Moved from Washington to Rhode Island Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
One return, filed in Rhode Island. Washington levies no personal income tax, so nothing is due for the part of the year you lived there. A Rhode Island part-year return covers the income you received after the move, with deductions and credits prorated to that period.
Last verified
This move takes you into the state income tax system rather than out of it. Washington asked nothing of you; Rhode Island does, from the date your residency there begins.
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. Washington has no wage income tax, so there is nothing to file for the earlier part of the year.
The two states, side by side
| Washington | Rhode Island | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | No | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | None | None |
| Convenience rule | No | No |
| Nonresident return | Not applicable | Form RI-1040NR |
| Part-year return | Not applicable | Form RI-1040NR |
| Credit for other-state tax | No income tax | Form RI-1040NR Schedule II |
| Nonresident safe harbour | Not applicable | None published |
| Local income tax | No | No |
| Revenue department | Washington State Department of Revenue | Rhode Island Division of Taxation |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in Rhode Island and working in Washington 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: Washington → Rhode IslandWork state only
- Remote worker: Washington → Rhode IslandNo state income tax on your wages
- 1099 contractor: Washington → Rhode IslandClient state only, if you work there
Other Washington pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from Washington to Rhode Island mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
One return, filed in Rhode Island. Washington levies no personal income tax, so nothing is due for the part of the year you lived there. A Rhode Island part-year return covers the income you received after the move, with deductions and credits prorated to that period.
How do I split my income between Washington and Rhode Island?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a Washington resident belongs on the Washington return and income received afterwards on the Rhode Island return. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The Washington and Rhode Island rules on this page were last checked against Washington State Department of Revenue and Rhode Island Division of Taxation 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.
- Washington State Department of Revenue — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- Rhode Island Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07