By: Dr. Tamara Patzer
In brief: A 2026 estimate puts Florida’s top 1% income line at $956,449, within about $3,000 of New York’s $959,562. For founders who relocate, that is a reminder that moving changes some things and leaves the federal picture and the structure of the business untouched. A New Orleans tax attorney explains what to re-check.
Founders move to Florida for many reasons, and some of them hope the move changes more than the weather. A 2026 estimate suggests that at least one number does not change much: the income needed to reach the top 1% of Florida filers is $956,449, and New York’s is $959,5621. The two states sit within about $3,000 of each other. New Orleans tax and estate attorney Todd M. Villarrubia, author of Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™, argues that the more important question for a relocating owner is what stays the same after the move.
What income reaches the top 1% in Florida?
About $956,449 of adjusted gross income, by SmartAsset’s 2026 estimate1. These are projections: 2022 IRS data carried forward to 20261. They count filers, not households.
For comparison, the same estimate puts Georgia at $714,243, Texas at $817,158, Illinois at $774,921 and California at $987,3251. Florida sits near the top of that group.
Why are Florida and New York so close?
Because each state’s line reflects the incomes in its own return data, and the two happen to land together. It does not mean the states are alike in tax, cost of living or rules. It means that a filer needs a similar level of adjusted gross income to reach the top 1% in each1.
The comparison matters for one reason. Owners often assume that a move changes where they rank. In income terms, it may change very little. What moving changes, if anything, is the state’s own tax and legal treatment, which this article does not cover.
What does not change when an owner moves?
Quite a lot, and most of it is federal. Long-term capital gains are taxed at 0, 15, or 20 percent, depending on the state, and an asset must be held more than one year to count as long term2. In 2025, the top rate of 20 percent began at taxable income of $533,400 for singles and $600,050 for joint filers, per the IRS2. The estate tax exclusion is also federal. The IRS puts it at $15,000,000 per person for 2026 deaths3.
The business does not change either. A company formed in one state and run from another keeps its legal structure, its owners and its history. If the owner held the shares in a personal name before the move, they are still in a personal name after it. Villarrubia is direct about that arrangement: “Personal ownership is the riskiest structure at scale.”
What should a relocating founder re-check?
Not everything, but the right things. A short list works better than a complete one:
- Where each company is formed, and whether that still fits the owner’s life.
- Whether estate documents written in another state still work as intended after the move.
- Which advisers know about the move, and whether the tax and legal advisers have spoken.
- When the owner expects a sale or another liquidity event, and whether the move comes before or after it.
Timing is the item people forget. A move that comes after a sale does not undo the sale’s tax year. Villarrubia’s book puts the principle in a short sentence: “Advanced planning doesn’t begin at exit; it begins years before opportunity knocks.”
What if an owner keeps property in two places?
Then both places matter. A founder who moves to Florida but keeps a building, a customer base or family in New York still has a connection to New York. The book’s rule for property applies in any state: the more an owner holds in one name, the more a single claim can reach. Moving residence does not move the exposure.
Owners in this position often benefit from asking a simple question of their advisers: which assets are tied to which place, and who owns each one? The answer shows quickly whether the structure was built for the old life or the new one.
Does timing change the answer?
It can, and it is the part of a move that owners most often mishandle. A sale in the year before a move and a sale in the year after can look very different on paper. The decision belongs to the owner and their advisers, with facts in front of them. It should not be made from a headline or a rumor about what a move will do.
Villarrubia’s chapter on timing makes the same point from another angle. The families he describes tend to decide what they want years before an event, not in the months around it.
Does feeling wealthy match the numbers?
Not usually. In Schwab’s 2025 poll, respondents named $2.3 million, on average, as the net worth that makes someone wealthy4. A founder with a company worth many times that on paper often reports feeling stretched, since the value is not cash. The book’s description of the pattern is brief: “It isn’t until a liquidity event that their wealth is fully realized; until then, it’s largely paper value.”
That is part of why a move is a good moment for a closer look. The founder who relocates has already decided to change something. It costs little to ask what else is worth changing.
What should a family with a foot in both places ask first?
Which state’s rules govern which asset? A home in one place, a business registered in another and a trust created under a third state’s law each has its own governing framework. Ask your attorney to list them on one page, with the state next to each item. The page often reveals documents that were drafted for the wrong place or that nobody has updated since a move.
Common questions
Does moving to Florida lower my federal tax? Federal rates and thresholds do not depend on the state2. State-level effects are a separate question for a licensed professional.
Is the top 1% line the same as being wealthy? No1. It is an income measure for one year, and net worth is different.
Should I update my estate plan after moving? Many owners do, since documents written elsewhere may not fit their new situation. A licensed attorney can say.
Sources
- SmartAsset, Income Needed to Be in the Top 1% in Every State (2026)
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 409, Capital Gains and Losses
- Internal Revenue Service, What’s New: Estate and Gift Tax
- Charles Schwab, 2025 Modern Wealth Survey (Business Wire)
About the author. Dr. Tamara Patzer is a publisher and former newspaper editor. She was on the staff of The Charlotte Sun when it was named a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for its Hurricane Charley coverage.
About the source. Todd M. Villarrubia is an attorney with an LL.M. in Taxation and a Juris Doctorate. He is an Accredited Estate Planner, a Board Certified Expert in Estate Planning and Administration, and a Fiduciary Investment Advisor Representative. He is the author of Entrepreneurial B.E.A.S.T. Mode™. Wealth Planning Law Group, 101 W. Robert E. Lee Blvd., Ste 404, New Orleans, LA 70124. Phone: 504-982-8207; email: todd@lawealthplan.com; website: https://lawealthplan.com/?utm_source=newsanchored&utm_medium=miami-wire&utm_campaign=top-1pct
Disclaimer: Sponsored feature written on behalf of Todd M. Villarrubia. This article is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results vary.
