You can claim any state to be your resident but you must (especially with regard to NY) be able to show intent that such a move was not simply to avoid state taxes. With the high tax rate for NY, they (Not the feds or Florida)have a vested interest to monitor all such moves very closely.
It gets to be a problem if you own a residence in NY (your name is on the deed) and especialy if you are claiming a homestead exemption for the state of NY. (You cannot claim homestead in NY and Florida) As earlier stated , you can show intent to establish Fl residence by owning real estate, getting a drivers licence, registering to Vote, Occupy the FL residence for more than 180 days, have your utilities bills and Federal tax returns etc sent to or filed from your florida residence. The best way to separate yourself from NY would be to transfer the NY property into your wifes name or better to establish a trust. However be forwarned it may still get complicated when you (or your wife) start to file NY state taxes. Do you separate your financial accounts into his/hers..if not at a minimum you may have to file NY non-resident returns. NY will not LOOK until they see something out of the ordinary,......and all of this is a flag of some sort. The NY residence would be your wifes primary residence so she would still be able to claim a capital gain exemption upon any sale..BUT NOT YOU.
There is a fair amount of $$ to be saved by not declaring NY your residence, but every families situation is different. YOu can talk to legal /accounting help here in Florida BUT believe me the problem will be NY so I would talk to people very familiar with the law and accounting codes in that state. There is no simple answer
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