Short answer: moving to Miami from New Jersey — moving from New Jersey to Miami: taxes, costs and timeline — pays on two tax lines, not one. On US$150,000 of taxable income, a single filer pays about US$7,429 a year in New Jersey income tax and US$0 in Florida; at US$300,000 the New Jersey bill is about US$16,984. Owners escape a second line too: New Jersey’s average property tax bill hit a record US$10,570 in 2025, the highest in the United States. But the cost of living in Miami is not automatically lower — Brickell rents average US$3,807, above Jersey City’s median one-bedroom at US$2,860 — and New Jersey traps cash at the closing table if you sell after you leave. Sequence matters more than the headline rate, and this page gives you the numbers and the order.
Updated: October 13, 2026.
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Moving to Miami from New Jersey: the two tax lines you actually escape
Line one: income tax. New Jersey taxes income at graduated rates from 1.40% to 10.75%. Florida taxes it at zero — no state return, no tax on wages, pensions, Social Security or IRA withdrawals, a ban written into the Florida Constitution. Computed from the official 2026 New Jersey schedule, single filer, on taxable income before credits:
| Taxable income (single) | New Jersey income tax | Florida income tax | You keep per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| US$100,000 | US$4,244 | US$0 | US$4,244 |
| US$150,000 | US$7,429 | US$0 | US$7,429 |
| US$200,000 | US$10,614 | US$0 | US$10,614 |
| US$300,000 | US$16,984 | US$0 | US$16,984 |
Line two: property tax. This is the line out-of-staters underestimate about New Jersey. The state’s average residential property tax bill was US$10,570 in 2025 — the highest in the country — and its effective rate on owner-occupied homes, 1.88%, also ranks first nationally. If you rent your first year in Miami, that entire bill disappears on day one. If you buy, Florida still taxes property, but a primary home gets the homestead exemption (up to about US$50,000 off assessed value) and the Save Our Homes cap, which limits assessed-value growth to 3% a year — the bill cannot chase the market the way a New Jersey bill can.
People are already running this math: 11,831 New Jersey drivers switched their licenses to Florida in the first half of 2026 alone, making New Jersey the #3 origin state, and Census data show 22,646 people moved from New Jersey to Florida in 2024 against 12,121 going the other way. Miami-Dade is the #1 destination county in the state.
Cost of living in Miami vs. the Gold Coast: where the saving is NOT
Be honest with yourself on rent, because this is where most moving to Florida from New Jersey budgets go wrong. Jersey City’s median one-bedroom rent was US$2,860 in May 2026 and falling after its building boom; Hoboken averages over US$3,805. Miami’s citywide average is US$2,761 — but Brickell averages US$3,807. Moving from Jersey City to Brickell raises your rent while it cuts your taxes. Moving from Hoboken or a New Jersey suburb — where you also carried that US$10,570 property tax bill, heating costs and New Jersey car costs — to a Miami neighborhood at or below the citywide average is where the full saving shows up. Run both lines together, never the tax line alone.
Sales tax is a wash that slightly favors New Jersey: 6.625% in New Jersey vs. a 7% combined rate in Miami-Dade, with most groceries exempt in both. And Florida’s real counterweight is insurance: homeowners insurance here averages US$8,471 a year, the highest in the US — owners pay it directly, renters pay a share of it inside rent and condo fees. That is one more reason our standing advice for this corridor is rent first, buy in year two, once you know your neighborhood and your building’s insurance trend. Before you sign, read exactly what your deposit covers in our guide to security deposits in Miami and how they really work.
The timeline that protects the saving: 12 weeks out to tax season
12–8 weeks out — decide the New Jersey house question first. Sell, rent it out, or keep it? This decision drives everything below. Get at least three quotes for the move itself: full-service New Jersey-to-Florida movers ran US$1,300–US$6,195 in August 2026 data, with a 2–3 bedroom home at US$2,695–US$6,195 over an average route of about 1,117 miles. Book early — this corridor fills in fall as snowbird season approaches.
6–4 weeks out — sign Miami, start the paper trail. Sign your Miami lease or closing, open the Florida-side accounts, and start keeping dated evidence of the move: New Jersey judges domicile on intent plus facts — voter registration, driver’s license, vehicle registration, family ties, the address on your federal return, bank accounts — not on your announcement.
Move week — the closing trap. If you sell the New Jersey home, when you close versus when you establish Florida domicile changes how much cash gets held at the table (see “What most people don’t know” below). Model both sequences with your closing attorney before you pick a date.
First 10 days in Florida — the car. Florida requires you to title and register your vehicle, with insurance from a Florida-licensed agent, within 10 days of establishing residency. Within 30 days: your Florida driver’s license. Residency is triggered by starting a job, enrolling kids in Florida public schools, registering to vote, filing for homestead, or living here more than six consecutive months — the clock starts on the first trigger, not when you feel settled.
January–March after the move — homestead and the New Jersey farewell return. If you bought and live in the home on January 1, file homestead by March 1. For the move year, New Jersey has no separate part-year form: you file the resident return for the period you lived there, plus a nonresident return if you had New Jersey-source income after leaving. That return is also where any closing withholding gets credited back. For the domicile framework behind all of this, read our guide to the 183-day rule and how to prove Florida domicile, and browse our Miami relocation guides hub for the neighborhood and budget pieces.
What most people don’t know
1. The “New Jersey exit tax” is not a tax — but it will hold your money. A seller who has already left New Jersey (or leaves on closing day) cannot claim the resident exemption at closing. The state collects an estimated-tax payment through the GIT/REP forms instead — at minimum 2% of the sale price, so US$12,000 on a US$600,000 sale — and holds it until you file your part-year or nonresident return. Because New Jersey follows the federal principal-residence exclusion (US$250,000 single / US$500,000 joint), many primary-home sellers owe $0 of actual tax on the gain and get the whole withholding back — months later. Closing while still a New Jersey resident, or filing to reduce the withholding in advance, is a cash-flow decision worth real money.
2. If your job is in New York City, New Jersey was never your real tax problem. Many Gold Coast movers paid New York tax on a Manhattan salary and took a New Jersey credit for it. Keep that same New York job remotely from Miami and New York’s convenience-of-the-employer rule can keep taxing the wage — Florida’s $0 only starts when the income is genuinely Florida-sourced. Check your employer’s position before the move, not after your first Miami paycheck arrives with New York withholding still on it.
3. Retirees: your New Jersey income tax may already be near zero. New Jersey fully exempts Social Security and military pensions, and at 62+ it lets you exclude up to US$100,000 of other retirement income (joint) — but only if your total New Jersey gross income stays at or under US$100,000, with the exclusion phasing out to a hard cliff at US$150,000. Under the cliff, the Florida income-tax saving is small and your real win is escaping the US$10,570 property tax bill. Over the cliff, or still working, the full table above applies. Same move, completely different math — which is why we model it per household.
4. Keeping the New Jersey house can keep New Jersey. If New Jersey remains your domicile, you stay a resident unless you have no permanent home there, keep a permanent home outside the state, and spend 30 days or fewer in New Jersey. Keep a permanent home there and spend more than 183 days in it, and you are a statutory resident even with Florida domicile. Renting the house out on a real lease, with your life genuinely moved, tells a different story than keeping it furnished and coming back every month.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I save moving from New Jersey to Miami?
On income tax alone, about US$7,429 a year at US$150,000 of taxable income and US$16,984 at US$300,000 (single filer, 2026 schedules). Homeowners who rent first in Miami also drop an average US$10,570 New Jersey property tax bill. Against that, budget Miami rent honestly — Brickell averages US$3,807 — plus a 7% Miami-Dade sales tax and Florida’s high insurance costs if you buy.
Is there really a New Jersey exit tax?
No separate tax exists. What exists is an estimated-tax withholding at closing for sellers who have left or are leaving the state — at minimum 2% of the sale price, collected via GIT/REP forms. It is a prepayment: you credit it on your part-year or nonresident New Jersey return and any excess comes back as a refund. Many primary-home sellers owe nothing on the gain itself thanks to the federal exclusion New Jersey follows.
How much does it cost to move from New Jersey to Florida?
Full-service movers on this route ranged from US$1,300 to US$6,195 in August 2026 industry data — US$2,695–US$6,195 for a typical 2–3 bedroom home. Add first month, deposit and setup costs in Miami, and the possible closing withholding on a New Jersey home sale until your return releases it.
Do I still owe New Jersey taxes after I move to Miami?
For the move year, yes on income earned while you were a resident — and on any New Jersey-source income after. After that, only if New Jersey still treats you as domiciled there or as a statutory resident (permanent home plus more than 183 days). This article is general information, not tax or legal advice; confirm your sequence with a tax professional before a home sale or a large income event.
Yara Coker — SETTLE, relocation services in Miami.
Want help with your move to Miami?
Tell us whether you are selling or keeping the New Jersey home, where your job is actually sourced, and whether you plan to rent or buy first — we will run your New Jersey-to-Miami comparison with the offsets included and sequence the sale, the move and the domicile paperwork so no cash gets trapped unnecessarily.
Sources
Tax Foundation, “2026 State Income Tax Rates and Brackets” and 2026 New Jersey tax profile (rates as of January 1, 2026): New Jersey graduated 1.40%–10.75%, state sales tax 6.625%, effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing 1.88%, highest in the US; Florida among the states with no individual income tax. Worked examples computed from the 2026 New Jersey single-filer schedule (taxable income, before credits). Florida Constitution, Article VII, Section 5. New Jersey average residential property tax bill of US$10,570 for 2025 (New Jersey Department of Community Affairs data, reported February 2026). New Jersey Division of Taxation: GIT-6, “Part-Year Residents and Nonresidents” (May 2026) — domicile factors, the 30-day and 183-day residency tests, resident/nonresident filing for the move year; GIT-1 (rev. 1/2026) and Kiplinger’s New Jersey guide — Social Security and military pension exemption, retirement income exclusion up to US$100,000 joint / US$75,000 single at 62+ for gross income up to US$100,000, phasing out to US$150,000; GIT/REP estimated-tax withholding at closing for nonresident sellers (minimum 2% of sale price), reconciled on the return, with the federal principal-residence exclusion followed by New Jersey. Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, New Resident page: residency triggers, driver license within 30 days, vehicle title/registration with Florida insurance within 10 days; homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap (Fla. Stat. sections 196.031 and 193.155). Migration: Florida DHSMV license-switch data via Florida Realtors (first half of 2026: 11,831 from New Jersey, 23,436 from New York, Miami-Dade the top destination county); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 state-to-state flows (22,646 New Jersey to Florida; 12,121 Florida to New Jersey). Rents: Zumper National Rent Report, May 2026 (Jersey City median one-bedroom US$2,860); NorthJersey.com rent survey 2026 (Hoboken average over US$3,805; Jersey City average over US$3,236); RentCafe / Yardi Matrix (Miami citywide average US$2,761; Brickell US$3,807; accessed October 2026). Moving costs: GoodMigrations, New Jersey to Florida cost breakdown (August 2026; 89 mover records; average distance 1,117 miles). Homeowners insurance state average 2026: Insurance.com (Florida US$8,471, highest in the US).
Versión en español: Vivir en Miami desde Nueva Jersey: US$7,429 de vuelta al año y una cuenta predial de US$10,570 que desaparece — si ordenas bien la mudanza en 2026
