Moved from Tennessee to Kentucky Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Kentucky taxes the second half of the year. Tennessee has no personal income tax, so the pre-move income is untouched at state level; the Kentucky part-year return picks up from the date you became a Kentucky resident and prorates your deductions to that stretch.
Last verified
This move takes you into the state income tax system rather than out of it. Tennessee asked nothing of you; Kentucky does, from the date your residency there begins.
What you file
- 1Part-year return · KentuckyForm 740-NP
File a Kentucky part-year return covering the months you lived in Kentucky. Tennessee has no wage income tax, so there is nothing to file for the earlier part of the year.
The two states, side by side
| Tennessee | Kentucky | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 7 (Form 42A809) |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form 740-NP |
| Part-year return | Not applicable | Form 740-NP |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule ITC |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Tennessee Department of Revenue | Kentucky Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Kentucky and working in Tennessee gives:One part-year return — the state you left.
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: Tennessee → KentuckyWork state only
- Remote worker: Tennessee → KentuckyNo state income tax on your wages
- 1099 contractor: Tennessee → KentuckyClient state only, if you work there
Other Tennessee pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Tennessee to Kentucky mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Kentucky taxes the second half of the year. Tennessee has no personal income tax, so the pre-move income is untouched at state level; the Kentucky part-year return picks up from the date you became a Kentucky resident and prorates your deductions to that stretch.
How do I split my income between Tennessee and Kentucky?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Tennessee resident belongs on the Tennessee return and income received afterwards on the Kentucky return. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The Tennessee and Kentucky rules on this page were last checked against Tennessee Department of Revenue and Kentucky 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.
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Kentucky Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07