move to vancouver to take advantage of no income tax? (sales, hotel)

[gstead245]

My company has couple of locations throughout the pnw. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to transfer my job to vancouver area and buy a house there. Advantages I am seeing if I live in vancouver there would be no income tax so I can retain more of my money and I can just drive down to portland which is close by for my groceries and such to take advantage of no sales tax. I currently live in Oregon which has high income tax.

I feel this is a lot better than my current living situation where I live in a small town that doesn't have a lot of options. I drive to portland whenever I want some fun. All I see are pros so far. Too good to be true?

[texasdiver]

Lots of people do it. Your employer can't be based in OR though or they will still tax you.

We actually rarely drive over to Portland for shopping except for really big ticket items. To much hassle and traffic. And paying sales tax is your civic duty anyway if you live in WA.

[StealthRabbit]

You employer can be based anywhere. But where you physically report to work will be your obligation to state taxation. (You mention employer has operations in Vancouver.... So you must live AND work in wa to reap income tax benefit. The days you physically report to Oregon to work will incur Oregon income tax.

There is not sales tax on groc in wa. If you buy stuff in a tax free state, you owe WA use tax on those items.(same rate as sales tax).

I go to Portland a lot. Few times a week for airport flights, and to find unique parts for heavy equipment and vintage vehicles. Also for Habitat Restore and the Rebuilding Center. (House building supplies).

Also go to Portland for unique food options, volunteering in parks and at concerts and theater. And occasionally teaching college and adult business courses (Oregon taxable income). Also buying $50 cars at towing auctions.

[notnamed]

Yeah I’ve been working from home full time for years and could have picked anywhere(that has reliable fast Internet) and the tax situation was certainly one of the factors for why we chose Vancouver.

[Diana Holbrook]

Lots of people over the years have wondered how to best take advantage of the Oregon/Washington tax loophole.


More power to them.

[ShowMeBryan]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

You employer can be based anywhere. But where you physically report to work will be your obligation to state taxation. (You mention employer has operations in Vancouver.... So you must live AND work in wa to reap income tax benefit. The days you physically report to Oregon to work will incur Oregon income tax.

There is not sales tax on groc in wa. If you buy stuff in a tax free state, you owe WA use tax on those items.(same rate as sales tax).

I go to Portland a lot. Few times a week for airport flights, and to find unique parts for heavy equipment and vintage vehicles. Also for Habitat Restore and the Rebuilding Center. (House building supplies).

Also go to Portland for unique food options, volunteering in parks and at concerts and theater. And occasionally teaching college and adult business courses (Oregon taxable income). Also buying $50 cars at towing auctions.

What if you have a home on the WA side but your job has you flying to different states every week and the company's most local office is in California?

[StealthRabbit]

If you are a 'road warrior', (Travel for work) you can declare your home addy for employment (If your employer agrees / uses WA as your taxable domicile.) AND you do not spend the minimum days necessary to establish domicile in a TAXING state. I did a version of that for 30+ yrs, I was not servicing customers, but monitoring suppliers for my company (CA based with offices in WA too). I made it a point to NOT stay too long in CA!!! When overseas, I would limit my time in particular countries to not accumulate the threshold days required for taxes in that country. I had to pay taxes in Spain and Singapore, (company covered), But for China, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Portugal I made sure I did not have over 180 days / yr "in-Country" (rules vary). But it was easy to leave the country on Thursday evening (before midnight) and return Sunday night (after midnight). Usually took a train in Europe, so that worked perfect for rail passes too! (one punch for 2 days travel). Asia air and buses (and trains) are often night schedules to save hotel expenses and optimize daylight hours of your 'holiday' / weekend to be at your destination, not in-transit..

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by ShowMeBryan

What if you have a home on the WA side but your job has you flying to different states every week and the company's most local office is in California?

That would be a question for CA tax law. WA isn't going to care as there is no WA income tax.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by ShowMeBryan

What if you have a home on the WA side but your job has you flying to different states every week and the company's most local office is in California?

I work out of a California office for any international corporation. But through the company, I report as a remote worker living in WA. As long as my primary place of daily work AND residence is WA, I am taxed as a WA resident. I pay no CA income tax. Just be aware that if you spend time working in CA for extended periods, you will be taxed for that time. For example, we have people who actually live part of the year there. So, you'll have to check the tax code for all of those rules and limits.

I also know retirees who live in two states with homes in each, one in CA and the other in a no income tax state. They make sure to declare the other state as their primary residence and only stay in CA under the magic threshold # of days to avoid a big tax hit on their retirement income.

Derek

[ocoilslick]

You still pay "income tax"