Move to a new state during the year and your paycheck can change, even if your job and salary don't. State income tax is set by where you live and work, and those rules vary a lot — some states have no income tax at all, others have high rates and local taxes on top.
The single most important thing you can do is update your address in the portal as soon as you move. Everything downstream — which state's tax comes out, where your W-2 gets reported — keys off that address.
Your state withholding changes
State income tax is separate from federal. Federal withholding follows your W-4 and doesn't care where you live. State withholding follows your state.
When you move, a few things can shift:
- New rate. If you move from a no-income-tax state like Texas or Florida to one that has an income tax, a new state tax line shows up on your paycheck. Move the other way and it disappears.
- A new state W-4. Most income-tax states have their own withholding form, separate from the federal W-4. After a move you generally need to complete the new state's form so the right amount comes out.
- Local tax. Some states also have city, county, or school-district income taxes tied to your address. Moving can add or remove one of these.
You may get two state W-2s
If you earned wages in two different states during the year — the old one before the move, the new one after — your W-2 can show wages and withholding for both states. Look at Boxes 15 through 17: you may see two rows, one per state.
That's normal, and it means you'll likely file a part-year resident return in each state at tax time, splitting your income between them. Keep every W-2 you're issued.
Update your address — it drives everything
Your home address on file is what tells payroll which state (and which local jurisdiction) to withhold for. If it's stale, you can end up with the wrong state's tax coming out, which is a headache to untangle later.
Update it in the Employee Portal under My Profile. The step-by-step, including the local-tax and Ohio school-district panels that appear for certain states, is in Profile & W-4. While you're there, complete the state W-4 for your new state in the State Tax Withholding section.
If you live in one state and work in another
Crossing a state line for work — living in one state, commuting to a job in another — is more involved. Reciprocity agreements between neighboring states, credits for taxes paid elsewhere, and dual withholding can all come into play, and the rules are state-specific.
The portal's W-4 page captures one state W-4 at a time, tied to your primary work state. If you have a genuine two-state situation, tell your employer's accountant — they may need to handle the second state's withholding directly. Don't assume a single address change covers a live-in-one, work-in-another setup.
Related: Profile & W-4 · What is a W-2? · Adjust your tax withholding.