Best State to Establish Residency

[rkburdick]

We have a 40' Travel Supreme Coach and are fairly new to the RV'ing world (1 1/2 years).

Our plan is to retire in two years, sell the sticks and bricks, an become full-timers. Current residency is in New Mexico. I have read much about establishing residency in states with no state income taxes, etc. From what I understand the best three would be Texas, South Dakota, Florida. Also, most articles mention that no income tax states may cost more in other areas along the lines of insurance, registration, property taxes.

May open a can of worms here but this is becoming a quest. I'm sure there are many caveats that I have not discovered yet. Can anyone out there share their experiences and provide some sage advice? We have two years to plan for this. Would appreciate any help you all can provide.

[lmsooter]

Welcome to the FMCA forum.

It is good that you have two years to plan this. You won't have to be in a rush to get it done. We use Texas but for us that was easy because we have lived there all our lives. We use Escapees to handle our mail forwarding which is also provides our legal address.

Take a look at the Escapees site - they have a category of "Domicile" - from there you are referred to a law firm that will provide a free consultation to answer your questions.

http://www.escapees.com/index.html

[tbutler]

We used South Dakota as a residence for our 10 years of full timing. Living in Missouri, we looked over the list of states which had no income tax and investigated them one by one before settling on any particular one. I would encourage you to consider the agency that will be handling your mail and how easy it is to deal with their service. It is best if you can find a commercial service and one that can provide a legal residence for you. We went full time in the summer of 2001. In September, all kinds of things related to drivers license and security regulations began to change. Having a legal residence as our mailing address and in the state where we were registered and had drivers licenses make it easy for us to conform to the changing requirements. We traveled to South Dakota and got our drivers licenses, consulted an attorney, had our wills and trusts rewritten, took care of our license and registration for our motor home and toad all in one trip of three days. The drivers license is good for 5 years and a standard drivers license is sufficient for driving a motor home. No state inspection is required and we were able to handle the registration and licensing for our vehicles without having to return to the state at any particular time. In fact, the company that handled our mail and provided our legal address also did all the legwork to get the license and registration for us.

There is an old discussion in the Full Timing section of the FMCA Forum on this topic, Full Timers' Residency Requirements, which has a good set of responses. I just checked some of the links and they are still current. This will give you a good set of references to start your search. Come back here and post any specific questions you have after you take a look at these references.

Not everyone enjoys full timing in a motor home but for us it has been a wonderful adventure that is still paying us big rewards long after we settled down in a house once more. I hope you find the same enjoyment we did.

[medico]

Please know that "Residence" is different from "Domicile". There are discussions in many different forums on the Domicile question. Domicile is the legal, permanent address where you have your registration and voting rights and more than likely your driver's license. Residence is anywhere you are presently located, but is generally a temporary place.

Three states are most often mentioned in Domicile discussions. These are Florida, Texas and SD. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Look at your needs and explore all possibilities. Taxes, insurance, fees, cost of living, etc. are important considerations.

[mahlswede]

Does anyone out there use Wisconsin? We currently are residents and selling home and everything in spring to go full time. Might keep Wisconsin for awhile until we figure out which state is best of us.

Looking to use Good Sam mail service in Florida, but that won't give us a physical address here in Wisconsin. Looks like the DMV won't take a PO box.

Wondering if anyone does this and how do you get a physical address for taxes and licensing?

[ClayL]

Two things to think about.

SD and TX (Escapees) will give you waivers for jury duty (TX) or take you off the rolls (SD).

Both states make it easy to get your drivers license, vehicle registration and titles using your mail forwarding address.

[DBianchini]

Is there a web site that does a spread sheet for comparative puposes for the leading states, showing taxes, insurance, registration, etc? Im looking for differences in what your taxed on also.

[manholt]

DBianchini. Welcome to the Forum!

No! Have never heard of one! I suppose you could start your own by reading all the posts on this subject in the Forum. Then posting it.

To be legal, you would have to move out off CA. The only State's I know off, is Oregon and Montana, they meet most of your needs. Problem is that all State's have different taxes, registration fees, license regulations, cost of insurance, etc. All have property (house) tax. Then there is County and City School tax.

No State, that I know off, has a luxury tax, or care about how many vehicles you have! CA. might be an exception!?

Good luck..

Carl

[tbutler]

It's not a web site, it's a book, Choosing your RV Home. We looked at something similar before we chose our home state when we went full time. Consider the cost a tiny amount considering what you stand to save when you go full time. The link in my post above is still active and has advice but not a state by state comparison. Everyone has different circumstances, sources of income, other considerations so it is a complex decision. Take your time, read and then make your decision. Everything is a compromise.