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

This matters most to retirees. Under the Lowering MI Costs Plan, Public Act 4 of 2023, people born from 1946 through 1966 could subtract up to 75 percent of the private pension limit for tax year 2025, which came to $49,423 for a single filer and $98,846 on a joint return. For retirees born before 1946, the full 2025 limit was $65,897 single and $131,794 joint. For tax year 2026 and after, the Michigan Department of Treasury lists the subtraction at up to 100 percent of the limit, with no birth-date requirement. Treasury also says Michigan law lets taxpayers deduct the Social Security income included in their federal adjusted gross income. A retiree whose income is pensions and Social Security within those limits owes Michigan little, so the saving from moving is smaller than for someone who still earns wages.

The year you move, Michigan still wants a return. Treasury says you must file the MI-1040 and pay tax on the income you earned, received or accrued while living in Michigan, and lists the forms as including Schedule 1, Schedule NR and Schedule W. Treasury's individual income tax line is 517-636-4486, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A Michigan city income tax is a separate matter. Twenty-four Michigan cities levy one, among them Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, Pontiac and Saginaw.

Keeping a house in Michigan has a property tax cost. Treasury says a Michigan home is not eligible for the principal residence exemption when the owner has claimed a substantially similar exemption on property in another state, or has filed a nonresident Michigan return or a resident return in another state. A denial can bring a $500 penalty, plus the taxes and interest owed.

The Michigan plate does not go back. The Secretary of State says that once the car is titled and registered in another state, Michigan does not require the plate's return. Destroy it before throwing it away so nobody can misuse it, and ignore any Michigan renewal notice that comes after. The Secretary of State's information line is 1-888-767-6424.

Interstate 75 links the two states: the Federal Highway Administration lists it as running from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, to Miami.

The weather on arrival is most different in winter. National Weather Service normals for 1991 to 2020 give Detroit a January high of 32.3 degrees and a low of 19.2, and 14.0 inches of January snow. Added together, the Weather Service's monthly snowfall normals for Detroit for that period come to 45.0 inches a year. Orlando's January normals are a high of 71.8 degrees and a low of 49.5.

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.