Moved from Tennessee to Pennsylvania Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
Pennsylvania taxes the second half of the year. Tennessee has no personal income tax, so the pre-move income is untouched at state level; the Pennsylvania part-year return picks up from the date you became a Pennsylvania 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; Pennsylvania does, from the date your residency there begins.
What you file
- 1Part-year return · PennsylvaniaForm PA-40 (part-year resident)
File a Pennsylvania part-year return covering the months you lived in Pennsylvania. 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 | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — flat |
| Reciprocity partners | None | 6 (Form REV-419) |
| Convenience rule | No | Yes — general rule |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form PA-40 (nonresident) |
| Part-year return | Not applicable | Form PA-40 (part-year resident) |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Schedule G-L |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | Yes |
| Revenue department | Tennessee Department of Revenue | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Pennsylvania 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 → PennsylvaniaWork state only
- Remote worker: Tennessee → PennsylvaniaConvenience-of-the-employer rule — employer state taxes you
- 1099 contractor: Tennessee → PennsylvaniaClient state only, if you work there
Other Tennessee pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Tennessee to Pennsylvania mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
Pennsylvania taxes the second half of the year. Tennessee has no personal income tax, so the pre-move income is untouched at state level; the Pennsylvania part-year return picks up from the date you became a Pennsylvania resident and prorates your deductions to that stretch.
How do I split my income between Tennessee and Pennsylvania?
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 Pennsylvania return. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The Tennessee and Pennsylvania rules on this page were last checked against Tennessee Department of Revenue and Pennsylvania 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
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania — Form REV-419accessed 2026-08-07
- Pennsylvania Personal Income Tax Guide — Income Subject to Tax Withholdingaccessed 2026-08-07