Florida residency
 

Can someone explain pros/ cons of changing residency from ny to Florida? We have homes in both and will continue that for at least a few years.

The biggest advantages are no state income tax, and the Homestead exemption on your property tax.. You also get a discount on Disney World tickets. The biggest disadvantage may be a higher cost for auto insurance.

i agree with everything except maybe auto insurance.
If you bundle everything you may be ok if your claim and driving record is ok. Try State Farm on 301 office by 44 Nathan Thomas 352-748-5272 Debbie the owner my is a peach

There are rules to defining your residency which have been discussed on this website, sometimes accurately, sometimes not, many times. The piece of mis-information most common here is that if you are a Florida resident you will not owe NY income taxes. False. You will still owe NY taxes on income earned in NY. However income earned not specifically in NY will become not NY taxable.

To claim Florida residency, you must live in Florida a minimum of 6 months and one day...

And, keep all the stuff that's "near and dear" to you at your Florida residence. Family photos, awards, stamp collections, etc. If they do an audit on you, they would use stuff like this to show that you are still a "NY resident" despite the fact that you spend 6+ months in Florida. And get a Florida doctor and dentist down here, along with a bank that has Florida branches and a safe deposit box. NY and other states are desperate for tax dollars and don't want to lose you. Be prepared in case they challenge you.

New here also and I could be mistaken but I thought Florida residency just required wearing short pants more than 6 months of the year.

OP, you may want to discuss this with your financial advisor as well as an elder care lawyer, your health insurance provider, etc. There are a LOT of things to consider. We avoided all of this by cutting the cord and moving permanently.

Everything that was pointed out about the benefits of Florida Residency is true.

The feeling of not being a New Jerseyian Officially is very freeing. What is happening there tax-wise is still affecting me because it is hurting all of our children.

Being a Floridian is the best except for the peak of Hurricane Season. The only drawback. But NJ just had a Tornado several days back, go figure.

I love the Homestead Exemption the most and the Property Taxes as far as Florida VS. New Jersey.

I always speak of N.J. roughly but it had many good points also. The Turnpike is not what the entire state is all about.

Florida is way better. It's a Florida state of mind.

It's always difficult to move if it has not been your life. Relocation for work makes it easier but the memories, long term friends, family will always remain with you. We came here five years ago, permanently, kids were upset..."what about the grand kids". The grand kids were "really, Florida, Disney, no snow, can we come down". The kids got over it and visit often. The grand kids out grew us and have their own friends and life but are here several times a year. Our friends from PA also show up (sometimes too often). Don't build false walls to prevent your life from moving forward.

The one feeling that is sooo good was removing the NJ auto inspection from our windshields, --its a sense of freedom

The most valid short version!!

We became Florida residents this year, saved the income tax from Minnesota, homestead credit here. Auto insurance similar prices.

Requirement is to be out of Minnesota for 6 months and a day. Florida does not care how long you are here.

Son in Florida, daughter in Texas, so travel back and forth by way of Texas.

We were residents of both Massachusetts and NH. We decided to sell up in Mass and move permanently to NH - it is a very poor State with no income tax revenue so everything is paid for through property taxes and sales tax. We had intended to live out our lives in NH and I attended many Elder Seminars and found out that NH death duties are brutal, we took out a Trust to cover our assets.

We purchased a home in Florida and saw an Elder Law expert here and found that Florida is much kinder to old people than NH. Our Attorney told us NH would have taken EVERYTHING we owned including our underwear(!) had we continued to live there. If we are forced through ill health to return to NH the first thing I would do is consult n Attorney.

It was suggested in an earlier post that you contact an Attorney specializing in Elder Law and that is exactly what you should do in order to find out what your obligations to NY are and what the benefits of Fl are.

And Carl Icahn--people are voting with their wallets, we did

State and Property taxes. Can't go wrong. If you really need someplace up there, get a small apt.

I would love to change my residency from Massachusetts to Florida to save on income taxes and get the property tax homestead exemption. It would also be nice to have my vote actually matter in a national election. I find the biggest obstacle to changing residency is medical insurance. Since both my wife and I are not yet eligable for Medicare, and do not get employer provided insurance, we have to buy our insurance through the Massachusetts state exchange, which requires us to be Massachusetts residents. We still spend about half our time up north and very much like both our doctors and the quality of our health care options up north and don't want to give that up yet.

It could be you are too young to make this decision yet. We were in our mid 60s when we made our decision.

Here is the bottom line:

State of Florida.com | Florida Residency

HUH? I believe that is INCORRECT. Aside from the fact we became official residents immediately by turning in our NJ drivers license, showing our NJ home was sold and that we purchased a home here and signed a few forms. We became "official" residents immediately. We did miss our homestead deduction by 7 DAYS for 2017 because we moved here officially on Jan 7th. Had it been Dec 31 2016 we'd have had immediate homestead rebate per the tax guy over on Powell Rd.

You might want to read this: How to Become a Florida Resident, Officially (or write to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave).

That is correct. Florida residency requirements have nothing to do with how many days or nights you are in Florida. It's all about "intent" as evidenced by your actions with regard to legal and financial matters, not where you sleep.

A few examples of things that are considered as evidence of your intent are a declaration of domicile, registration of automobiles, driver's license, voter's registration, Florida resident address on your federal tax return, and Florida address on any other document that asks about your principle residency.

So, get you a place in Florida (rental is OK), turn in your driver's license from NY and get one from FL, register your car(s) in Florida, register to vote in FL, file a declaration of domicile with the county clerk in your Florida county, list your Florida address on your Federal taxes, and put a Florida Gators sticker on your bumper, and you're a Florida resident... just kidding about the bumper sticker. :)

Save money if you are here 6 months plus a day.

You are forgetting the most important one, where is your health insurance?

Likely not an issue for most people but be careful, not all states have the same residency requirements. Just because you meet the residency requirements in one state does not mean you may not also meet the residency requirements in another state. Best to consult with your tax advisor if you spend time in multiple locations.

TOTV doesn't qualify as a tax advisor...

We also have a home in both NY and TV. If you become a Florida resident you lose your Star benefit on NY property taxes but then you can claim Homestead in Florida. If you pay property taxes in Florida you can get a Florida resident pass to Disney.

[QUOTE=Madelaine Amee;169314
to NH - it is a very poor State with no income tax revenue so everything is paid for through property taxes and sales tax. ]


NH does NOT have a sales tax.



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We had a home in New York and a Home in Florida with overlaps for about 6-7 years. It is expensive to pay for a home in New York 4-5 months a year and hard to justify the added costs. Would recommend selling the one in the North and identifying Florida as prime residency. There are added taxes, communite costs, and all the rest that go with paying for a home site. A lot do it for the kids. It is better to fly up and fly them down. :ho:

We are in the process of doing this, having purchased a home in Marsh Bend a few months ago. Our home in Oregon is not yet on the market, as we have 40 years of memories to think about - what to donate, what to toss in the trash, and what to move to Florida.

We also travel quite a bit, so never spend 6 months in any one place, neither in total, nor continuously. We keep a travel log.

Oregon is also a very high tax state - income and property taxes - just like NY, NJ, and CA. Additionally, estate taxes can be a burden if your assets aren't liquid. Sure, no sales tax here, but our acquisition years are long gone.

As others have stated, if you have homes and income in different states, you still have to pay property taxes in each state, and pay income tax to the states you earn that income. Therefore, it is important to discuss with your lawyer and financial adviser to arrange your finances properly.

We completed some of the necessary steps already - drivers license, voter registration, financial accounts, and have a few more steps to complete - Medicare, estate plan, domicile declaration, car registration, to name a few. Since we are in the process of selling our home and also traveling, there's a few details that will take time and effort. We will have one car in Florida, and one in Oregon.

Our son, DiL, and grandson live in Georgia so being closer that was one of the reasons; taxes another; activities and weather, another.

I think we are following the right steps to permanently change our domicile to Florida; we even have our Disney annual pass already. <smile>

Finally, be sure to understand the difference between residency and domicile. One can have many residences, but only one domicile. If you have income from several states, you may need to file a tax return in each of them. If you own real estate in several states, you will have to still pay property taxes in each of them. And yes, states are hungry for tax revenue so be prepared for a challenge if you stop filing a return to your original state. Seek professional advise; TOTV is not an official adviser; it's only a data point.

You comment is NOT correct. It has nothing to do with "6 months plus a day." You can become a resident the first day you move here (as I did). There are at least 2 other posts in this thread with explanations and links to the actual requirements.

[QUOTE=Seacoast1;1693249]You are, of course, correct. NO SALES Tax in NH, but lots of other little hidden taxes which we always referred to as sales tax in error.

So true :bigbow:

The 6 month rule for Florida residency is bogus. There are lots of people who establish a Florida residency, buy an RV, and live in the RV and almost never come to Florida. There are even companies that will assist you in setting it up and will handle your mail.

Not true. There is no time qualifier. One must register to vote and change their driver's license, plus sign an affidavit that they don't homestead in another state. That 6 month thing is an old wives tale, most likely started by someone from NY, as that was their requirement. Call your county property appraiser, if you want to hear it from the source.

High tax states are reluctant to lose the tax money their high income residents must pay. Even if one moves to a low tax state such as Florida and establishes residency there the other state may not recognize a transfer of residency and continue to claim that person as a resident. They may track where one is as they want to show residency by where one spends the most time which tends to be the primary test as they see things although many other factors need to be considered.. I know of an attorney who moved to Texas from California. CA is now tracking where his cell phone is used. They can also track where one uses a credit card and much more, all to collect income taxes from high income people. So, if in doubt please seek good legal counsel and follow the rules.

The infamous case of John Thompson Dorrance shocks me to the core. His estate was forced to pay full estate taxes to two separate States, PA and NJ as he maintained homes in both states. That outcome is double taxation which just does not seem right to me. John Thompson Dorrance - Wikipedia

Another example of double taxation related to relocating.

If you buy a car in another state, and move to FL within 6 months of that purchase, you have to pay sales tax to FL a second time.

Not sure where you got this.

https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_lib...t/gt800030.pdf

Almost all states require a "true-up" in sales tax on an automobile purchase if the car was purchased in another state and the sales tax collected was lower than the resident's state sales tax. This is not double taxation. This happens quite frequently with internet car sales and is nothing special to Florida. There is actually good reason for this but not worth debating here.

Thanks for clarifying, I must have misunderstood when trying to get my plates at the Sumter DMV...

I was not a FL resident when purchasing the vehicle while living in my previous state. Moved here a month later.

Florida provides a true-up for state sales tax paid to another state, but not local sales tax paid in another state.

If the vehicle is acquired from out of state, 6% Sales Tax is due on the purchase price of the vehicle. If the vehicle was titled in the applicant's name less than 6 months prior to being titled in the state of Florida proof of the purchase price and the amount of sales tax that was paid must be submitted. If the amount paid was less than 6% Florida will collect the difference. If applicant’s residency is outside of County there may be an additional Discretionary Tax. If the vehicle was titled in the applicants name for more than 6 months prior to taking title in Florida, no sales tax is due.

I believe that the "6 month" residency belief stems from the hotel tax. You will pay sales tax and hotel tax (total 11%) for a rental of 6 months or less. If you rent for a minimum 6 months and 1 day, you are exempt from the tax, which is a substantial savings, but has nothing to do with residency.

Just a word of advise, don't even waste your time attempting to change your state of domicile if you want to change away from a high tax state where you plan to maintain your health insurance coverage. They track you through Obamacare, and you can't get out of the database unless you change your health insurance to the state where you clam domicile.