Do I Need a CPA After Moving to Florida?

This page is general information for people who have moved to Lakewood Ranch, Florida (Manatee and Sarasota counties). It is not tax advice for your situation.

Do you need a CPA after moving to Florida?

It depends on how complicated your move year is: simple W-2 households often do not, while retirees, business owners and anyone splitting the year between states usually benefit from one. Florida has no state personal income tax, so once you are a full-year resident, many households file only a federal return. The move year is the exception, because your old state still wants its share.

Your situation	Do you need a CPA?	Why
W-2 wages only, full year in Florida	Usually not	Federal return only; tax software handles most of these
W-2 wages, moved mid-year	Often helpful	Part-year return in your old state, plus allocating wages and investment income between states
Retired, drawing pensions, IRAs or Social Security	Often helpful, especially in the move year	Timing distributions around the move, estimated taxes, and Medicare premiums, which rise with income (2026 premiums use 2024 tax returns)
Sold your old home	Depends on the gain	Up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000 joint) may be excluded if you meet the 2-of-5-year test
Own a business or are self-employed	Usually yes	Business returns, estimated taxes, and income that may still be sourced in your old state
Kept a home or rental in your old state	Usually yes	Nonresident returns, rental reporting, and residency audit risk
Large stock sale, options or business sale near the move	Yes, before the move	Which state can tax the gain depends on timing and your residency

What does a CPA do that tax software does not?

Software fills in forms from what you enter; a CPA helps you decide what to do before the year ends and stands behind the return afterward. For a move to Lakewood Ranch, that usually means:

• Residency planning. Choosing a move date and documenting Florida domicile so your old state’s claim ends cleanly.
• Multi-state allocation. Splitting wages, bonuses, investment income and retirement distributions between your old state and Florida.
• Timing. Deciding when to sell a house, take a large IRA distribution or realize gains, before or after the move.
• Representation. CPAs, enrolled agents and attorneys are the credentialed professionals the IRS recognizes. If your old state or the IRS sends a letter, a credentialed preparer can respond for you.
• Planning for the years after. Estimated payments, retirement withdrawals and estate documents updated for Florida, which has no estate tax.

Anyone with an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) can prepare returns for pay, according to the IRS. A PTIN alone is not a credential, so ask what your preparer holds.

Which move-year situations cause the most trouble?

The two biggest problems are residency disputes with your old state and missed estimated payments.

Residency disputes. States with income taxes can question a move, especially for high earners who keep a home there. New York, for example, can tax you as a full-year resident if your domicile is still New York, or if you keep a permanent place of abode there for substantially all of the year and spend 184 days or more in the state. A CPA can help you keep the right records from day one. Our Florida tax checklist for movers lists the steps that show you have changed your domicile.

Estimated payments. If you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file and nothing is withheld, the IRS generally expects quarterly estimated payments. You usually avoid a penalty if you pay at least 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s, whichever is smaller (the prior-year figure is higher for high-income taxpayers). Retirees moving here often switch from wages to pensions and IRA withdrawals and forget to set up withholding.

When should you hire one, and what are the deadlines?

Hire a CPA before the move or early in the year after it, not in April. Planning only works before the events happen.

Deadline	What is due
April 15	Federal return and any tax owed for the prior year; first quarterly estimated payment
June 15	Second estimated payment
September 15	Third estimated payment
October 15	Extended federal return (an extension gives time to file, not to pay)
January 15	Fourth estimated payment for the prior year

If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day. Your old state’s deadlines may differ.

How much does a CPA cost, and how do you choose one?

Fees depend on how many forms and states your return involves, so ask for a written quote and engagement letter before you start. A move-year return with a part-year state return, a home sale and investment income takes more time than a single federal return. Many firms charge a flat fee per return once they see your documents, and bill planning work separately.

Questions to ask:

1. Are you a licensed CPA (or enrolled agent), and in which state?
2. How many part-year and multi-state returns do you prepare each year?
3. Do you prepare returns for my old state, or only federal?
4. What is the fee, and what would make it change?
5. Will you represent me if my old state or the IRS sends a notice?
6. How do you want to receive documents, and when do you need them?

Verify a Florida CPA license on the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s license lookup at myfloridalicense.com, or search the IRS Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers with Credentials and Select Qualifications.

What if you are retired?

Retirees often benefit most in the first year here, when income sources, residency and withholding all change at once. Our tax checklist for Lakewood Ranch retirees covers required minimum distributions, Social Security taxation, Florida residency proof and estimated payments. If you are still deciding where to live, our guide to retiring in Lakewood Ranch covers the bigger picture.

Where to go next

• Florida homestead exemption in Manatee and Sarasota counties, which lowers property tax and is due March 1.
• Lakewood Ranch cost of living, including how the income tax saving compares with insurance and CDD costs.
• The CPA hub for more on tax help in Lakewood Ranch.