Moved from West Virginia to New Jersey Mid-Year: Which State Tax Returns Do You File?
Answer
West Virginia for the first part of the year, New Jersey for the rest. Each state's part-year return reports the income received during that state's residency period and prorates the standard deduction, exemptions and credits accordingly. Keep evidence of the date you actually changed domicile.
Last verified
A mid-year move splits the tax year in two, and each state taxes its own half. That is a residency question, so the machinery that governs commuters — reciprocity agreements, convenience rules, nonresident withholding — is beside the point here.
What you file
- 1Part-year return · West VirginiaForm IT-140 with Schedule A
File a West Virginia part-year return covering the months you lived in West Virginia. A part-year resident of West Virginia reports the income received while a West Virginia resident, plus any West Virginia-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
- 2Part-year return · New JerseyForm NJ-1040 (part-year resident)
File a New Jersey part-year return covering the months you lived in New Jersey. A part-year resident of New Jersey reports the income received while a New Jersey resident, plus any New Jersey-source income received during the rest of the year, and prorates the deductions and credits to the residency period.
The two states, side by side
| West Virginia | New Jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes wages | Yes — graduated | Yes — graduated |
| Reciprocity partners | 5 (Form WV/IT-104) | 1 (Form NJ-165) |
| Convenience rule | No | Only against convenience-rule states |
| Nonresident return | Form IT-140 with Schedule A | Form NJ-1040NR |
| Part-year return | Form IT-140 with Schedule A | Form NJ-1040 (part-year resident) |
| Credit for other-state tax | Schedule E (Form IT-140) | Schedule NJ-COJ |
| Nonresident safe harbour | None published | None published |
| Local income tax | Yes | No |
| Revenue department | West Virginia Tax Division | New Jersey Division of Taxation |
| Last verified |
The other direction
Reversing the commute does not always reverse the answer. Living in New Jersey and working in West Virginia gives:Two part-year returns.
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: West Virginia → New JerseyBoth states — credit offsets the double tax
- Remote worker: West Virginia → New JerseyHome state only
- 1099 contractor: West Virginia → New JerseyHome state, plus the client state if you work there
Other West Virginia pairs
Questions people actually ask
I moved from West Virginia to New Jersey mid-year. Do I have to file in both states?
West Virginia for the first part of the year, New Jersey for the rest. Each state's part-year return reports the income received during that state's residency period and prorates the standard deduction, exemptions and credits accordingly. Keep evidence of the date you actually changed domicile.
How do I split my income between West Virginia and New Jersey?
By when you received it, measured against the date your domicile actually changed. Income received while you were a West Virginia resident belongs on the West Virginia return and income received afterwards on the New Jersey return, with each state prorating your deductions, exemptions and credits to its own part of the year. Keep evidence of the move date — a lease, a closing statement, a licence issue date.
How current is this?
The West Virginia and New Jersey rules on this page were last checked against West Virginia Tax Division and New Jersey 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.
- West Virginia Tax Division — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — individual income taxaccessed 2026-08-07
- New Jersey Division of Taxation — Convenience of the Employer Ruleaccessed 2026-08-07