Moving from Indiana
About 121,000 people left Indiana for other states in 2023, while about 151,000 arrived, so the state runs a net gain.
- The exit paperwork is lighter than most places: there are no plates to hand back and no inspection to clear.
- What there is instead is money you can get back and a deadline you can miss.
- Excise tax was paid a year in advance when you registered, and you can claim the unused part once the car is registered somewhere else.
- Separately, if you owned a home here, the homestead deduction has to be taken off the roll within 60 days and nobody will do it for you.
- This page covers every Indiana-origin route we track.
Indiana at a Glance
Taxes
Climate
Humid continental with cold winters and warm, humid summers.
Cost of Living
Why People Move from Indiana
The destinations are mostly neighbors, not sunbelt dreams.
- Census ACS 2023 flows put Florida first at about 14,900, then Ohio at about 12,100, Illinois at about 11,600, Michigan at about 11,300, and Kentucky at about 8,300.
- Four of those five share a border, and all four are two-way corridors: Illinois sent about 29,400 people the other way in the same year, roughly two and a half times what it received.
- Texas (about 5,400), Tennessee (about 4,800), and California (about 4,500) are the main long-distance routes.
Leaving will usually cost you on housing and save you nothing on income tax.
- At a cost-of-living index of 88.3 in the MERIC first quarter 2026 series, Indiana is the sixth cheapest state, and housing is why, at an index of 73.0 against a national average of 100.
- The Tax Foundation puts the effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing at 0.76 percent.
- On income the picture is less rosy than the headline flat 2.95 percent state rate suggests, because every one of the 92 counties adds its own tax on top.
- County rates as of October 2026 ran from 0.5 percent in Porter County to 3.0 percent in Randolph County, so the combined rate ranges from about 3.5 to about 6 percent depending on where in the state you live.
Popular Routes Moving from Indiana
Before You Leave Indiana
You do not have to hand the plates back
Indiana does not ask you to surrender a plate you no longer use. The BMV says to remove the plates from a vehicle you sold, along with any expired plates. It says returning them to the BMV is not necessary. To throw a plate away, bend or cut it so it is permanently unreadable and unusable. Keeping a plate does not keep the registration valid. An unexpired sticker does not let you drive the car past your new state's deadline.
Source: Indiana BMV FAQ, license plate no longer in useClaim back part of the vehicle excise tax
You pay excise tax a year in advance when you register. If you leave mid-year, you have already paid for months you will not use. Once the vehicle is registered in your new state, apply for a credit or refund. Use the Application for Vehicle Excise Tax Credit / Refund (State Form 55296), authorized by IC 6-6-5-7.7. Attach a copy of the new state's certificate of registration or registration receipt. Also attach the Indiana certificate of registration if you still have it. File one form per vehicle. Vehicle Excise Tax, Recreational Vehicle Excise Tax, and the county and municipal vehicle excise taxes all qualify. The refund must be at least $4.00 to be paid, and $3.00 is deducted as a processing fee. For an out-of-state registration, the check is mailed once the application is processed, with no 90-day wait.
Source: Indiana BMV, Vehicle Registration Fees & TaxesFile Form IT-40PNR for the year you leave
If you received income while living here, file Form IT-40PNR for the year you leave, not the resident IT-40. IT-40PNR is the part-year and full-year nonresident return. You also need it in any later year with income from an Indiana source, such as rent on a house you kept or income from a business here. The annual deadline is April 15. When that falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Source: Indiana DOR, Individual Income Tax OverviewYour county income tax rate is locked in on January 1
Every county levies its own income tax on top of the 2.95 percent state rate. Where you lived on January 1 sets the county rate for your whole taxable year. Moving away in February does not move you to a cheaper county or out of county tax. Employers are told to keep withholding at the January 1 county rate. The rule also catches commuters. If you live outside the state on January 1 but your principal place of work or business is in an Indiana county, you owe that county's rate. Rates range from 0.5 percent in Porter County to 3.0 percent in Randolph County.
Source: Indiana DOR, Departmental Notice #1Tell the county auditor the homestead no longer qualifies, within 60 days
The homestead deduction does not come off the roll by itself, and reporting is your duty. File a Notice of Change of Use of Property (Form HC10/CU, State Form 54890) with the county auditor. IC 6-1.1-12-37(g) requires this within 60 days after the property stops qualifying. The form asks for the parcel number, whether all or only part of the property is now ineligible, and a description of the change. A change in use or title can disqualify the property or require a new filing. So this applies when you rent the house out, not only when you sell it.
Source: Indiana DLGF, Notice of Change of Use of Property (State Form 54890)Keeping the license and the voter registration can keep you a resident
The Department of Revenue treats you as a full-year resident if you keep your legal residence here from January 1 through December 31. Physical absence alone does not end that. For someone who spends the winter elsewhere, it names these factors: keeping a legal residence here and intending to return for part of the year, keeping the Indiana driver's license, and keeping Indiana voting rights. A temporary stay elsewhere leaves you a resident for the whole time you are away. If the move is permanent, close those ties on purpose. Each one is evidence that you still live here.
Source: Indiana DOR, Individual Income Tax OverviewIndiana DMV & Registration
Indiana does not want the plates back.
- The BMV says to take plates off a sold vehicle and keep or destroy any you are no longer using, and that returning them is not necessary.
- What is worth doing is the excise tax refund: file State Form 55296 with a copy of your new state's registration, one form per vehicle, and the check is mailed once the application is processed.
- The refund has to reach $4.00 to be paid and $3.00 comes off as a processing fee.
- Your new state sets the deadline for registering and licensing there, and several give you much less time than the 60 days new arrivals get here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to turn in my Indiana license plates when I move out of state?
No.
- The BMV says to remove plates from a sold vehicle along with any expired plates, and states plainly that surrendering them to the BMV is not necessary.
- If you want to dispose of one, bend or cut it so it is permanently unreadable rather than throwing it away intact.
- Holding on to a plate does not keep the registration valid, so register in your new state on its timeline regardless of what the Indiana sticker says.
Can I get a refund on my Indiana vehicle excise tax after moving?
Yes, for the unused portion.
- Excise tax is paid annually in advance, so once the vehicle is registered in your new state you can file the Application for Vehicle Excise Tax Credit / Refund, State Form 55296, under IC 6-6-5-7.7.
- Attach a copy of the new state's certificate of registration or receipt and a copy of the Indiana registration if you have it, one form per vehicle.
- Vehicle Excise Tax, RVET, and the county and municipal vehicle excise taxes all qualify.
- The refund must come to at least $4.00, and $3.00 is deducted as a processing fee.
- For an out-of-state registration the check is mailed as soon as the application is processed.
What Indiana tax return do I file the year I move away?
Form IT-40PNR, the part-year and full-year nonresident return, if you received income while living here.
- That replaces the resident IT-40 for the year of the move.
- You will need IT-40PNR again in any later year you draw income from an Indiana source, such as rent on a house you kept.
- The deadline is April 15, moving to the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday.
Does my Indiana county income tax change when I move away mid-year?
No, and this surprises people.
- Both your county of residence and your county of principal work are determined on January 1 of the year your taxable year begins, and that rate applies to the whole year.
- A move in February does not move you to a cheaper county or out of county tax.
- The rates are not trivial either: they run from 0.5 percent in Porter County to 3.0 percent in Randolph County, with Marion County, which contains Indianapolis, at 2.02 percent as of October 2026.
What happens to my Indiana homestead deduction when I sell or rent the house?
You have to report it.
- File a Notice of Change of Use of Property, Form HC10/CU (State Form 54890), with the county auditor within 60 days after the date the property stops qualifying, as IC 6-1.1-12-37(g) requires.
- It applies to renting the house out as well as selling it, since a change in either use or title can disqualify the property.
- The deduction stays on the roll until somebody takes it off.
Where do most people move to from Indiana?
Using Census ACS 2023 state-to-state flows: Florida (about 14,900), Ohio (about 12,100), Illinois (about 11,600), Michigan (about 11,300), and Kentucky (about 8,300).
- Texas, Tennessee, and California lead the long-distance routes at about 5,400, 4,800, and 4,500.
- The border-state routes run heavily in both directions, and Illinois in particular sends far more people to Indiana than it takes.