What do I need to know about moving from Georgia to Florida?

The Georgia Department of Revenue's instructions set the retirement exclusion at $35,000 for people 62 to 64, or younger and permanently disabled, and $65,000 for people 65 and older. Taxable IRA withdrawals and pensions count toward it, and up to $5,000 of it can be earned income. On a joint return each spouse must qualify separately, and if both qualify, each may claim those amounts. Social Security is not part of that limit: Georgia subtracts the Social Security and railroad retirement benefits included in federal adjusted gross income. A retired couple whose income stays within those amounts pays Georgia little income tax already, and gains less from Florida's lack of one than a household still earning wages.

For wage earners the rate has come down. It was 5.19 percent for 2025, and House Bill 463, signed May 11, 2026, cut it to 4.99 percent for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. The Department says the same law raised the standard deduction to $15,000 for a single filer and $30,000 on a joint return.

The year you move, you file Georgia Form 500 as a part-year resident, list the dates you lived in Georgia, and complete Schedule 3, which works out the ratio of your Georgia income to your total income. Moving across the state line does not end Georgia returns for someone who keeps a Georgia job: the Department says nonresidents who work in Georgia or receive income from Georgia sources, and must file a federal return, are required to file a Georgia return, using Form 500 with Schedule 3. Report your new address through the Georgia Tax Center or the Department's Customer Contact Center at 1-877-423-6711.

Georgia ties car insurance to the registration, and the order of steps matters. The Department says you must keep Georgia liability insurance as long as the car has a Georgia registration, and Georgia law requires you to cancel the registration within 30 days of canceling the insurance. It advises canceling the registration first to avoid fines and penalties. If the car was already registered in the new state before the Georgia policy ended, Form MV-18J and proof of the new registration go to the county tag office. The fine on a lapse letter that arrives after the move still has to be paid, because the car was registered in Georgia. Form T-158 is Georgia's form to report or surrender a plate.

Keeping a house in Georgia affects its property tax. Georgia's homestead exemption requires that the home be the owner's legal residence on January 1 of the tax year and that the owner actually live in it.

Two interstates run from Georgia into Florida. The Georgia Department of Transportation describes I-75 as running through Atlanta to the Georgia-Florida state line, and I-95 as running through Savannah to the line. The Federal Highway Administration lists both I-75 and I-95 as ending in Miami.

For the Florida side of the move, such as the driver license, car registration and homestead exemption, see the site's answers on each.

Where to go from here.