Moving between states / Florida

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Moving from Maine to Florida for work

What moves with you from Maine to Florida: 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 Florida leaves you roughly $3,003 a year more than Maine does, because Florida has no state income tax on wages.

SalaryMaine state taxFlorida state taxDifference a year
$40,000$2,002$0+$2,002
$60,000$3,003$0+$3,003
$90,000$4,505$0+$4,505

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. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Maine to Florida

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Maine certificate stays on the Maine Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants and Direct Care Workers; to work in Florida you apply to the Florida Board of Nursing (CNA certification by endorsement) for reciprocity. Endorsement for an active CNA from another state registry; Florida runs its own background screening before it certifies you. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Maine to Florida

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

Electrician: Maine to Florida

Reciprocity likely. Florida licenses electricians at state level through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Electrical Contractors' Licensing Board, and Contractor licences are state-certified or county-registered; journeyman cards are county-issued, and several counties reciprocate with each other. Your Maine licence comes from the Maine Electricians' Examining Board, a state body, which is what a reciprocity application needs: ask it for a verification letter before you move.

CDL: Maine to Florida

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Florida resident you surrender the Maine CDL at a Florida 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 Florida. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in Florida 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? Maine has Student Loan Repayment Tax Credit. See moving from Florida to Maine.

Openings filed in Florida

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

Your own route from Maine to Florida

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 Florida employers.

Plan my move to Florida

Same move, by trade

CNA: Maine to Florida · RN or LPN: Maine to Florida · Electrician: Maine to Florida · Truck driver: Maine to Florida

From Maine to the states next to Florida

Georgia (flat 5.19% state income tax) · Alabama (progressive, top rate 5%)

To Florida from the states next to Maine

New Hampshire

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

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