Minnesota to Tennessee Retirement Taxes (2026): Every Tax That Changes

Updated July 26, 2026. Quick answer (2026): Moving from Minnesota to Tennessee in retirement, you stop paying Minnesota income tax on withdrawals and leave a Minnesota death tax behind. Four separate taxes change when you move — state income tax on withdrawals, state estate tax, state inheritance tax, and what probate costs your heirs. Most comparisons only price the first one.

Minnesota vs Tennessee: every tax that changes

Every cell is quoted from our statute-cited 51-jurisdiction dataset. Download the full dataset as CSV.

1. What changes on your annual tax bill

Minnesota taxes retirement withdrawals: Pensions, 401(k), and IRA distributions generally fully taxable. Tennessee does not. On a $100,000 annual withdrawal, the Minnesota bill is whatever its graduated to 9.85% (4 brackets, 5.35%-9.85%) schedule produces; in Tennessee it is $0. Social Security is treated as follows — Minnesota: Partially taxed: full subtraction of federally taxable SS if AGI ≤ ~$84,490 single / ~$108,320 MFJ (TY2025, indexed); Tennessee: Not taxed (no state income tax).

2. What changes at death: state estate tax

This is usually the larger number. Minnesota levies an estate tax — yes – $3,000,000 exclusion (unchanged since 2020, not indexed); rates 13%-16%; additional qualified small business / farm property deduction up to $2,000,000 (combined max $5,000,000). Official 2025 Form M706 instructions confirm: ‘For 2025 decedents, the exclusion amount and tax filing threshold is $3,000,000… maximum qualified small business property and farm property deduction amount is $2,000,000’ — and Tennessee levies none (none (inheritance/estate tax fully phased out after 2015)). Establishing domicile in Tennessee removes that exposure for assets that are not Minnesota real property.

3. What changes at death: state inheritance tax

Neither state levies an inheritance tax. Minnesota: none Tennessee: none

4. The one nobody prices: what probate costs your heirs

Minnesota uses a reasonable-fee fee model (UPC state: reasonable compensation (Minn. Stat. §524.3-719); no percentage schedule.); Tennessee uses a reasonable-fee model (No statutory percentage; personal representative and attorney compensation is reasonable compensation for services, approved by the probate court (see Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407 and related case law). Cite from knowledge, not re-verified this pass.). Filing fees — Minnesota: ~$310-$365 to open probate (first-paper district court filing fee plus county law library fee; identical for informal and formal) — Minn. Stat. §357.021 and mncourts.gov fee schedule; certified letters $14 each Tennessee: Set per county clerk; commonly ~$150-$400 to open (e.g., metro counties toward the high end). Varies-by-county representative range, unverified.

Full detail: probate cost by state and small-estate limits by state.

Probate cost in each state, specifically

Minnesota uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. Tennessee uses a “reasonable fee” standard with no schedule, and its small-estate route does not clear a solely owned house. Both states land in the same bucket on that question. Full figures with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the small-estate threshold: Minnesota probate cost and Tennessee probate cost.

Four taxes, two states, one order of operations

Everything above changes together: what Minnesota stops taking on withdrawals, what Tennessee does not take at death, and what probate costs in each. The order you do things in — when you establish domicile, when you convert, when you retitle property — changes the total, and some of it cannot be undone afterwards. If a move is genuinely on the table, here is what to look for in an advisor who knows both Minnesota and Tennessee. If you would rather price it yourself first, the two-state comparison tool is free and asks for no email.

Will Minnesota still tax me after I move to Tennessee?

Not on your retirement withdrawals, once you genuinely change domicile — but that is a harder test than a change of address, and what you leave behind stays in reach.

• Domicile is a test, not a mailing address. A departing state can and does audit residency. Days present, voter registration, driver’s licence, where your doctors and advisers are, and where you keep what you value all count.
• Real property left behind stays taxable. Keeping a home in Minnesota can keep part of the estate within reach of Minnesota rules even after you become a Tennessee resident.
• A Roth conversion is taxed where you live in the year you convert. Sequencing a conversion after establishing the new domicile is often worth more than the annual saving — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.

If you keep a home in Minnesota, what happens at death?

Changing domicile moves you. It does not move the house. Minnesota levies an estate tax, and it reaches a nonresident decedent’s real property situated there — so a home kept behind after the move stays within Minnesota’s reach even once Tennessee is your legal home for every other purpose. Minnesota gross estate is the federal gross estate excluding property with situs outside Minnesota.

File if Minnesota-situs property is in the federal gross estate AND the federal gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts within three years exceeds $3,000,000. The practical consequence is the part most summaries skip: Minnesota disregards pass-through entities for situs, so holding the property through an LLC does not move it out of state. Authority: Minn. Stat. ch. 291; Form M706 instructions.

This is the exposure that survives a move, and it is the one worth pricing before the move rather than after. The house also stays within that state’s probate jurisdiction, so the estate faces a separate ancillary proceeding there on top of the probate where you live — the ancillary probate calculator prices that second proceeding. Confirm the current figures with the state revenue department or a licensed professional before acting — thresholds move, and the arithmetic depends on the whole estate, not just the house.

Full state detail

Every figure above is summarized. The complete statute-cited breakdown for each state: Minnesota retirement taxes and Tennessee retirement taxes. To compare any other pair, start at the retirement tax relocation hub.

Talking this through

Relocation timing, Roth conversion sequencing and estate exposure interact, and the order you do them in changes the total. If you want a second opinion, understand what it should cost first — see our advisor cost guide.

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Primary sources

• Minn. Stat. § 290.0132 (SS, military, public pension subtractions)
• MN DOR: Social Security Benefit Subtraction
• Qualified Public Pension Subtraction
• Minn. Stat. sec. 291.016
• Minn. Stat. sec. 291.03
• former Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-2-102 (Hall tax, repealed)
• Minn. Stat. §524.3-719
• Minn. Stat. §524.3-1201
• Minn. Stat. §357.021
• Tenn. Code Ann. §30-1-407
• Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-102
• Tenn. Code Ann. §30-4-103

Methodology: every figure is quoted from Clear Money Guide’s statute-cited 51-jurisdiction datasets, compiled from state statutes, session laws and revenue-department publications and adversarially verified in July 2026. Nothing here is personalized tax or legal advice. Confirm your own facts with a qualified adviser before you move.