Moving between states / Tennessee

Flag of IndianaIndianatoFlag of TennesseeTennessee

Moving from Indiana to Tennessee for work

What moves with you from Indiana to Tennessee: your licence, your take-home pay, and the programs that pay people to come. Every line below is computed from the two states' rules.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Tennessee leaves you roughly $1,800 a year more than Indiana does, because Tennessee has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryIndiana state taxTennessee state taxDifference a year
$40,000$1,200$0+$1,200
$60,000$1,800$0+$1,800
$90,000$2,700$0+$2,700

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. In Indiana: counties add a local income tax, roughly 1 to 3%. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Indiana to Tennessee

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Indiana certificate stays on the Indiana Department of Health, Nurse Aide Registry; to work in Tennessee you apply to the Tennessee Department of Health, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Indiana to Tennessee

Works on day one. Both Indiana and Tennessee are in the Nurse Licensure Compact. A multistate RN or LPN licence from Indiana is valid in Tennessee the day you arrive. Once Tennessee is your primary residence, apply there for a Tennessee multistate licence; most boards allow 30 to 60 days.

Electrician: Indiana to Tennessee

Exam likely. Tennessee licenses at state level through the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors and reciprocates with other state boards, but Indiana licenses locally through the City and county building departments, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Tennessee journeyman exam.

CDL: Indiana to Tennessee

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Tennessee resident you surrender the Indiana CDL at a Tennessee driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Tennessee. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in Tennessee pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Going the other way? Indiana has MakeMyMove town offers. See moving from Tennessee to Indiana.

Openings filed in Tennessee

153 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Tennessee employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Indiana to Tennessee

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Tennessee employers.

Plan my move to Tennessee

Same move, by trade

CNA: Indiana to Tennessee · RN or LPN: Indiana to Tennessee · Electrician: Indiana to Tennessee · Truck driver: Indiana to Tennessee

From Indiana to the states next to Tennessee

Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Virginia (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax) · Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%) · Mississippi (flat 4.4% state income tax) · Arkansas (progressive, top rate 3.9%) · Missouri (progressive, top rate 4.7%)

To Tennessee from the states next to Indiana

Michigan · Ohio · Kentucky · Illinois

Everything about working in Tennessee · All moves between states · All 50 states

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