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Does anyone know if I can own two condos in different states and claim to live in both aka pay income taxes/drivers license/vehicle registrations in the cheaper state?
I own a condo in SoCal, live there currently and I am thinking of buying something else in a state with less taxes. Not going to live there full time but would want to pay income taxes there. Any thoughts?
Legally, you have to claim residence and pay taxes in the state where you live >50% of the time. I'm sure someone here will give you advice on the best ways to break the law.
Let me rephrase - people with residences in two states - is there anything I have to be aware of AND TOTALLY LEGAL - any extra disclaimer or proof of living there or what not? Is there any hidden something I need to be aware of? I already know about the extra tax if you sell your 2nd property and don't buy anything of equal or more value.
I work from home and I am here and there all the time, so I could be anywhere.
I work from home, currently live in SoCal and work for a company in Michigan, paychecks have a Michigan address on it but the work site is in NY. I have never been physically at my workplace nor company. I am paying taxes in CA and NY currently, I think.
I am not aware it would be multi state tax fraud but you seem to be the expert, I am not. That's why I was asking.
Does anyone know if I can own two condos in different states and claim to live in both aka pay income taxes/drivers license/vehicle registrations in the cheaper state?
I own a condo in SoCal, live there currently and I am thinking of buying something else in a state with less taxes. Not going to live there full time but would want to pay income taxes there. Any thoughts?
Yes, you CAN own houses/condos in two different states, but you can't declare both as your primary residence. You must select one as your primary residence. The other is your secondary residence.
You do NOT have to live more than 50% of the time in the one you declare as your PRIMARY residence. What matters most is your INTENT. You make your "intent" known by certain things that you do. For example, in the state that you INTEND as your primary residence, you will register to vote there, you will register at least one vehicle there, you will get your driver's license there, you will a open bank account there, you will declare that state as your state of residence on your Federal and State (if applicable) tax forms.
In other words, you make it obvious what your intent is by all these forms of registration and activity. You may live in your primary state of residence only a brief time each year, but that doesn't matter. What matters is your "INTENT" which is demonstrated by things such as I listed above.
Many professional golfers have their primary residence in Florida even though they spend more than half the year on the road in a variety of states (and countries). That doesn't matter as long as they take the steps I listed above. Florida is their state of residence, and Florida has NO state income tax.
So, get you a place in Florida and take the steps I listed and become a Florida resident. You might even decide you want to live in Florida most of the year, but even if you don't, you're still a Florida resident if you take the steps I listed.
"Figuring out Domicile
Not every case is easy. When determining a person's legal domicile, the courts consider various factors including:
the state where you live
the state where you vote
the state your driver's license is from
the state in which you register your vehicle
the state where your spouse (and kids, if any) live,
the state you list on your federal tax returns
the state in which you file state tax returns
But the main factor is your own, personal intent. Domicile is fundamentally a question of which state you consider to be your permanent home. There are, however, some objective actions you can take to prove your subjective intention. A major point here is taxation. In some states, if you stay more than 183 days per year, you are deemed to be a resident for tax purposes. If you have more than one residence and there is a legal battle to determine your domicile, it will turn on this type of tax evidence to decide where should be considered your permanent home."
Yes, you CAN own houses/condos in two different states, but you can't declare both as your primary residence. You must select one as your primary residence. The other is your secondary residence.
You do NOT have to live more than 50% of the time in the one you declare as your PRIMARY residence. What matters most is your INTENT. You make your "intent" known by certain things that you do. For example, in the state that you INTEND as your primary residence, you will register to vote there, you will register at least one vehicle there, you will get your driver's license there, you will a open bank account there, you will declare that state as your state of residence on your Federal and State (if applicable) tax forms.
In other words, you make it obvious what your intent is by all these forms of registration and activity. You may live in your primary state of residence only a brief time each year, but that doesn't matter. What matters is your "INTENT" which is demonstrated by things such as I listed above.
Many professional golfers have their primary residence in Florida even though they spend more than half the year on the road in a variety of states (and countries). That doesn't matter as long as they take the steps I listed above. Florida is their state of residence, and Florida has NO state income tax.
So, get you a place in Florida and take the steps I listed and become a Florida resident. You might even decide you want to live in Florida most of the year, but even if you don't, you're still a Florida resident if you take the steps I listed.
Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. Haven't thought of Florida, was more thinking of AZ or Oregon so I can reach it by car within a few hours and go back and forth.
Haven't totally made up my mind yet and will probably wait a little, save up more money and hoping the market goes down and then buy. Was just looking for ideas as I am thinking and planning.
With working from home, family overseas, and usually being single, I am completely free to go wherever and want to stay flexible.
Yes, you CAN own houses/condos in two different states, but you can't declare both as your primary residence. You must select one as your primary residence. The other is your secondary residence.
You do NOT have to live more than 50% of the time in the one you declare as your PRIMARY residence. What matters most is your INTENT. You make your "intent" known by certain things that you do. For example, in the state that you INTEND as your primary residence, you will register to vote there, you will register at least one vehicle there, you will get your driver's license there, you will a open bank account there, you will declare that state as your state of residence on your Federal and State (if applicable) tax forms.
In other words, you make it obvious what your intent is by all these forms of registration and activity. You may live in your primary state of residence only a brief time each year, but that doesn't matter. What matters is your "INTENT" which is demonstrated by things such as I listed above.
Many professional golfers have their primary residence in Florida even though they spend more than half the year on the road in a variety of states (and countries). That doesn't matter as long as they take the steps I listed above. Florida is their state of residence, and Florida has NO state income tax.
So, get you a place in Florida and take the steps I listed and become a Florida resident. You might even decide you want to live in Florida most of the year, but even if you don't, you're still a Florida resident if you take the steps I listed.
One thing you left out is that regardless of your state of residence, income is taxable where it is earned. So in your example with the golfers, they are paying tax on their winnings in a state to that state. When working remotely, generally, income is taxable wherever it is you're actually working. There have been some aberrations of this (notably Massachusetts which maintained that nonresidents who used to work in Mass were still taxable in Mass despite not being able to go into their offices during the pandemic.
I added a link and a quote from that link to my post above. You might want to click on the link and read it all.
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