Why not talk to a CPA rather than a bunch of strangers on the internet?

FWIW I know people who were W2 employees and worked in several different states over the course of a year. They all filed state income tax returns for every state they worked in even if they were there for a few months.

SF are friends. A CPA is just a stranger to me.

Yea, this sounds complicated, especially after reading the link above. I assume just a short consultation is needed? 1 hour, $100? CPA who specializes in income taxes? Can I just walk into an H&R Block store?

The other advantage of a long term rental from VRBO or Air BNB or similar is, you won't have to put any of the utilities in your name and it will/should have internet/cable tv etc....and furnished...so definately an extended vacation and not a residence.....Also, ability to choose a different area easily and rent something else or move forward with permanent residency.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
The other advantage of a long term rental from VRBO or Air BNB or similar is, you won't have to put any of the utilities in your name and it will/should have internet/cable tv etc....and furnished...so definately an extended vacation and not a residence.....Also, ability to choose a different area easily and rent something else or move forward with permanent residency.

Interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
The other advantage of a long term rental from VRBO or Air BNB or similar is, you won't have to put any of the utilities in your name and it will/should have internet/cable tv etc....and furnished...so definately an extended vacation and not a residence.....Also, ability to choose a different area easily and rent something else or move forward with permanent residency.

I like this idea. You could negotiate a monthly rate and not have any hassles of utilities or furniture/housewares. You can also try different neighborhoods in the same area without any commitment.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Here in Florida you only have to be here something like/around 183 days a year to be considered a resident.

Florida has no such requirement.

konata88, you are way overthinking this. It really isn't that complicated and you aren't the only one doing it.

The most complicated aspect is income taxes. You'll file in whatever states you live in for the period of time you lived and worked in those states. Tax software can walk you through it, or pay someone to do your taxes.

Vehicle registration is probably the next most complicated and you should consult the DMV of whatever state you plan to try out. That being said, I doubt there are many states that would require you to register your vehicle in that state if you are not becoming a permanent resident of that state. Same goes for your driver's license as well. Nobody I know that comes to Florida part of the year changes their vehicle registration or driver's license. At most, they'll have a car that stays in their Florida home and is registered in Florida.

As far as buying off list items, I'm assuming you talking about firearms and you are a CA resident and I have no clue what CA laws apply. The federal government says you can buy firearms in any state in which you reside. You will, of course, have to follow that state's laws. Federally speaking, residing in a state does not mean establishing permanent residency, but it's more than vacationing in another state for a week or two. As an example, both my uncle and myself have homes in Florida and Michigan. He is a Michigan resident, but while he is in Florida, he can buy firearms in Florida. I can do the same while I'm in Michigan, but don't as far as handguns, because Michigan has additional requirements. The trickiest part of this is finding an FFL who understands the laws and proving to that FFL that you are residing in the state. I don't believe your situation, renting for 3-9 months, would be considered any different. You should read and understand the ATF FAQ on the subject.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Thanks guys. There was a secondary objective but seems like that would complicate things.

1) Check out possible new living location. Sounds like I just treat this as an extended vacation stay even if I rent an apt and set up utilities for 3-6 months.

2) Purchase things that are otherwise limited by a roster in my state. But this would require establishing a parallel residency in the temporary location. At least I assume so - unless showing my apt lease and utility bill is sufficient to make purchases. But this is a secondary purpose - can forego this objective if it makes financials too complicated.

You can test out living in another place by just going there. Your state residency remains with your current state.

When you do decide, you will have to establish intent to establish residency in the new state. You're also going to have to be able to convince your current state that you no longer live there - usually that you spend less than a certain amount in state and that you have a home elsewhere.

Here's a twist I learned that people who are nomad retirees use. They either have an RV or just move around the country - they establish residency in one state; the ones I've seen use Texas for the zero state income tax. There's a town in TX that is geared to service these people by giving them a physical address and will manage their mails for them - either scan and email or forward the mail to wherever they are at the moment.

Here's their video on that subject:

I’d wait on the #2 thing on your list until you decide on a permanent move. Even if you just decide you want to buy a 2nd property there and split time between the 2, airbnb-ing the one you aren’t in but switching residency to the new state.

Find a workable furnished airbnb monthly rate property and go for it!

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Can I just walk into an H&R Block store?

Based on friends and family's experience with H&R Block, that's absolutely the last place I'd go to ask.

A CPA, or anyone else for that matter, will need to know what states you are thinking about to give you accurate advice. Most CPAs will not be experts on tax laws of all 50 states and will have to spend some time researching the answer. My billing rate in the 90s was $400 an hour, but I would have handed this off to a junior accountant.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Here in Florida you only have to be here something like/around 183 days a year to be considered a resident.

Florida has no such requirement.

Florida ABSOLUTELY DOES, here are just paragraphs from the law/requirements (most states have their own requirements and best to seek advice of a lawyer in that state to be within the letters of the law):

"Let's say that you live in Florida, but have a few businesses up the coast in Connecticut. You would like to make sure that Florida is your state of domicile in order to take advantage of tax benefits. In order to do this, you have already registered to vote in Florida, have a Florida driver's license, and spend at least six months out of the year in Florida.

Florida gives residents the option of completing a form called a Declaration of Domicile. This form is a legal declaration of your intent to reside and remain in Florida. You will have to sign the form in front of a notary, and file it with the local courthouse. However, this form may not be recognized by other states."

https://statelaws.findlaw.com/...lorida-resident.html

"Next, you’ll need to show that you spend more than half the year—183 days—in Florida. That’s the basis for most state definitions of residency for tax purposes. But don’t expect state tax auditors to take your word for it. Keep a diary or log showing the number of days you spend in each state during the year."

https://www.sglfinancial.com/b...0during%20the%20year.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Here in Florida you only have to be here something like/around 183 days a year to be considered a resident.

Florida has no such requirement.

Florida ABSOLUTELY DOES, here are just paragraphs from the law/requirements (most states have their own requirements and best to seek advice of a lawyer in that state to be within the letters of the law):

"Let's say that you live in Florida, but have a few businesses up the coast in Connecticut. You would like to make sure that Florida is your state of domicile in order to take advantage of tax benefits. In order to do this, you have already registered to vote in Florida, have a Florida driver's license, and spend at least six months out of the year in Florida.

Florida gives residents the option of completing a form called a Declaration of Domicile. This form is a legal declaration of your intent to reside and remain in Florida. You will have to sign the form in front of a notary, and file it with the local courthouse. However, this form may not be recognized by other states."

https://statelaws.findlaw.com/...lorida-resident.html

"Next, you’ll need to show that you spend more than half the year—183 days—in Florida. That’s the basis for most state definitions of residency for tax purposes. But don’t expect state tax auditors to take your word for it. Keep a diary or log showing the number of days you spend in each state during the year."

https://www.sglfinancial.com/b...0during%20the%20year.

Unless the OP lives in Florida currently, who cares....this is the exact opposite of what the OP is asking about. You are telling him how to maintain or acquire Florida residency when he is asking how to avoid residency in the state he intends to visit.

quote:

Unless the OP lives in Florida currently, who cares....this is the exact opposite of what the OP is asking about. You are telling him how to maintain or acquire Florida residency when he is asking how to avoid residency in the state he intends to visit.

I believe J123 was just using FL as a reference for what some states require to prove residency, FL has it's rules, as does NY, CA, TN etc.

Who knows Konata may want to go completely free and move to FL or TX, buy more guns, eat meat cooked rare, drink beer from a long neck bottle and drive a ICE powered vehicle without being admonished! LOL

I, and many other professionals, don’t spend more than 100 days, in any state.

I also think you’re overthinking it.

If you work for yourself*, hire a CPA (not H&R. A licensed CPA.)

Otherwise, talk to your HR folks.

*If you’re a high income individual, it gets messier. States will fight over those taxes.

Every State has a residency requirement that you need to know and avoid if you are not planning to establish residence there. Being a non resident may have consequences especially in the area of guns. In my State its driven by time and a few other things. In almost every State that has income taxes income earned in that State is taxed as a non resident. And normally every other State gives you credit for paying those, but the rate difference my not come out in your favor. But me for relatively short stints (90) I wouldn't sweat that problem. Get to 180+ days and you need to deal with your specifics.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Here in Florida you only have to be here something like/around 183 days a year to be considered a resident.

Florida has no such requirement.

Florida ABSOLUTELY DOES...

It most certainly does not.

Other states, New York for example, do to prevent people from buying a home in a tax advataged state, such as Florida, and claiming residency there to avoid paying taxes in the state they actually live in. Being a tax advantaged state to begin with, Florida residents have nothing to gain by claiming residency in another state. Florida has no statutory minimum time requirement to become a resident or maintain Florida residency. I became a resident on day 1 when I moved here. If I go on vaction for a year, I'll still be a Florida resident.

However, to qualify for in-state tuition rates in Florida, the adult student or minor student's parent/guardian must have establish residency in Florida for at least 12 months prior to the first day of the semester in which the student wish to pay in-state rates. But this neither what konata88 was asking about nor the claim you were making.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Here in Florida you only have to be here something like/around 183 days a year to be considered a resident.

Florida has no such requirement.

Florida ABSOLUTELY DOES...

It most certainly does not.

Other states, New York for example, do to prevent people from buying a home in a tax advataged state, such as Florida, and claiming residency there to avoid paying taxes in the state they actually live in. Being a tax advantaged state to begin with, Florida residents have nothing to gain by claiming residency in another state. Florida has no statutory minimum time requirement to become a resident or maintain Florida residency. I became a resident on day 1 when I moved here. If I go on vaction for a year, I'll still be a Florida resident.

However, to qualify for in-state tuition rates in Florida, the adult student or minor student's parent/guardian must have establish residency in Florida for at least 12 months prior to the first day of the semester in which the student wish to pay in-state rates. But this neither what konata88 was asking about nor the claim you were making.

What I am describing is the law to declare residency in most all states. So depending on how many days Konata is going to spend outside of HIS state, may make a difference. You have to be IN that state for 183 days to legally claim you're a resident. It is important, for example, if you also have a house in CA and spend 160 days in CA, Florida can then claim you are a resident and justify it because you spend over 50% in FL and CA isn't due state income tax and other taxes (if you're not working in CA). I don't know what else to tell you, but in order to be 100% legal resident in most all states you have to be there over 183 days a year......those are the laws......I posted the law from 2 different legal sources for FL, but 183 days residency is the rule for almost all states in the U.S.

NY is the same way:

"You are a New York State resident for income tax purposes if:

your domicile is New York State (see Exception below); or
you maintain a permanent place of abode in New York State for substantially all of the taxable year and spend 184 days or more in New York State during the taxable year, whether or not you are domiciled in New York State for any portion of the taxable year. Note: Any part of a day is a day for this purpose."
https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/file/pit_definitions.htm

More details listed above. I think it can depend on what particular States in question. Some want to go after income earners more than others.

Drivers licenses, voters registration, ownership & utility bills point to ‘residency’. Any kids in school is another biggie.

Just a few months renting shouldn’t trigger anything.

I'm sorry for pointing out Jimmy's mistake. I really thought he would have taken Para's advice and admonishments to him to heart.

Florida has no time requirement to establish residency in Florida. Both articles he linked are not based on Florida law. In fact, replacing every occurance of Florida with Texas does not change the state's, Conneticut and Illinios, laws each article deals with.

That being said, bringing up various states' residency requirements is a fair topic of discussion in this thread as the OP has provided neither his current state of residence, nor his prospective states of interest. If he chose to, he could move to a no income tax state, such as Florida, and not pay any income tax on the money he made while living in that state. He would have to be sure to follow whatever the laws are in his current state of residency as far as length of time and other conditions, as well as any requirements the new state might have. The tax savings could pay for a significant portion of his rental costs.

As a hypothetical, and I haven't looked this up, but believe it's possible:

He could move to Florida, change address and driver's license, register to vote, etc. and live here for three months. He could then repeat the process in two more states. Before moving back to his original state. He probably wouldn't be considered a resident of the state he left by that state for the 9 months he didn't live there and would thus owe no taxes to them for that nine months. If the three states he moved to had no income taxes, he'd be in good shape. This would also work if he chose to only go to one state and move around within that state.

If he makes $100,000 of taxable income in the 9 months outside his previous home state and it would have been taxed at 5%, he'd save $5,000.

On second thought, I'm not sorry for pointing out Jimmy's mistake because I wouldn't have thought about konata88's idea as thoroughly and come up with the above plan.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
SF are friends. A CPA is just a stranger to me.

If I had to pull an engine and rebuild it I wouldn't ask my friends who don't know how to change the oil in their car to do it or want their advice. I'd use the stranger who knows how to tear down an engine.