Voting by overseas US citizens

[tmm99]

How does it work? Can you just register for federal only without choosing a state? I am afraid to register for any state (which seems like the very first step of registration process when I go to https://americansabroad.org.) I am not sure if I should do this since I am afraid that it might trigger the state to come after me for state taxes. I have no intention of keeping up with state politics and vote.

I recently moved out of the country and I would like to hear from people who have voted while living abroad. (I know all US citizens have to pay federal taxes regardless of where we live, but I don't want to end up paying state taxes...)

Any tax implications? Any way to vote without belonging to any state? (I have lived in NY state for a few months before I moved out of the country, and before then, I was a resident of CA.) I was trying to call https://americansabroad.org but today is Columbus Day so because of that or what, I am put on hold for a long time so I gave up for today, but I thought I'd ask around here in the meantime.

Thank you!

[braumeister]

Every state is different in how avidly they will pursue you for taxes, but voting in federal elections is easy. This site will help:

FVAP

Edited to add:
When I was overseas, as I was for years, I used Florida as my state of registration (a no income tax state). When asked for my address in Florida, I did what their election department suggested, and just put down "courthouse precinct" for the county I chose.

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 How does it work? Can you just register for federal only without choosing a state? I am afraid to register for any state (which seems like the very first step of registration process when I go to https://americansabroad.org.) I am not sure if I should do this since I am afraid that it might trigger the state to come after me for state taxes. I have no intention of keeping up with state politics and vote. I recently moved out of the country and I would like to hear from people who have voted while living abroad. (I know all US citizens have to pay federal taxes regardless of where we live, but I don't want to end up paying state taxes...) Any tax implications? Any way to vote without belonging to any state? (I have lived in NY state for a few months before I moved out of the country, and before then, I was a resident of CA.) I was trying to call https://americansabroad.org but today is a Columbus day so because of that or what, I am put on hold for a long time so I gave up for today, but I thought I'd ask around here in the meantime. Thank you!

Register with the US Consulate office that covers your domicile. That will put you on their distribution list for notifications, it also helps establish your residence for tax purposes. When elections are announced you can get a ballot from them, similar to an absentee ballot.

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Every state is different in how avidly they will pursue you for taxes, but voting in federal elections is easy. This site will help: FVAP Edited to add: When I was overseas, as I was for years, I used Florida as my state of registration (a no income tax state). When asked for my address in Florida, I did what their election department suggested, and just put down "courthouse precinct" for the county I chose.

Thank you for your reply, braumeister.
Did you have to vote for state (Were you even allowed to do that?) or you could just vote for federal?

[braumeister]

I had no idea about any of the candidates at state level, so I just voted in federal elections.

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Register with the US Consulate office that covers your domicile. That will put you on their distribution list for notifications, it also helps establish your residence for tax purposes. When elections are announced you can get a ballot from them, similar to an absentee ballot.

Thank you very much. I will look into this also for tax purposes.

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister I had no idea about any of the candidates at state level, so I just voted in federal elections.

I will call them back tomorrow and see if I can do the same thing. Thank you!

[theOAP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Every state is different in how avidly they will pursue you for taxes, but voting in federal elections is easy. This site will help: FVAP

I concur with braumeister, a correct (but not only) method is to use the FVAP site.

Voting is normally where your last US address was situated. Providing ballots to overseas voters is supposedly mandatory, although there are reports that some States are not as easy as others.

Taxation varies. Check to website of your last State's tax administrators for the treatment of "residents abroad". Many use the federal exclusions, some have different exclusions, and one or two don't know what abroad means. Most States have a time limit (12 to 18 months) after which you are non-resident for tax purposes.

The stickiest States seem to be California and Virginia. To no longer fall under their jurisdiction, everything from drivers license to library cards must be done away with. Even they have to give up eventually if you follow their rules.

If you have income generated (sourced) within a State, you'll need to check the State tax authority to find your responsibility. If you do not want to file a State return, at least find what risks are associated with that decision.

Personally, I never had a problem in over 30 years. Voted, and that was it. I never heard a word from the State tax people.