Camping in 3 states

[honda03842]

Moving on... The OP was trying to minimize his tax payments, Information in that area could help. I've come to realize I can't change the tax structure just use it to my best advantage.

As to Sales tax as a factor, I live in a state with none. This can help an RVer. We save our big purchases as much as possible, computer, tires, .... for when we're in NH. It turns out that sales tax is really not much of a factor because we buy a lot less now that we're older.

Even if you're not a resident of a no tax state, you can buy in one. I go to Lowes and Home Depot frequently. Every morning it's loaded with small builders from MA, saving 6% on construction materials.

In some measure one need to become purchase careful.

[RogerDat]

States all have different ways to collect taxes. States use: personal property tax goods and portable real property, real estate property tax, sales, income, fuel, and user fees.

When it comes to retirement where to live or call home has a lot of factors to consider. Climate, services, activities and yes taxes. If one is building an expensive home on acres of land property taxes matter. Moving a work shop or machine shop worth of tools into a pole barn or garage to work on classic cars? Then personal property tax situation is part of the picture. Not the whole picture but part of it certainly.

There are states you could give me the house or tools and I still don't want to live there. No I'm not going to tell you which ones.

There are also probate and estate considerations that some might wish to consider, fees and/or taxes related to inheritance or property left to heirs.

Michigan has a one time trailer plate (user fee) other states might want that money annually and base it on value so that the new camper for your retirement costs you a chunk every year. Motor home plates are especially expensive here. Guess maybe they want to get money from our snow birds that head south for the winter.

Sales taxes suit some states especially those that have a fair amount of tourism. Simply put taxing the folks that come through or visit should help keep the taxes lower on the folks living there. Yes they are generally considered regressive as opposed to progressive as an income tax is but the benefit to the OP would depend on if they purchase little or lots, and if they have high taxable income or not.

Michigan does now tax pension income beyond a certain level, not sure of how that works but that could certainly be an important consideration.

I would use some care in how I went about establishing a "domicile" state if I did not have any clear connection to living there. Woman scorned has nothing on state treasury departments retribution for trying to avoid taxes through anything they consider "sketchy". Getting professional advice is probably warranted, especially if one is going to continue to earn some income. Or the value of your property is significant.

Heck it is your life, take the advice of strangers on the internet or hire someone professional to advise. Your choice. Discussion here may help you figure out what you need the professional for.

[RogerDat]

Interesting! We all read something into OP that really is not there. No stated reason for interest. Just I'm going to use Fla. and the question about if not camped in any state for 6 months could that prevent his being claimed by any state as a resident.

Does mention working in NJ. But I assume NJ would collect state income tax from wages even of out of state resident, and get a 1099 for non-wage income so from an income tax perspective what state the money is earned in and the tax laws on that income are what matter not the state of residence. Unless the residence state allows for beneficial treatment of out of state earnings as compared to another state.

Hey where is CPA when you need one?

[Raz]

Actually William posted a second post in which he said NJ taxes were not the issue. He was more than happy to pay the taxes. The issue was not being able to find a place where he could park his trailer to live. As I recall he said NJ wants him to live in a house. Apparently it wasn't here long. Why he deleted it I do not know but perhaps he will restore it, Raz

[Uplander]

The management did delete more than one post...mine included...it seems this is a hot political potato no matter how you slice it....nobody likes to pay taxes.

Florida taxes your investment accounts....no income tax in Florida.

Can't hide from that tax man!!!

[RogerDat]

Originally Posted by Uplander

The management did delete more than one post...mine included...it seems this is a hot political potato no matter how you slice it....nobody likes to pay taxes.

Florida taxes your investment accounts....no income tax in Florida.

Can't hide from that tax man!!!

Yes death and taxes, both tend to be pretty unpopular and pretty hard to avoid.

The taxes part can get political fast since government funding from taxes and spending are hot political issues with strong opinions and philosophy's on the subject. Hard to discuss topic without bringing those views into the discussion. Which tends to bring the opposite view into the discussion and pretty soon we might as well be the Jerry Springer show. Blah

Death I'm pretty sure both major parties and the minor ones are generally not in favor of.

Still not sure what the OP was trying to accomplish, or was it just Hey if I claim this state AND don't live in any other state for long enough to be claimed by them does my claimed state rule?

in theory that would mean one could claim Fla. but camp in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin for 4 months each and be legally a Fla. resident because they claimed it. Seems weird but if true not the weirdest thing I have ever heard.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Uplander

The management did delete more than one post...mine included...it seems this is a hot political potato no matter how you slice it....nobody likes to pay taxes.

Florida taxes your investment accounts....no income tax in Florida.

Can't hide from that tax man!!!

It didn't seem his post was controversial but perhaps.


I've come to the conclusion that every place is pretty much the same. Maintaining things cost money. Unfortunately, no one ever advanced their career by maintaining the status quo. And of course they can't do it without my help. There is always a crisis, never enough money and all solutions are successful. We spend at least one month a year camping. As long as I can do that they can do what they want. Raz

[Cathi]

The OP says in his first line that he plans to use Florida as his state of residence. By that, I am sure he means he will be using Florida as his domicile where he does his business. He can reside anywhere else at any time and Florida will be glad to have him use Florida as his domicile. That is what full-timers do and that is why they use Florida, or SD or TX. They do not have to be present in the state except perhaps in a rare circumstance.

He is camping 4 months in each of three states over the year. That indicates that he is a full-timer, and I am assuming that he does not own a house or property for some state to claim him that way.

We are told that he deleted a post regarding authorities wanting him in a house. That is a problem that I would say comes under zoning, and is common. The OP can look for a jurisdiction that does not ban trailers from their area. That is not a problem that most full-timers have. They tend to move to established communities of trailer owners only, where they are allowed.

The OP seems to want to be a full-timer but does not know how to do that. I can only recommend talking to Escapees. He is absolutely allowed to make Florida or SD or TX his domicile. He has to move his business dealings which is rather easy, I hear, with Escapees, or without Escapees. A zoning matter is something else altogether. He needs to find a place to move that will take him.

It is just a fact that some states do not have income taxes but usually have other high taxes to make up for that. Depending on your life style or time in life, one state may benefit a person over another. It is your choice which state you make your domicile. That, however, does not prevent a state from claiming you as a resident for some reason. Need to ask authorities what makes you a resident and read on it.

[Glenn Baglo]

Or maybe he is under 'house arrest' but wants to travel.

[Cathi]

Originally Posted by honda03842

Cathi,

I'm not familiar with other mail services but one aspect of Escapee's Mail Services we like is their mail forwarding. Call or email Escapees mail and they almost immediately send your mail where ever you want. We typically use small town post offices we'll be passing through. We've absolutely never had a problem.

Over the years the amount of mail we receive has shrunk dramatically, another positive of the travel lifestyle.

Norm, Escapees is now establishing domicile with their Florida address for that, but I know you already have that taken care of, being at one of the parks.

I always hear that their mail service is excellent. Others also think their (other) mail services are great, too, some in SD, some in FL. Can't say that I have seen anyone who did not like his mail service. Some now scan all of the mail and send that to you to see what you want out of it. Some will open your mail and read it, if you want. Everyone seems to be happy with their mail service! But, yes, I guess Escapees is the biggest and most well known and is very well liked.

[Bob Miller]

Or "Maybe" he is just wanting to disappear????? One could write about 50 scenarios based on his posts, both those deleted and not deleted.

[honda03842]

Cathi,

My goal is to eliminate mail in total. The whole concept of mail is approaching obsolete for me. I don't think there's anything we get of real importance other than our Escapee magazine and i believe it's available on-line to members.

The most important item I guess is packages and soon that will be eliminated. Possibly a computer controlled vehicle carrying a little robot will deliver packages or a flock of drones.

Things change...

[cpaharley2008]

Just remember, tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion is not.....

[whoot]

I deleted the posts that had too much personal information, because I've had people in the past try to disrupt my life. I've lived in several different states over the years, and in almost all of them, there was an element of "you can't use a PO box as a home address". This thread was about trying to be outside the jurisdiction of any one state, so as to avoid the requirement of having a physical address. I'm not trying to avoid paying taxes, or hide from anyone, I'm just trying to live in a trailer full-time. I wanted to use camp-grounds instead of trailer-parks, because the camp-grounds are a lot closer to where I work. People could say, "Ah-ha, got you! You can't live at a camp-ground! I'm going to call the police now." That is why I want to be 100% legal. I thought by using FL/TX/SD I could be 100% legal. When this thread started taking a crazy direction, I deleted some of my posts. From what I've learned over the last few days, I probably will need to remain a resident of NJ, and find a way to make that work. The worst-case scenario is that I live in a trailer-park.

[Mary F]

Thanks for the clarifications, William. Good luck with it!

[Darrell in Al]

I've been fighting the no P.O. box issue for 5 years 2 1/2 years my physical address didn't show up on maps... I was staying in campground on Tn. River. Now at a RV / trailer park. It was a problem that caused the state to cancel my vehicle registration 2 times right after renewing it. Good thing it was my secondary vehicle. I still use my P O BOX address and have to reiterate that I only receive mail there and not my physical address.

[Borrego Dave]

Darrell, I've run into somewhat same thing here with just having a PO Box in a town that doesn't have any USPS home delivery. My address does show up on a map. I've found it funny and annoying with how many times I've had problems trying to explain to people that yes, there are still small towns that exist that only use a box for mail in the USA.
For those of you that full time, I'm glad you have options that work for you.

[Denece]

Find a mail service or someone who will allow you to use their address for your license, registration and insurance. We used one in Green Cove Springs, FL but there are dozens. All you need is something that satisfies the bean counters in whichever state you decide to use.
We only got snail mail a few times a year when we were on the boat but maintained all our "official" stuff from that cubby in FL. They did have the documents needed to claim domicile ( legal residence) on their website but St Brendan's Isle has sold since our time so don't know if they still do. One bonus, we got to vote absentee in FL, where they only open the absentee ballots if the number might change an outcome!


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV