An operating brief for one move — not an explainer. It reads the reasoning graph from origin to destination and returns what the household must coordinate: the priorities that change, the standing decisions the move makes stale, and the actions to take before, during, and after the crossing.
Relocating from Maryland to Florida eases the state's drag on every realized gain, shifting coordination toward asset titling for step-up.
Only the dimensions the move actually changes — origin on the left, destination on the right.
| What changed | In Maryland | In Florida | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital-gains rate | 8.5%Loss treatment conforms to federal: capital losses net against gains and carry forward. Top effective long-term rate 8.5%. Quirk: 6.5% + a 2% capital-gains surtax on long-term gains + county tax. | → | 0%No state tax on capital gains — and a harvested loss is worth only the federal rate here. |
| Estate & inheritance | estate+inhBoth a state estate tax (~16%, exemption ~$5M) and an inheritance tax apply. The only state with both an estate tax ($5M exemption, portable, to 16%) and a 10% inheritance tax on non-close heirs. | → | No state estate or inheritance tax — only the federal estate tax applies. |
| Basis step-up | Common-law (separate-property) state: at the first spouse's death only the decedent's half of jointly-held property steps up; the survivor keeps carryover basis on their half (IRC 1014(b)(9), 2040(b)). | → | opt-inOffers an elective community-property trust: a couple can opt in to obtain a full (double) basis step-up at the first death. |
| Marriage treatment | ~2xJoint brackets widen for couples, but by less than 2× — a partial marriage penalty that bites on higher incomes. | → | No state income tax — no marriage penalty on the state return. |
| Loss treatment | federalCapital losses carry forward under the federal Section 1212 rules — a harvested loss nets against gains and rolls forward until used. | → | No state tax on capital gains, so a harvested loss carries no state benefit; its value here is only the federal offset. |
| Municipal bonds | in-stateOnly in-state municipal-bond interest escapes state tax; bonds from other states are taxed. The classic in-state muni preference that rewards a home-state ladder. | → | exemptMunicipal-bond interest is exempt from state tax whether the issuer is in-state or out-of-state — the broadest muni preference (states with no tax on investment income, plus a few that exempt all munis by statute). |
| QSBS (§1202) | §1202 okConforms to IRC §1202 — the federal qualified small business stock gain exclusion carries through to the state return. | → | no §1202No distinct state QSBS position applies here — either the jurisdiction levies no tax on the gain, or it does not separately recognize the §1202 exclusion. Confirm with a tax advisor. |
What the household coordinates in the new environment — who owns it, how soon, and what it depends on. New marks a priority the move opens.
| Priority | Reason | Urgency |
|---|---|---|
| Asset titling for step-upNew | Titling assets to capture the fullest basis step-up the marital-property regime allows at the first death. | Near-term |
Decisions calibrated to the origin's environment that the move makes stale — worth revisiting, not assuming.
No state tax on gains — every realized gain keeps its full federal-only outcome.
No state estate or inheritance tax — only the federal estate tax reaches the estate.
With no state tax on gains, a harvested loss recovers only its federal value — the state adds no rate for it to offset.
Already a no-income-tax, no-estate-tax state — the destination other households move toward, not from.
An elective community-property trust can unlock a full first-death step-up here — worth electing before it is needed.
the estate environment changed on the move.
no longer triggered at the destination — one fewer thing to coordinate.
no longer triggered at the destination — one fewer thing to coordinate.
no longer triggered at the destination — one fewer thing to coordinate.
no longer triggered at the destination — one fewer thing to coordinate.
Sequenced by the move — what to do before, during, and after the crossing.
Not answers — the questions this move puts on the table, to open the conversation with the household's advisors.
State law reflects 2025 tax-year law; last reviewed 2026-07-07. Every classification is a summary of state law; where a primary-source citation has been verified, it is linked on the card.