Leaving California: the questions people actually ask

Yes. Under an agreed review engagement, our team reviews your residency file and supporting package, provides a written advisory opinion and recommends revisions. That is our opinion — not an FTB determination, a ruling or a clearance. ExitCalifornia is independent and not affiliated with the Franchise Tax Board.

No. California has no exit tax and no deemed disposal of your assets when you leave. What follows you is California-source income: compensation for services performed in California, options and RSUs allocated by California workdays, rent and gains from California real property. Separately, Proposition 40 on the November 3, 2026 ballot would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of people who were California residents on January 1, 2026 with more than $1 billion in wealth. As at September 2026 it is a ballot proposal, not law. LAO analysis of Prop 40 ↗

No. There is no departure form and no residency-opinion request. The FTB's Chief Counsel Ruling procedure expressly excludes questions that depend principally on facts, giving 'whether a taxpayer is a resident for a particular year' as its example. You self-assess on Form 540NR and prove it later if audited. FTB Notice 2009-08 ↗

Not automatically. More than nine months in California presumes residency; less than nine months presumes nothing. The six-month rule only protects someone domiciled in another state, with a permanent home there, who is in California purely as a seasonal visitor, tourist or guest. The FTB's own example: a Californian who keeps the family home and spends six or seven months a year in it remains a resident throughout the absence. FTB Publication 1031 ↗

No. Nonstatutory options are compensation for services, sourced by California workdays from the grant date to the exercise date divided by total workdays over that period; restricted stock and RSUs use the same ratio from grant to vest. If you did all the work in California, all of the spread is California-source even if you exercise in Texas. Gains on a later sale of the shares, and qualifying ISO and ESPP dispositions, are not California-source once you are a nonresident. FTB Publication 1004 ↗

Two things. For residency, a home that stays available to you is the heaviest factor against you, so document what happened to it and stop claiming the homeowners' exemption. For tax, rent paid to a nonresident is subject to 7% withholding on amounts over $1,500 a year unless you get a waiver, and when you sell, the gain is California-source with 3 1/3% of the sales price withheld at escrow on Form 593 (unless an exemption such as principal residence applies). You claim the withholding as a credit on Form 540NR. Form 593 instructions ↗

California does not tax qualified retirement income — IRAs, 401(k) and other qualified plans — received by a nonresident after December 31, 1995. Nonqualified deferred compensation is different: it is exempt only if paid as substantially equal periodic payments, at least annually, over your life or a period of not less than ten years; otherwise the portion attributable to California services remains taxable after you leave. FTB Publication 1005 ↗

Domicile is presumed to continue until shown to have changed, and if there is doubt it is found not to have changed. A return after a short absence invites the argument that you were only ever away for a temporary or transitory purpose — so the departure file has to show a genuine, indefinite move, not a trial period. If you left under an employment contract abroad, the 546-consecutive-day safe harbor with no more than 45 days of return visits a year is the one rule that gives certainty. If you do move back, you become a resident again from the date of return and file part-year. FTB technical manual ↗