Moving to Camas from Hillsboro (Portland, Beaverton: sales, apartments, rentals)

[AbhiA]

Hi,
My company recently moved to Seattle and I hv an option of working remotely for most of the time.


Since I don't have any work related limitation, exploring renting a paying guest accomodation in Camas/ Vancouver at low rentals.

Plan is for me to work from there during the week and stay in Hillsboro during the weekends. Family prefers not to move as we have a very good social circle here as well as kid goes to school / other classes etc.
I was wondering if taking a PG accommodation in WA, will help me save on OR state taxes considering my work office is also in WA ?


Thoughts?

[StealthRabbit]

Hint... move this topic to WA forum, as you will get very limited knowledge and response from OR forum.

Even though 200 residents from OR move to SWWA every month (for last 20 yrs), it is a highly scorned activity in OR.

Yes... if you live in WA (declare domicile), and WORK in WA, your WA wages would NOT be subject to OR income tax... BUT for any tele / office meetings you do while in OR, those wages WOULD be subject to OR income tax. If you stay mobile... (don't trigger domicile elsewhere) You can also declare SD (income tax free) as a domicile with only 1 overnight / lifetime residency requirement. then you could just 'commute' to WA or any other income tax free state or US protectorate for work. (Several (OR) friends do their internet businesses from St Thomas VI. ).

It is very possible to network with some seniors in WA who have a separate living space and may even want a house-sitter for 6 months / yr of winter. (a C-D person did house-sitting in Camas (for free) last winter to check out the area). Shared space rents from $300 - $900 / month (often a guest cottage or entire wing of house with separate kitchen and entry). Some have gorgeous views (great for working from home!)

If your HS aged kids were to move to WA... They would be eligible for FREE tuition college instead of burning daylight in HS, if they so chose and passed the entrance exam. (As was utilized by 26,000 HS kids in WA last yr). Offered since 1993. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Start

There are very active social / international / intellectual circles in Camas and Salmon Creek area. Even some international / technical schools / academies (on Saturdays / evenings)

One thing significantly missing in SWWA, is 50M public swimming pools.

If you travel a lot, SWWA, is really close to PDX (5 min) and the Columbia River Gorge. (15 min)

[KJoe11]

Originally Posted by AbhiA

Hi,
My company recently moved to Seattle and I hv an option of working remotely for most of the time.


Since I don't have any work related limitation, exploring renting a paying guest accomodation in Camas/ Vancouver at low rentals.

Plan is for me to work from there during the week and stay in Hillsboro during the weekends. Family prefers not to move as we have a very good social circle here as well as kid goes to school / other classes etc.
I was wondering if taking a PG accommodation in WA, will help me save on OR state taxes considering my work office is also in WA ?


Thoughts?

Definitely move across the river. Camas is expensive part of Vancouver. If nice neighborhoods are important to you then it might be worth it.

[texasdiver]

Are you looking for a big family home or a smaller bachelor pad type place?

Camas trends very family-oriented with big single family homes. So if you are looking for say a 4 br 3000 SF house, Camas has a lot of that. There are pockets of smaller town homes and such on the west side of Camas along 192nd and some new stuff going up in the downtown area. But if you are just looking for more of a bachelor pad type thing while leaving the family in Hillsboro then I'd look to the Fisher's Landing area along 164th, perhaps within walking distance of the Transit Center for easy commuting back to Portland. Lots of apartments and condos around there. That would also be the closest location to Portland for driving.

[AbhiA]

Originally Posted by KJoe11

Definitely move across the river. Camas is expensive part of Vancouver. If nice neighborhoods are important to you then it might be worth it.

So having one rental / pg in Camas and another bigger rental in Hillsboro is not an issue it seems from IRS perspective? As long as I can prove that I live there for majority of weekdays ?

[MtnSurfer]

Taxes will get a bit tricky if you are married and file jointly. So your wife would have to declare Hillsboro as her and the kids' primary residence to remain in the school district. While you would have to declare WA separately as your primary residency/domicile to get the income tax break. That means WA vehicle registration, etc... as a WA resident. How would family car insurance work and so on?

Plus you're paying to live in a second location. The question is, would all of that work and extra driving back and forth along with additional spending on the new pad really be that much of a savings when all is said and done? There is a cost associated with the move and maintaining a second place as well as other tax and insurance implications.

Derek

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by AbhiA

So having one rental / pg in Camas and another bigger rental in Hillsboro is not an issue it seems from IRS perspective? As long as I can prove that I live there for majority of weekdays ?

IRS has nothing to do with it. Your FEDERAL taxes will be the same either way. The Federal government doesn't care where you live. Your questions are all about the Oregon Department of Revenue.

[StealthRabbit]

Just don't trigger an Oregon domicile, follow the Oregon rules if living and working in WA. (WA has no income tax, so no rules). When all is said and done.... Bottom line effective tax rate for Oregon derived income was 6% for me. (You do a bunch of deductions and massage your return as per legal and advised., Such as deducting fed tax obligation...) .. very ez to run the scenarios on software.

If it makes a lot of sense, go to the trouble. If it is more pain than pleasure, work from home in Oregon and pay the tax. Consider relocation if that makes most sense. 200/ month make that move, many for academic / school reasons, not tax savings.

[texasdiver]

If it were me, I’d add up all the extra commuting hours back and forth to see your family and time on the highway and see if it is really worth the tax savings.

On the other hand, if you are just looking to establish a WA address for tax purposes that you aren’t actually going to ever use very much then you are likely going to run afoul of OR tax laws. Whether you actually get caught is a different topic. But trust me, the tax authorities in both WA and OR know every single trick in the book and a whole bunch more you haven’t even ever thought of. WA residents try to play all the same games with registering cars/boats/trucks etc. on OR to avoid sales tax. There is a reason, for example, that most of the marinas on the Columbia are on the OR side.

Sometimes (probably usually) the best approach is to just suck it up and be a citizen of where you choose to live.

[AbhiA]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

J Consider relocation if that makes most sense. 200/ month make that move, many for academic / school reasons, not tax savings.

You mean these many families (approx) move from OR side to WA every month?
Are the schools better on the WA side (my limited info seems to say Beaverton / Portland schools seem to be better ?
College / university maybe another story though I guess.