Capital Gains Tax when moving to a no tax state

Question

I am moving from CA to WA in 2021 March. I have lived in CA for 5 years and accumulated almost $300K in long term capital gains.
Should I wait to sell them after I move to WA? Will that help me avoid the 10% tax that CA imposes?
I understand that there could be some market risk as my gains may go up or down based on market conditions when I try to sell. let's ignore that for this discussions.

mhoran_psprep · Accepted Answer

Should I wait to sell them after I move to WA? Will that help me avoid
the 10% tax that CA imposes?

Ignoring the risk of waiting.
You will have to provide enough proof that California can't claim you are still a resident of their state.
That means don't sell until you have completely severed all ties to the state of California. Get a new drivers license, and register to vote. Register your cars in the new state. Close your California bank accounts, and open one at a bank in the new state, and put all your money there. Have all your mail sent to the new state. Don't own, rent, or lease  property in the California, get a place in the new state. Don't have your stuff in a California storage facility. Have a job that doesn't connect you to California.
The more connections you still have to California the more likely they can argue that they are allowed to tax your income.

Capital Gains Tax when moving to a no tax state

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