Domicile when you travel a lot ?

[Delawaredave5]

If you do not live a single state more than 180 days per year, what determines state of residency ? Where you spend the most nights ?

Say a person lives in MD and FL but stays in other states 100 nights/year for work. Therefore only 265 night between MD and FL. If 133 nights were in FL, would that qualify as a FL resident ?

Thanks !

 

[Bamaman]

If you do not live a single state more than 180 days per year, what determines state of residency ? Where you spend the most nights ?

Say a person lives in MD and FL but stays in other states 100 nights/year for work. Therefore only 265 night between MD and FL. If 133 nights were in FL, would that qualify as a FL resident ?

Thanks !

It varies state by state. I had a friend that had homes in two states, one of which was no state income tax Florida. He kept a calendar and stayed there half the year plus a day. His Florida address was used for income tax purposes.

Most people would consider you a Delaware resident for tax purposes. You would need to read the Delaware state tax return book to see what it says about part time residents.

When you work very part time in some states, they will want state income taxes for the days you are working in those states. Most traveling salesmen and other professions ignore reporting that they worked in other states, however. I was worked in 6-8 states yearly.

One profession often having numerous tax state problems are professional athletes making mega money.

 

[harley]

I live in FL and MD. FL doesn't care if you step foot in the state. As long as you are licensed to drive there and pay whatever taxes are owed, you can be a resident. MD, on the other hand, requires you to pay MD taxes if you spend half the year plus one day there. We only stay in FL 5 to 6 months/year, but since we visit DD in VA for a month or more each year, MD doesn't have a hold on us.

Having said that, I can't imagine how or why they would track your presence well enough to insist on payment. If you make money there (or in any state), that state wants it's share. And I wouldn't declare FL residency and then stay in MD for 10 months or so. But as far as being a resident, it's pretty much your call.

 

[davebarnes]

You need to look at South Dakoka.
I think the rules are very permissive.

 

[Clone]

I know that some folks are South Dakota residents when they live in their RVs across the country. There is an industry that has sprung up to support this with mail forwarding and such.

From a quick search- here are some things to consider. Where do you have your vehicles registered? Where is your driver's license issued? Do you claim homestead exemptions on property tax anywhere? Where are you registered to vote? What address are your investment accounts registered? Where are your bank accounts registered?

If your employer acts as though you are based in MD, I would think it would be very difficult to claim that you are not a MD resident. And, even if you could establish residency in Florida, any earnings from MD would still likely be subject to MD taxes.

 

[meierlde]

I understand there are campgrounds in Livingston Tx that will likley allow you to use the campground as your address. Again a no income tax state.

 

[braumeister]

As Bamaman said, states have widely varying rules for who they consider a legal resident. Some are very strict; others (like Florida) are very lenient. Among the things many states consider:
Where do you vote? Register your car? Renew your driver's license? Pay property tax? Record your will for probate?

The other side of the equation is equally important. Not only are you concerned with establishing state residency, but you also have to get your current state to agree that you have officially left. Some states (California is infamous for this) can hound you for years for their state taxes when you try to leave.

 

[audreyh1]

Texas has no time requirement for residency. You establish residency by having an abode, however temporary, getting a driver’s license and registering vehicles in the state. Other insurance should be through the state as a TX resident. This all establishes intent to live there and intent to return even if you are gone a long time.

Someone owning a home in the state will have no difficulty maintaining residency so it’s no problem for someone owning multiple residences across several states as long as you claim your TX residence as your primary residence (like on your property tax status). It’s not that hard for occasional renters, RV owners, etc. either. A real street address is required, but if there is a campground or something you return to occasionally, that’s good enough. Many full-time RVers do use the Livingston Escapees organization to help establish and maintain residency.

 

[Danmar]

In Canada the rules are much less proscriptive. It will be viewed as a “matter of fact” ie “where you normally reside”. Such things as actual time spent there, family, health care, drivers license, homes, employment, banking, voting, will be considered. Some of these factors can be manipulated in certain cases. We only have 10 provinces so the issues are fewer than the US and seldom pop up.

There are also rules between countries. The US has a test that will be applied against “resident aliens” (nothing to do with ET’s ) who, although not citizens or landed immigrants, spend a considerable period of time in the US. They require an annual form be filed that considers many of the factors I mentioned previously. Life can certainly be complicated.

 

[braumeister]

When I went on active duty (military) I was a resident of NYC. New York has a hefty state income tax and NYC a hefty city income tax, so I was subject to both since it was my "home of record."

Naturally, I wanted to find a way out of that dilemma since I was going to be a nomad for many years. My solution was to try gaining legal residence in Florida, where my grandparents had retired. I wrote a letter to the Florida Secretary of State saying that I intended to live there after retiring from the military, so what should I do? I suggested that I could use my grandparents' mailing address in Hollywood.

A few weeks later I got a letter back from the Supervisor of Elections in Broward County (home of the infamous hanging and dimpled chads) telling me that they were glad to have me as a Florida citizen, and all I had to do was vote there. They even said it was unnecessary to use a mailing address. All I had to do was send in an annual request for an absentee ballot, writing "Courthouse Precinct" as my address.

I did exactly that for the next 20 years. I also wrote a letter to New York state, enclosing a copy of the letter from Florida, informing them that I had changed my legal residence. I never heard back from New York, but they never asked for their income taxes either.

As it turned out, it was good that I took that action because I was twice assigned to posts in New York during my career and would have had to cough up the taxes otherwise.

 

[teejayevans]

Using https://www.sbimailservice.com, allows you to set residency in Florida, you can vote, get a drivers license, etc all without actually having a home or apartment.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

My question would be how do they know where you spent the most time? All things being equal, if you have 2 homes you are paying bills all year in both. How can they check that ONE day?

 

[Sunset]

My question would be how do they know where you spent the most time? All things being equal, if you have 2 homes you are paying bills all year in both. How can they check that ONE day?

They can't, it's not like crossing the border between countries.

So largely they simply say you are a resident and owe taxes, then let you prove you are not, and if you cannot, they can collect the taxes from you.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

They can't, it's not like crossing the border between countries.

So largely they simply say you are a resident and owe taxes, then let you prove you are not, and if you cannot, they can collect the taxes from you.

When I left California to travel, I set up Domicile in Florida and got a Mail forwarding service in FL. ($12pm) I never had to actually go to Florida during this process. Then traveled all over the place. I filed a FL tax return and CA never even asked or sent me any requests. I later settled in FLA and got a drivers license there (After 4 years I still had a CA license).

All Good.

 

[Bamaman]

Like has been said, Texas, South Dakota and Florida are popular with RVers.

The problem with Texas is having to go back yearly to renew license plates. You cannot get around thst.

 

[zack59]

My question would be how do they know where you spent the most time? All things being equal, if you have 2 homes you are paying bills all year in both. How can they check that ONE day?

It's very easy for them if they want to

If your in NY and claim your in Florida on that day
Going out for dinner, stop to buy gas with your Visa card
How can you be in Florida when you bought gas on Long Island?
How did you connect to NY cell towers if you were not there?

 

[Dd852]

Just wondering what people who travel constantly and use a mail forwarder as an official address do with American Express or Vanguard whose computers throw out mail forwarders and insist on a real Street address. I use my mother’s but I find that not really satisfactory.

 

[Danmar]

My question would be how do they know where you spent the most time? All things being equal, if you have 2 homes you are paying bills all year in both. How can they check that ONE day?

“They” will ask you where you spent your time and probably a lot of other things. You could lie or say you can’t remember, but such things as CC receipts will certainly paint a picture, I have recorded where I sleep every night since 2007, so I know. Not sure what I would do if “they” asked, probably call a tax lawyer.

I know people who try to pay cash for things when in the state they don’t want to pay income taxes to. Seems to be working for them so far. I guess they could look at cell phone records too? You have to assume that “they” will find the facts if they want to. Best bet is to fly under “their’ radar.

“They” know exactly when and from where you cross between Canada and US. There is a website you can check to confirm “their” data. It’s always been correct when I check.

 

[Gill]

I live in FL and MD. FL doesn't care if you step foot in the state. As long as you are licensed to drive there and pay whatever taxes are owed, you can be a resident.

Having said that, I can't imagine how or why they would track your presence well enough to insist on payment. If you make money there (or in any state), that state wants it's share. And I wouldn't declare FL residency and then stay in MD for 10 months or so. But as far as being a resident, it's pretty much your call.

I'm afraid you're a little off track in your assessment of Florida's position about residents. Just this past year Florida conducted an extensive audit of individuals claiming the homestead exemption on their Florida home and thousands of those exemptions were determined to be fraudulent and they were assessed back taxes, interest and penalties.

Furthermore, I can tell you there are many ways they can track your presence and I have sat in on audits and witnessed it. Think about the evidence contained in your credit cards bills, checking account and utilities including telephone records. When you are asked to produce those you can be sure Florida will have a pretty good idea about where you spend your time.
Gill

 

[ItDontMeanAThing]

Just wondering what people who travel constantly and use a mail forwarder as an official address do with American Express or Vanguard whose computers throw out mail forwarders and insist on a real Street address. I use my mother’s but I find that not really satisfactory.

I use a mail forwarder (actually, they scan and post PDFs) where the address format is 123 Oak St 4567, town, city, state, zip. Is that a real street address?

Vanguard has been OK with it since 2008. Maybe that's because I've been with Vanguard since long before financial institution security laws changed post 9/11, and/or the size of my account.

 

[MichaelB]

As far as I know the State of Florida does not have any specific requirements to define a resident. Requirements do exist to claim some benefits associated with residency, such as in-state tuition and homestead exemption, but the State itself has no specific requirement.

Most states are similar, and do not have a formal definition of residency. They prefer to investigate individual situations and define as needed on a case by case basis. Because of this, there are “usual and customary” elements that indicate residency. Auto registration, voting registration, financial accounts domicile are typical, and used by attorneys and tax preparers as proof. These are precedent based, not statutory.

We need to define state residency for many reasons. One is to deal with businesses that require a domicile, such as banks an health insurers. Another is to avoid being deemed residents by states looking to satisfy their purpose. Importantly, though, is that only States can authorize individuals to drive motor vehicles, vote, and in many cases, conduct business.

 

[meierlde]

Just wondering what people who travel constantly and use a mail forwarder as an official address do with American Express or Vanguard whose computers throw out mail forwarders and insist on a real Street address. I use my mother’s but I find that not really satisfactory.

Some mail forwarders just like private mail boxes have a real street address, this is one of the things the UPS store advertises.

 

[Luck_Club]

New York is super aggressive on this stuff. Could it be because they have lots of WS types claiming residency in CT, to avoid all the taxes?

My cousin had bought a house in CT, and actually moved there but they kept an apt in the city for the husband, who worked on WS. They got a huge back tax bill. NY used credit cards to validate their claims.

That is why CASH WILL NEVER DIE!

 

[meierlde]

Like has been said, Texas, South Dakota and Florida are popular with RVers.

The problem with Texas is having to go back yearly to renew license plates. You cannot get around thst.

According to this web site you can handle the process by mail https://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/registration-renewal.php

Note that if the vehicle is out of state the inspection requirement is waived until you return.

 

[Clone]

Another thing to consider, as it appears OP is still working for a living. Many of those nights/days out of state might be on work assignments. For residency purposes, they would probably look at where the trip originated and where it returned. Plus, who paid the bill for it, and did it look like a business trip (reimbursed expenses or sales commissions) or did it look like vacation? What address does the employer send the W2 form to?

I think the only time a state is difficult to get in as a resident is if you are looking for in-state college tuition. Most of these tax situations are associated with folks trying to be a resident someplace that has lower tax consequences.