Where to retire???

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Maybe we should start our own "No State" state? No land, no employees, no taxes? Anyone who doesn't live anywhere is welcome to become a resident?
 
Jeff Cousins said:
Just don't tell the State of Arizona that you are retired there,....

Oops, too late, the state of Az has folks who monitor this forum; They really want to collect on those upaid (aka avoided) taxes.

Imagine a Sheriff coming to your coach and leading you away in handcuffs  :eek:
 
wendycoke said:
It could make Quartzsite very, very interesting

Ah yes, we could invite the sheriff to our QZ rally  ;D
 
Tom said:
Ah yes, we could invite the sheriff to our QZ rally  ;D

We joke but a couple of m/h owners from Washington who purchased and registered their coaches in Oregon were supposedly threatened with $10k fines plus penalties and interest for not paying up to WA.
 
The greedy hand of government.............and computers make it easier to track things. When we lived in WY, the state was trying to go after people who went to Montana to buy large purchase items. The "non-existent state" sounds like a good idea.....sadly there are no frontiers left. :'(
 
Jeff Cousins said:
We joke but a couple of m/h owners from Washington who purchased and registered their coaches in Oregon were supposedly threatened with $10k fines plus penalties and interest for not paying up to WA.

Which is why Oregon has gotten really, really, really snotty about registering RVs without proof of residency.
 
I heard a while back that Oregon was going to require you live there, or own property there....before you could register a vehicle. Did they do that? Wendy, are you saying that Oregon has gotten tough because of pressure from Wash???
 
To register a vehicle in Oregon, you have to have an Oregon driver's license. To get an Oregon DL, you have to show pieces of evidence of residency from a list they have that includes a rent receipt, utility bill, items mailed to you at an Oregon address, etc. Used to be, all you had to do was give them an Oregon address. I can only imagine that it has been pressure from adjoining states (California, Washington) that has made Oregon tighten up on DL and vehicle registration residency requirements.
 
Thanks, that makes sense.....as far as Oregon's position. Forgot about Ca. I know Wash. State is doing cart wheels trying to get the tax-exempt sales that residents make in Oregon. They kind of use that as an excuse to raise Wash. taxes ;) Fulltime Rver's do have an advantage as far as sales tax and even income tax......good lifestyle :)
 
Sure seems that someone needs to research and write this up in a book or whatever. Personally, I really enjoy discussions with such knowledgeable folks as those of you here. It is really a help to hear all the points of view and start to understand the issues better. The gov't isn't going to care where I got my advice, though, so, if we go into this, I won't bet the farm without talking to a good lawyer (and getting it in writing!). I just don't look good in bracelets and striped pants!
 
This is not an unusual occurrence on the East coast either Smoky.  The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on the border of Maine and New Hampshire actually had a feud about this very tax thing a few years back.  NH always seemed to want to claim the shipyard as their own, but the boundary is so close its been argued about since the 1600s.  It was proven to lie in Maine, and probably happened because of tidal action moving some dirt around.  Anyway, anyone working at the shipyard has to pay Maine taxes.  Lots of unhappy NH people over that one.......  Daisy

 
Pierat said:
Smoky and All -

I'm a bit at a loss right now. We were thinking that, when the time came, we might keep working in AZ for a few months, but establish residency elsewhere during those last few months of work. The idea was to buy the RV and license it in our new state, then live in the RV awhile in AZ and sort things out before our first big trip. We would actually move to the new state physically once we finished working in AZ. From the above discussion, it isn't clear that there's a way to do that in AZ. Anyone have any suggestions (or a good residency lawyer!)?

I hate to muddy waters but although most people use the terms resident and domicile interchangeably, they are not. You can have multiple residents but only one domicile at a time. It is important for legal purposes to be sure you make the proper distinction.
 
blueblood said:
....most people use the terms resident and domicile interchangeably, they are not.

Good point Leo. Here's a library file on the subject, created from a message posted by a former forum member.
 
Leo, you are correct, and it's important that you take steps to establish your domicile where you want it or the states will determine it for you, not always to your advantage.
 
Wendy,

If I could ask for your expertise.  If you keep your house in Colorado (primary residence) and rent it while registering residency/domicile in another state, how does that affect the tax status of the house?  I am interested that at the point you sell it, will you have to pay taxes as if it were an investment for the entire time you owned it (basis being what you paid for it?)  If you return to live in the house full-time down the road, does that make a difference on tax treatment?

Thanks.
 
Our plans seem to fit the library link that Tom posted (excellent article and much easier than IRS code to read). When we leave the house in Colorado and rent it out, it will no longer be our residence, the motorhome will be our residence and, I guess, whatever state we decide is our residence (thinking Oregon since my parents live there and we have a legitimate address but it could just as easily be South Dakota or Montana).

If we make a profit on renting the house, we would have to pay income taxes on that profit. However, in our economically deprived part of the country, we won't make an money on the rental. (Rent minus mortgage payment minus expenses = profit In our case zero)

If we decide to sell the house, we will first return to Colorado and live in the house long enough to take advantage of the federal exclusion (you must have lived in the home for 2 of the 5 years before selling the home). So if we sell the house, so long as we've lived there for at least 2 of the last 5 years, we can exclude up to $250,000 in gain. If we make more than $250,000 on the sale, we would have to claim that as gain on the sale of a residence. The good news on having rented out the property is that the basis for the house will probably increase when we have to do things like replace carpet, paint, etc., before selling.

When we worked seasonal for the park service, we usually switched to DL and plates in the state we were living and working in, partly because it was easier and partly because we lived in some pretty vehicle friendly states (Texas and Florida before California and Colorado). The last park we worked in, Hovenweep, is physically located in Utah but its address is in Colorado. We decided we preferred Colorado and got DLs and vehicle registrations in that state. The federal government took out Utah state taxes from Mike's paycheck and every year, for over 5 years, we filed Utah and Colorado non-resident tax returns and got back the Utah income tax we had paid in and then paid Colorado income taxes.

Now, all of this assumes that the current and future administrations don't decide they're bored and need to change the IRS code once again. In which case, all bets are off.
 
Thank you very much, Wendy.  That information helped a great deal.  I have been thinking we could benefit from changing our domicile to different state where we own property instead of the one where we own a house.
 
Tom said:
Wendy, I believe that's $250K each ($500K per couple).

You're absolutely right, Tom. This should give you an idea of the 'distressed' nature of the community where I live. I never paid any attention to the fact that we can claim $500,000 if filing joint and we both lived here 2 of the last 5 years. Not a chance we'd need $250,000 each. The good news is, housing here is cheap. The bad news is, housing here is cheap. Looking for a place to retire with cheap but nice housing? Try Cortez. LOL
 

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