What is your state of residency?
When you live on a Boat or in an RV, you have to consider where you want that to be Legally this is called your state of residency and it is something that you must consider. Many things will factor into your decision and below we will discuss the things we considered and what our choices were (and why).
In this article, we discuss the things to consider when choosing a state of residency. It is interesting when you decide to live a nomadic or traveling lifestyle and sell your house and property to do so. As soon as you do, you no longer have a “residence” and that comes with some challenges.
Challenges you will face
– Where do I vote
– Do I pay state income tax
– How will I get important mail
– Will I still have a vehicle to register and inspect
– What are the insurance rates where I will be
State of Residency Taxes
So comes a decision. What state do you want to call home when you don’t have a permanent one? Let us look at the things that you may consider.
State income tax – 9 of them in the US as of 2018 do not have a state income tax.
Those are Alaska, Washington, Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Florida, New Hampshire, and TN.
New Hampshire and TN, however, have a tax on dividends so something to consider when it comes to retirement or living off of investments. TN says they are phasing this out by 2021, but as of now there is still a tax on dividends
State of Residency Car Insurance Rates
The next thing to consider if you are going to have a vehicle is car insurance rates. See the video below where we share some details on the different states and their general insurance rates. Keep in mind insurance rates are a factor of many things beyond just your state, but also your driving record, car loans, etc.State of Residency Car Inspection Laws
The next thing to consider is vehicle inspection if you have a car. You may wonder why this is important. The reality is when you live remotely or nomadic, going back to a specific state and county to have a vehicle inspected is challenging. You will incur high costs of travel to do so. Additionally, you will be risking a fine and violation if you are caught driving with the inspection expired in most states.
With some planning, you can determine which states have no vehicle inspection required at all.
Sates without a vehicle inspection
Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Michigan, Kentucky, and Florida
Our Choice and why
For us, Florida made the most sense. While I consider myself a Texan and Pride make it hard to give that up, it is a pain in
the butt to drive all the way over t
o near Houston to get the vehicles inspected.
Getting Mail and Packages
The next thing we started to look at was Mail forwarding services that would help to provide a physical address and a mail forwarding, handling and package delivery service. There were 2 that sort of raised to the top of the pile. One in Florida and one in Texas. The one in Texas seemed to cater more toward RV’ers and the one in Florida caters a bit more to Boaters.
Escapees is in Livingston Texas
St. Brendan’s Isle is in Green Cove Springs Florida.
Our Choice – St. Brendan’s Isle
As Boaters, we chose St Brendan’s Isle for the additional boaters related benefits.
I hope you find this information useful.
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