Changing residency: FL, SD or PA? (duh, not PA)

I will be changing residency at the end of the year, and will spend some time in PA so threw that in for giggles. Between FL and SD, considering income taxes, vehicle licensing taxes, residency requirements and anything else I may be missing, which offers the best savings for a full timer?

It really comes down to which state fits your personal situation, financial and otherwise.  What may be right for one, may not be for you, so look at how each state will affect your financial life.  Also look into other factors such as will you periodically travel back to the state you choose to domicile in?  If so perhaps a state closer to your expected travels and stay would make more sense. 

You should also take insurance costs into consideration:  vehicle, medical, etc.  They vary a lot between states.

Jeannine

Jeannine said:

You should also take insurance costs into consideration:  vehicle, medical, etc.  They vary a lot between states.

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Yes, a good point and I intend to have a long talk with Geico about that. (Fortunately I have company provided medical with same costs to me regardless of state). I was hoping someone had compared these two states and found specific advantages and disadvantages to each.

My list of questions/concerns that I've thought of so far:

• State income tax rate (I believe zero in both states)
• Vehicle registration costs
• Vehicle inspection/smog rules
• Vehicle registration procedures (for example, SD will just send you the plates, you don't have to bring the vehicle)
• Procedure for becoming a resident of that state (for example, a single night in a motel for SD)
• Drivers license procedures (have to be present in SD, I'm sure same in FL)
• Mail forwarding services seem to be available at approximately the same costs with roughly the same services in both states

I will be spending a fair amount of time in both FL and PA so that would make it easier for both of those. I bring up PA again, because of mail forwarding. If the savings of becoming a resident of either SD or FL is largely eaten-up by the cost of mail forward and other details, I'll probably not bother and do PA instead and get a PO box, where I can forward for free anytime I'm not there.

The Escapees RV Club has establishing a domicile guides for each of the three popular fulltime RV'ing states.

Domicile - Escapees RV Club

NY_Dutch said:

The Escapees RV Club has establishing a domicile guides for each of the three popular fulltime RV'ing states.

Domicile - Escapees RV Club

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Thanks, that?s already been very helpful. TX is out due to RV registration costs.

Next year we're going to set up our domicle in FL because we're both under 65 and it's the only one of the 3 typically used (FL, SD and TX) that still offers a PPO Managed Care Plan.  Our 1st choice would be SD but no medical coverage for us there....

Take a hard look at Pennsylvania. When we went full-time (we were/are PA residents) we thought certain we'd change residency, however, we did not.

Things to consider:
[list type=decimal]
[*]No income Tax in PA on income reported on a 1099-R.
[*]Motorhome Insurance is 50-75% less than SD or FL.
[*]Registration for our MH is about $120 a year and can be done entirely online, no mailings.
[*]We have a good friend that collects and manages our mail in PA.
[*]Driver's License is good for 4 years.
[/list]

YMMV depending on your sources of income, type of RV, driving/credit record, etc..
_________________________

Sun2Retire said:

Yes, a good point and I intend to have a long talk with Geico about that. (Fortunately I have company provided medical with same costs to me regardless of state). I was hoping someone had compared these two states and found specific advantages and disadvantages to each.

My list of questions/concerns that I've thought of so far:

• State income tax rate (I believe zero in both states)
• Vehicle registration costs
• Vehicle inspection/smog rules
• Vehicle registration procedures (for example, SD will just send you the plates, you don't have to bring the vehicle)
• Procedure for becoming a resident of that state (for example, a single night in a motel for SD)
• Drivers license procedures (have to be present in SD, I'm sure same in FL)
• Mail forwarding services seem to be available at approximately the same costs with roughly the same services in both states

I will be spending a fair amount of time in both FL and PA so that would make it easier for both of those. I bring up PA again, because of mail forwarding. If the savings of becoming a resident of either SD or FL is largely eaten-up by the cost of mail forward and other details, I'll probably not bother and do PA instead and get a PO box, where I can forward for free anytime I'm not there.

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A down side to PA is the inspection requirement.
You have to go back to PA to get the inspection done.
Legally any state you pass through can ticket you for expired inspection. If full timing and just looking for a domicile state any state with an inspection requirement is a no go.

My Motor home is registered in Arizona where we winter for that reason. (New York)

darsben said:

A down side to PA is the inspection requirement.
You have to go back to PA to get the inspection done.
Legally any state you pass through can ticket you for expired inspection. If full timing and just looking for a domicile state any state with an inspection requirement is a no go.

My Motor home is registered in Arizona where we winter for that reason. (New York)

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An important consideration and one of several reasons we chose SD to domicile in.

darsben said:

A down side to PA is the inspection requirement.
You have to go back to PA to get the inspection done.
Legally any state you pass through can ticket you for expired inspection. If full timing and just looking for a domicile state any state with an inspection requirement is a no go.

My Motor home is registered in Arizona where we winter for that reason. (New York)

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Private vehicle inspection requirements are governed by individual state laws, and the laws of one state do not apply in another state unless those states have a valid reciprocity agreement. I'm not aware of any that do. The items requiring inspection also vary from state to state, making an inspection in one state not the same as the inspection in another state. Add to that the states that don't require a currently out of state vehicle to be inspected until it returns to the registration state and the states that don't require inspections in the first place, and it's pretty clear that one state attempting to enforce another states inspection laws would be opening a major can of worms and states rights legal challenges.


I'll add for the purposes of this thread, that PA happens to be one of the states that does not require a currently out of state vehicle with an expired inspection to be inspected until it reenters the state. PA in fact allow 10 days to have it inspected.


Question #11
http://www.dmv.pa.gov/Pages/FAQ%20Pages/Safety-Inspection-Program-Consumers.aspx

Legally any state you pass through can ticket you for expired inspection.

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I'm really doubtful of that - can you cite a source for this legal opinion? 

About the only way I can imagine that is if the officer cites you on the grounds that your vehicle is no longer legal in your home state because of the expired inspection sticker and therefore your vehicle is unregistered.  Sounds like a real stretch to me, and one that involves a lot of hassle for the local LEO and courts, with small chance of being upheld. 

Gary RV_Wizard said:

I'm really doubtful of that - can you cite a source for this legal opinion? 

About the only way I can imagine that is if the officer cites you on the grounds that your vehicle is no longer legal in your home state because of the expired inspection sticker and therefore your vehicle is unregistered.  Sounds like a real stretch to me, and one that involves a lot of hassle for the local LEO and courts, with small chance of being upheld.

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redacted
Your vehicle must be street legal in your home state to be operated on the roads of another state. With expired inspection your vehicle is not  legal to be on the roads of your state and therefore any state. (Reciprocity) Will you get pulled over? Probably not,  but if you are pulled over you may be cited. Another example the front plate missing on a vehicle from a state that requires 2 plates can be ticketed anywhere.

Your vehicle must pass the requirements of your home state to be operated on any road.

darsben said:

redacted
Your vehicle must be street legal in your home state to be operated on the roads of another state. With expired inspection your vehicle is not  legal to be on the roads of your state and therefore any state. (Reciprocity) Will you get pulled over? Probably not,  but if you are pulled over you may be cited. Another example the front plate missing on a vehicle from a state that requires 2 plates can be ticketed anywhere.

Your vehicle must pass the requirements of your home state to be operated on any road.

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Yet most inspection state regulations don't require a vehicle that's out of state when the inspection expires to have the inspection renewed for some period after they re-enter the state. That makes them not only "street legal" for the entire time they're out of state with an expired inspection, but for that period of time after they re-enter the home state. If a state recognizes the inspection regulations of another state, then they must recognize the in-state renewal portion of those regulations. They can't pick and choose...

NY_Dutch said:

Yet most inspection state regulations don't require a vehicle that's out of state when the inspection expires to have the inspection renewed for some period after they re-enter the state. That makes them not only "street legal" for the entire time they're out of state with an expired inspection, but for that period of time after they re-enter the home state. If a state recognizes the inspection regulations of another state, then they must recognize the in-state renewal portion of those regulations. They can't pick and choose...

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Do not know about PA but New York has no grace period unless you are out of state and request AN Extension sticker
FROM NY DMV
I need an extension (I am not in New York right now)

If you are out of state when your inspection will expire, you can apply for an extension. First, determine if an expired out-of-state inspection is a violation of law in that state. Ask the authorities if a New York State inspection extension sticker prevents a ticket for the violation. The extension allows you 10 days from the date the vehicle returns to New York State to get an inspection.

Allow 14 days for the DMV to process and mail your extension sticker. You will need it before you return your vehicle to New York.

To receive an extension, mail this information

    your name and current out-of-state mailing address
    the year and make of your vehicle
    the vehicle plate number
    the inspection sticker number and expiration date

to

NYS DMV
Bureau of Consumer and Facility Services
Inspection Extension
P.O. Box 2700-ESP
Albany, NY 12220-0700

When you receive your extension sticker, do not put it on your windshield while your vehicle is out of state. Keep the sticker and the instructions in your vehicle to show to an out-of-state police officer. The sticker is not a guarantee that a police officer will not issue you a traffic ticket.
(I ADDED COLOR FOR EMPHASIS SEEMS THAT YOU MAY BE ISSUED A TICKET OUT OF STATE)
There will be no record of an inspection on New York State DMV records. You cannot renew the registration if there is no DMV record of an inspection within the past 12 months. If you must renew the registration before you get a New York State inspection, call  518-486-9786.

No other state can enforce NY's vehicle inspection regulations. NY has a similar out of state inspection expiration grace period rule as most other states, with the exception that you must request a temp sticker to be dated when reentering the state indicating the start of the 10 day period. I suspect no one here can find any regulation in any state that calls for transient vehicles to be in violation of the state's own laws by having an expired inspection sticker from another state. Particularly when that same expired inspection sticker is considered legal in the issuing state for some period of time after the vehicle returns to the state. It then follows that if the expired sticker is legal in the issuing state, then it must also be legal in all other states since the other states can neither enforce or alter the issuing state's laws.


I'll just add that an out of state officer could of course issue a ticket for some perceived violation based on an expired out of state inspection sticker, but it likely would not hold up in traffic court.

In NY you need to have the extension sticker
DMV RULE NOT MINE
DMV STATES other places may ticket me if my inspection sticker invalid.
Again I say check your home state.

I did not make this s---- up

If your car is legal in your home state it is legal in all 50. If it is not legal in your home state it is not legal in any other state.
If it is not legal in the state then you may be ticketed

NY_Dutch said:

The Escapees RV Club has establishing a domicile guides for each of the three popular fulltime RV'ing states.

Domicile - Escapees RV Club

Click to expand...

Thanks.  A helpful link.  I am the process of deciding SD or FL.  I think I am going with FL as eight years on the license v five for SD.  Everything else seems about equal.

But the point is that under the NY state rules, a NY registered vehicle with an expired inspection sticker that is out of state IS LEGAL under NY's rules as long as you have the extension sticker in your possession. Other states, Texas comes to mind, do not require you to have an extension sticker for an expired TX inspection while you are out of state, and may in fact even allow reregistrations while out of state with an expired inspection. See if you can find any instance of anyone ever being ticketed in any state for having an expired inspection from another state. Or even find a regulation in any state requiring that transient vehicles have a current inspection from their home state if that state requires inspections.

NY's registration process is interesting in respect to inspections, since it's possible to legally be out of state for up to three years without having the vehicle reinspected due to the mandatory two year registration period, and still have a current registration on returning with 10 days to have the vehicle inspected.

I'm not going to take sides in the it is/it isn't legal to drive out of state with an expired inspection argument.  I really don't know enough about it to have an informed opinion on the subject.

But a couple of questions have occurred to me:

1:  The discussion so far has been limited to other states.  What happens if you're driving with an expired inspection in Canada or Baja?

2:  What happens if you're involved in an accident with an expired inspection?

For myself, I have to go home at least once a year to see my Doctors, plus my family is still there.  So I'll get a new inspection every time I go home to visit.