable |
| Part-year return | Form ND-1 with Schedule ND-1NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule ND-1CR | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner | South Dakota Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in South Dakota and working in North Dakota 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: North Dakota → South DakotaHome state only
- Remote worker: North Dakota → South DakotaHome state only
- 1099 contractor: North Dakota → South DakotaHome state only — estimated payments
Other North Dakota pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from North Dakota to South Dakota mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
North Dakota once, and then nothing. Because South Dakota does not tax personal income, this move takes you out of the state income tax system entirely. File the North Dakota part-year return for the pre-move income and make sure North Dakota withholding actually stopped when you left.
How do I split my income between North Dakota and South Dakota?
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 South Dakota return. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The North Dakota and South Dakota rules on this page were last checked against North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner and South Dakota 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
- South Dakota Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07