(The Center Square) — Recently-released IRS data shows Mississippi lost 2,436 taxpayers and $47 million in gross adjusted income in 2020.
The biggest destinations for the 60,937 Mississippians leaving the state were Tennessee (9,498 new taxpayers), Texas (8,999), Alabama (5,903) and Louisiana (5,582). Mississippi actually gained Louisiana tax filers as 7,330 moved to the state in 2020.
Most of the 58,501 taxpayers who moved to the Magnolia State came from Tennessee (10,278). In addition to Louisiana, Texas (6,097), Alabama (5,020) and Florida (3,786) also contributed signifcantly.
The IRS data is based on tax returns filed in 2020 and 2021 that showed those who moved between 2019 and 2020, respectively. Those who didn’t file returns are not represented in the data.
Among the biggest winners was DeSoto County, which gained 12,562 new taxpayers while losing 10,313. Most of those moved from Shelby County, Tennessee (4,907), which is where Memphis is located.
Hinds County (Jackson) was the biggest loser, with 3,794 taxpayers decamping for other counties. Out of the 11,570 that left, 4,605 moved to neighboring Madison and Rankin counties. Only 7,776 new taxpayers moved to Hinds County in 2020.
The Delta region of Bolivar, Carroll, Coahoma, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Panola, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Washington and Yazoo counties lost a total of 3,255 taxpayers.
