Domicile and Mailing Address

[Tulecreeper]

Now that everyone has been so kind answering my questions about generator size and RV insurance in the past couple weeks, it's time to delve into a more involved topic. I've tried to find specific info on here relating our particular needs, but most everything I've found is regarding folks trying to outrun the tax man...so to speak.

We are not interested in acquiring a domicile in SD, TX, or FL just because they have no state tax. We will not have a home base...no house, no apartment. We are going to sell our house and property here in AR and homestead (RV-wise) in an Arizona RV park someplace and we don't care about state tax. I did the full-time RV thing for 5 years 20+ years ago when I was still working for Fish & Wildlife, but my domicile and mailing address were both at the HQ of the wildlife area where I worked. Since most RV parks nowadays will not allow you to use their address for regular (USPS) mail I need to reinvent part of the wheel here.

So, what I know is that we can get a mailing address simply by getting a PO Box somewhere close to where we will be plugging in; like the local post office. What I need to know is how to set up a domicile in AZ where we plan on fulltiming the vast majority of the time. We will probably be pulling up stakes a couple months out of the year in the summer and going on "vacation" to see friends and relatives in WY and MT, then heading back to AZ for the remainder of the year, so a domicile in AZ will be needed for tax purposes, medical insurance, DMV, etc.

Any info will be mucho apreciado. Gracias...

 

[Laura & Charles]

If the AZ park allows seasonal and full time residents, you could use that address instead of a nearby P.O. Box. As you know, a P.O. Box won’t work for purposes of anything government related (taxes, DMV, voting, and such).
When we started full timing we had long been established as Ohio residents. We got a UPS box for most everything, and had an relative who was agreeable to us using his address for our legal domicile. We recently became Florida residents. We have a two year rental agreement at a park here, so it’s legit. We’ll not be staying here year round and can rent our site out when we’re not here. The person who handles the mailroom here will forward our mail to the UPS box we’ve already established (as they are well used to us calling every couple of months to have them UPS the contents of our box to wherever we are.
So our set up is not unlike two-address snowbirds, except our summer address isn’t established as a single address.

 

[Tulecreeper]

If the AZ park allows seasonal and full time residents, you could use that address instead of a nearby P.O. Box. As you know, a P.O. Box won’t work for purposes of anything government related (taxes, DMV, voting, and such).
When we started full timing we had long been established as Ohio residents. We got a UPS box for most everything, and had an relative who was agreeable to us using his address for our legal domicile. We recently became Florida residents. We have a two year rental agreement at a park here, so it’s legit. We’ll not be staying here year round and can rent our site out when we’re not here. The person who handles the mailroom here will forward our mail to the UPS box we’ve already established (as they are well used to us calling every couple of months to have them UPS the contents of our box to wherever we are.
So our set up is not unlike two-address snowbirds, except our summer address isn’t established as a single address.

Thanks very much for the reply!
The AZ RV park we have our eye on does allow multi-month stays - up to 6 or 7 months at a time, maybe more - but will not allow residents to use their address for anything other than common carrier deliveries (UPS, FedEx, etc.), so we will need somewhere (PO Box) to actually go pick up mail every week or so. They say if they start receiving regular mail for anyone they will return it as undeliverable as they would be overwhelmed, and I don't blame them. Can you imagine receiving daily mail for dozens of people every day?
So, as I mentioned, I can set up a PO Box for regular mail delivery but I want a legal domicile address in Arizona for taxes, DMV, etc.

 

[jackiemac]

We are from the UK and use a UPS store mailbox. Bank and DMV in Nevada are happy with that address. Note we don't use it for driver's license.

Not the cheapest but it works for our needs.

AZ may allow the RV park as physical address and use of PO Box for mail.

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

Being full timers, why are you NOT considering SD, TX & FL?

If you change your domicile to AZ, have you investigated what it's going to cost you just to register your RV in AZ compared to other states?

I'm a prior resident of Alaska. Tags for our RV was (if I remember right) $50/year until I turned 65 then they were $0.00.

Back in 2000 I thought about registering our 1999 MH in AZ because we were snowbirding from here. It would have cost over $3000.

In AZ last May, I registered a 5 year old van and it cost me $300/year. Arizona sets their registration fees on what THEY say the vehicle is worth. NOT blue book value. Your cost to register a 2012 MH will be in the thousands.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Being full timers, why are you NOT considering SD, TX & FL?

If you change your domicile to AZ, have you investigated what it's going to cost you just to register your RV in AZ compared to other states?

I'm a prior resident of Alaska. Tags for our RV was (if I remember right) $50/year until I turned 65 then they were $0.00.

Back in 2000 I thought about registering our 1999 MH in AZ because we were snowbirding from here. It would have cost over $3000.

In AZ last May, I registered a 5 year old van and it cost me $300/year. Arizona sets their registration fees on what THEY say the vehicle is worth. NOT blue book value. Your cost to register a 2012 MH will be in the thousands.

Thank you very much for the response. To make it easy, I will put it in a nutshell. We don't care...about taxes, about registration, about insurance. We want the simplicity of having our domicile in the same state we actually live in.

 

[Isaac-1]

It is not just about taxes though, services like Escapees in Texas help not only with setting up domicile, drivers licenses, etc. there, but also provide mail forwarding service so your important mail can catch up with you when you are on the road, and you don't have to change things if you decide to move to another town / state.

 

[Kirk]

Check out the Escapees RV Club as they can help you set up your domicile in any of the three states you list. For 12 years they were my only address in TX. I never had a problem at all. There are several other members of the group active on this forum.

 

[Tulecreeper]

It is not just about taxes though, services like Escapees in Texas help not only with setting up domicile, drivers licenses, etc. there, but also provide mail forwarding service so your important mail can catch up with you when you are on the road, and you don't have to change things if you decide to move to another town / state.

We won't need mail-forwarding as we will seldom be on the road going anywhere, and we will definitely never be moving to another state.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Check out the Escapees RV Club as they can help you set up your domicile in any of the three states you list. For 12 years they were my only address in TX. I never had a problem at all. There are several other members of the group active on this forum.

You misunderstood my post. We are not interested in setting up a domicile in TX, FL, or SD...only AZ.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I think I have to clarify my question.

We are going to be living in AZ full time in an RV - no house, no apartment, no hotel room - for as many months out of the year as we can - hopefully 9 or 10 months in the same RV park - then maybe leaving for a month or two to visit up north in the summer. Then right back to where we started from for another 9 or 10 months.

We want to set up a domicile in AZ...not Texas, not Florida, not South Dakota....Arizona. I can set up a "mailing address" at the closest post office by getting a PO Box, that's the easy part. It's the setting up a "domicile" thing - a physical address - I need info for.

So, here is a question that popped into my mind. For those of you who have your domicile set up in SD, FL, or TX but live 1000 miles away most of the time, what do you do when you receive a jury notice? Since the County Clerk's office in the state you are domiciled in is the one that takes care of that, do you drive or fly all the way back to your state of residence to answer the summons? Inquiring minds, and all that.

 

[Old_Crow]

I'm domiciled in Arkansas, using my kid's address. I've gotten a jury notice and there's a reply form in the envelope with the summons. Has boxes to check off for various reasons if you can't show. Being out of state was one of those.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I'm domiciled in Arkansas, using my kid's address. I've gotten a jury notice and there's a reply form in the envelope with the summons. Has boxes to check off for various reasons if you can't show. Being out of state was one of those.

Yes, but that is only a short-term fix, then they will send another one eventually. I know, I worked LE for all my career and you only get one or two passes like that. Now, if you're over 70, blind, or otherwise handicapped you can get a permanent pass.

 

[Old_Crow]

71 and fat. I only come back to Arkansas about every other winter for maybe 3 months at a time. If they can catch me, they can have me.

 

[Tulecreeper]

71 and fat. I only come back to Arkansas about every other winter for maybe 3 months at a time. If they can catch me, they can have me.

In 2001, when 9-1-1 went down, I was in the Reserves and got recalled to Active Duty. About 3 months after I got to my command I received a notice to appear for federal jury duty in Oakland, CA. I made that long-distance phone call and tried to explain to the woman I spoke with at the federal courthouse that I was not - and would not be - available for probably a year or more as I was out of the country at the time. She said I needed a valid reason for not showing up, and I repeated, "I'm out of the country for a while." She asked, "What would keep you from returning to fulfill your federal obligation?" I replied, "The Taliban or Al Qaeda." There was a long pause, the she said, "Good luck, and God bless," and I never heard another thing about it.

 

[Wendy]

We found a mail box store (like a UPS store but local) near our house in Colorado. It’s a street address so any kind of mail can go there, including USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. And no government entities have had a problem with the address. When we’re home, we drive over once a week and pick up our mail. And when we’re away in the RV, they forward our mail when we call and ask.

 

[zulu]

So, what I know is that we can get a mailing address simply by getting a PO Box somewhere close to where we will be plugging in; like the local post office. What I need to know is how to set up a domicile in AZ where we plan on fulltiming the vast majority of the time. We will probably be pulling up stakes a couple months out of the year in the summer and going on "vacation" to see friends and relatives in WY and MT, then heading back to AZ for the remainder of the year, so a domicile in AZ will be needed for tax purposes, medical insurance, DMV, etc.

We did what you're planning on doing -- residing (or domiciling) in AZ.

Similar to you, we lived in a Lake Havasu RV park but in a park model for several years.

I believe you "automatically" become an AZ resident if you live there 6 months. Anyway, the key is the AZ driver's license. While the form requires a permanent address, you can also fill in a mailing address which takes care of all government correspondence.

For the driver's license permanent address we used our RV park's address with our park model's space number. We figured if we ever got mail there, it would be rare. We never received mail at the RV park.

Instead we used a local mom & pop mail service that provided a permanent mail box + mail forwarding services when we needed it. Our address looked like this:

John Smith
1234 Havasu Lane #234
Lake Havasu, AZ

This address passed muster with all the financial services (banks, credit card companies, 401ks, etc). However, if you run afoul of the Patriot Act's anti-money laundering requirements that banks, etc must use, then all you need to do is provide them with a "contact" address (see the bottom right column on p. 480 here).

One final piece of advice, I suggest using a tax service for at least your first AZ tax filing.

Have fun!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Your legal domicile is determined by the preponderance of evidence and a lot of things can be considered. Examples include the state where your driving licenses, vehicle tags, and voter registration are issued, and where you maintain "community connections" for personal business things like receiving mail, banking and medical care. Property ownership or long term rentals can count too, but they aren't as dominant as you might expect. In short, if you physically reside in AZ, get your various licenses there, and conduct most of your personal business there, you have established that AZ is your intended domicile. The lack of any similar connections elsewhere makes it a no-brainer. But if you split those things across multiple states, it could be a different story. However, the issue almost never comes up unless somebody challenges it for some reason, e.g. like where you will should be probabted. Other than things like that, nobody really cares.

 

[Steven L]

Unless you are hoping there happens to be someone here who's specifically done what you're asking and sees this post, why wouldn't you simply contact the Office of the Secretary of State in Arizona to find out if what you're wanting to do is even possible in that state.

Establishing residency and/or domicile I would imagine varies greatly state by state, perhaps it's possible that Arizona actually prohibits what you're looking to accomplish?

 

[Steven L]

I do know that in order to establish new residency for taxing purposes in Arizona you need to live in the state for a minimum of 9 months in your first year.