RV Insurance - RV-Dreams Community Forum

jcordar2 · RV-Dreams Family Member

RV Insurance

vannchan · RV-Dreams Family Member

If becoming a legal resident of another state isn't out of the question, then you can consider changing states. My wife and I changed our legal domicile to South Dakota since we are going full-time (our house should be on the market in a few weeks.) The cost of our insurance dropped when we did that. We did not have anything hindering our change so it works for us.

jcordar2 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are not changing domicile. After speaking to our financial advisor and tax consultant, at our age there isnt a lot of advantage to us changing domicile tax wise. NY is a tax aggressive state and we decided it would be very difficult to prove why we intend to settle in So. Dakota. We may change to FL though in the future.

Cowdog353 · RV-Dreams Family Member

"Prove why we intend to settle in South Dakota"? I don't understand that statement! Please explain, if you would. That is a very scary statement! Hope it's not true at face value!
Thanks just curious.
Jim

jcordar2 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Simply obtaining new SD licenses and a new mailing address is not sufficient evidence to prove intent of settling in SD once we are done full timing. Thats what "domicile" is all about. Changing domicile can be risky, especially if you are moving from a tax aggressive state like NY. (Like us) You could be called upon to prove your intent to domicile in SD. Family there? Property? Spend a lot of time there? Like the weather there? If you lose, you could be stuck with back taxes, penalties and possibly a fraud case. After consulting with our financial and tax advisors, we chose not to take that risk. Escapees website has excellent information and domicile change. IMO researching the subject of domicile and knowing the pros, cons and risks of making a domicile change could alleviate some serious financial and legal headaches in the future!

Rickl · RV-Dreams Family Member

jcordar2 wrote:
Simply obtaining new SD licenses and a new mailing address is not sufficient evidence to prove intent of settling in SD once we are done full timing. Thats what "domicile" is all about. Changing domicile can be risky, especially if you are moving from a tax aggressive state like NY. (Like us) You could be called upon to prove your intent to domicile in SD. Family there? Property? Spend a lot of time there? Like the weather there? If you lose, you could be stuck with back taxes, penalties and possibly a fraud case. After consulting with our financial and tax advisors, we chose not to take that risk. Escapees website has excellent information and domicile change. IMO researching the subject of domicile and knowing the pros, cons and risks of making a domicile change could alleviate some serious financial and legal headaches in the future!

Not to create a “shi* storm” but I respectfully disagree. We just moved our residency to South Dakota from Oklahoma. We secured our “permanent address” from Americas Mailbox, now have drivers license issued by South Dakota, and registered our vehicles/trailer in South Dakota. Changed our insurance to South Dakota.

Where I really take issue is my old state doesn’t have any more legal control over me once I move. This will be now our 10th state we have domiciled in since 1990. I have never had an issue from a previous state. Personal opinion - New York could kiss my behind once I moved my residence, keep in mind when I move I never leave anything behind such as property.

jcordar2 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Every one needs fo do their research and then make the best decision for them personally. What's right for one may not be right for another, that's all.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

jcordar2 wrote:
Every one needs fo do their research and then make the best decision for them personally. What's right for one may not be right for another, that's all.

Exactly. Just because someone has made a change of domicile and not had an issue doesn't mean that residents of other states have it the same. California is considering a similar law to New York's tax laws, largely because people are leaving the state.

I live in Oklahoma and have "changed" domiciles twice. However, Oklahoma is a "tax friendly" state in comparison to California and New York.

Terry

arcaguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

The issue of domicile is what is called a "facts and circumstances" test. It is different for every situation. New York is incredibly aggressive in this area, and apparently California is starting to follow suit. There a lot of folks that say "I did so and so and I never had any problems". That's probably true, but there are lots of people that cheat on their taxes and ignore speed limits that get away with it. The problem with the domicile question is that there are very large dollars involved most of the time and potential criminal penalties. If you get charged criminally the attorney fees will likely dwarf any tax savings there may be. You can change domicile legally, but as I have said before if you really intend to change your domicile you really need to change your domicile. Many, if not most, folks are unwilling to do that. I think the folks above were smart, they took the least risky course of action and will sleep well at night. I'm doing the same thing.

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

At one time Howard sent me a list of what "actions" could be considered should a legal challenge to domicile occur. Unfortunately I don't have the list anymore, but I remember at the time that it was a good way for a full-timer to CYA. No doubt, owning property would be very difficult to argue in a domicile determination, but if a full-timer doesn't own property there are other actions a full-timer could do (and a lawyer could use) to argue in defense.

Reminds me of the advice I heard once that said if you're going to carry a baseball bat in your vehicle then please carry a baseball glove as well, your lawyer will appreciate it.

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

If you dont own any property in NY any longer...I would think they would have to prove you were still domiciled there. People move out of states all the time and just stop filing tax returns in the old state...I’ve never heard of anybody getting chased down by the old state absent some extenuating circumstances on the states part...still paying property tax or renewing DL or vehicle registration or the issue with LLCs like some folk do. If you have income, investment or retirement...how can not paying NY tax on it not be a good idea.

if you switched...and I would do FL rather than SD having started with SD...and filed domicile in some other state in accordance with the new states law...NY would have to prove it was tax avoidance and that you were still NY domiciled...and in the absence of one of those special circumstances it’s hard to believe they would win.

Found this list... https://www.thebalance.com/proving-your-domicile-4026669. Seems like as long as you do those things you’re fine.

-- Edited by Neil and Connie on Tuesday 29th of September 2020 07:15:36 AM