Moved from Rhode Island to Tennessee Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Rhode Island once, and then nothing. Because Tennessee does not tax personal income, this move takes you out of the state income tax system entirely. File the Rhode Island part-year return for the pre-move income and make sure Rhode Island 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. Rhode Island taxes everything you received while you still lived there.
What you file
- 1Part-year return · Rhode IslandForm RI-1040NR
File a Rhode Island part-year return covering the months you lived in Rhode Island. Tennessee has no wage income tax, so the move ends your state filing obligation.
The two states, side by side
| Rhode Island | Tennessee | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | No |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Form RI-1040NR | Not applicable |
| Part-year return | Form RI-1040NR | Not applicable |
| Credit for other-state tax | Form RI-1040NR Schedule II | No income tax |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | Not applicable |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Rhode Island Division of Taxation | Tennessee Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Tennessee and working in Rhode Island 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: Rhode Island → TennesseeHome state only
- Remote worker: Rhode Island → TennesseeHome state only
- 1099 contractor: Rhode Island → TennesseeHome state only — estimated payments
Other Rhode Island pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Rhode Island to Tennessee mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Rhode Island once, and then nothing. Because Tennessee does not tax personal income, this move takes you out of the state income tax system entirely. File the Rhode Island part-year return for the pre-move income and make sure Rhode Island withholding actually stopped when you left.
How do I split my income between Rhode Island and Tennessee?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Rhode Island resident belongs on the Rhode Island return and income received afterwards on the Tennessee return. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The Rhode Island and Tennessee rules on this page were last checked against Rhode Island Division of Taxation and Tennessee 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.
- Rhode Island Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07