Residency, mail, and a physical address

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surfingbodi

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Feb 4, 2012
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I have to keep New Mexico as my state of residence due to my custody issues.  However, while this will be our home base, I will not have a true permanent physical address.  My concern is regarding those times when I must provide a physical address other than a P.O. Box and how I will keep up with my mail that must come to a physical address and/or just getting my mail as I move about.

How do fulltimers deal with this?  What address do you put on your license if you do not have a permanent physical address?

ty!
sb/gari
 
Most full timers use a mail forwarding service.  We use the Escapees, as do many others, but you can also get an address equivalent to a physical street address from other mailing services.  The service then forwards your mail on a schedule you set to wherever you are at the time.  I'm sure a search here on mail forwarding will turn up lots of additional information.
 
We use a local place similar to a UPS store. They have a physical address and we have a mail box there. They forward our mail whenever we ask them to wherever we want it sent. Works great.
 
We were residents of Washington when I retired and had planned on remaining so when we started full timing but ran into Washington's domicile/ residency requirements. We had to have a physical address and the state would not accept mail services to meet that requirement. it had to do with vehicle registrations outside the Seattle metro tax area but I talked to quite a few state agencies and could not come up with a legal way to get around the rules.


I mention this to suggest that you make sure NM will allow what you want. I know of several states that have this requiremnt. They go as far a requiring a utility bill, etc to show you in fact have a physical address.
 
Thanks Jeff!  I hope NM doesn't have special requirements and I can't see how they can as  I lived off grid here in NM as do a bunch of folks still and we had no utilities nor a mailing address as the area was not maintained by and govt facility, including roads which were just dirt and I filed taxes while living there so there must be a way!  However, I would like to know now for sure rather than later.

sg
 
The requirements for a physical address will vary by state and the specific thing you are talking about. Driving license may have one requirement, while other things (professional licenses, vehicle registrations, etc.) may be quite different. The federal Real ID Act requires that each state establish some form of photo ID that is verifiable and unique and most states have elected to use their driver license for that purpose.  You need to investigate the requirements for each legal thing you will need. It is entirely conceivable that you could be domiciled in a state and a legal resident thereof and still not qualify for some type of license because of the lack of a physical address. Strange, but true.

Paying taxes is easy - states seldom throw up barriers to taking your money!
 
This is an interesting topic. I am planning on full-timing within the next year or so and planned on buying a permanent site, probably in Florida for residency. It would be raw land, I wonder if that's "legal enough"? Mailbox and a slab (and eventually water, sewer and elec). Anybody done this?
 
I doubt if there would be a problem establishing your domicile on your lot. The real issue will probably be meeting local and county ordinances.
 
Jeff what state did you find most user friendly for your situation?  We are WA residents for long time and pay Puget Sound metro for blocking traffic for us and thought using my sisters address in Spokane Valley when we go full time.  Now the state is coming out with the smog test to include her address.  I'm not making a special trip to get a smog test to pay for license even though I can get one within prior year to be valid.  I just don't want to be hassled by anybody to any time schedule.  I'm for paying my fair share of taxes and all that stuff but am getting tired jumping though hoops for differant gov't bodies.  So far Nevada and Texas and South Dakota is winning as fas as less hassles.  I've gotten some info from:
http://www.retirementliving.com/taxes-by-state  which had some good info but lack other things like vehicle fees.
 
We chose SD because of a combination of factors including location as well as ease of establishing domicile, vehicle fees, and insurance costs. Texas and Florida would have probably been next on our list.
 
We have land only as a physical address and the only problem we've run into so far is we cannot buy another RV because we do not have a building on this land.  Just a lot with hookups doesn't work.  Very hard to find a bank that will loan money to a full timer.  :-\
 
Wyoming?  We are long time residents now.  No state sales tax is important to us due to pensions.  In state hunting licenses would be nice.

There must be a downside as I never see Wyoming recomended.

Anyone tried to FullTime with Wyoming as their residency?
 
Wendy said:
Wyoming - No income tax but they do have a 4% sales tax.

Sales tax in AZ starts at 6.6% and city taxes are added to that. Some cities add as much as 4%. Then we have a 4.5% income tax and a hefty personal property tax on cars and RVs. But we have nice winters ;D
 
Nevada has no income tax and low taxes on everything else. The gamblers pay most of what it takes to run the state. I just registered my 94 Damon three months ago and it was less than $100 for the year.
 
Any negatives on Nevada? What's the sales tax there? Vehicle inspection required?
 
Wendy said:
Any negatives on Nevada? What's the sales tax there? Vehicle inspection required?
I was a resident in Nevada before I went full time so I didn't investigate the best possible state to have my residency in. I have been very happy having my domicile in Nevada. Sales tax varies from county to county and I think it is around 8%. I don't spend a lot of time in Nevada so I the sales tax doesn't affect me.

Vehicle inspection is not required other than to verify the VIN number. Smog tests are required in some parts of Washoe County (Reno) and some parts of Clark County (Vegas). I live at Lake Tahoe so no smog test for me.

The only negative is that if you buy an RV from a dealer you are subject to sales tax when you register it. If you buy from a private party there is no sales tax.

Nevada is basically an unsettled state. Only Alaska has less population density per square mile than Nevada. It is still the wild west in many places. Butch Cassidy held up the bank in Winnemucka.
 

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