Another Necessity to Consider
If you’re looking to live and hit the road in your RV full time there’s also
the issue of taxes. When it comes to taxes, RVers do have to
consider where they want to call home when they’re on the road. If you will still own a sticks and bricks
home, this may determine your state
of “domicile” as it’s called. By picking
a state to call home, RVers are declaring residence there and they are
responsible for all taxes they’re obligated to pay in that state. This isn’t
something that many RVers think about when deciding to hit the road full time,
but taxes are still inevitable as the saying goes. There’s
income tax, vehicle taxes and registrations, sales tax, property tax, interest
income tax to name a few. So what should we look for in a state we want to call home?“Elementary, My Dear Watson.”
Some states have better tax breaks for full time RVers than others. If you’re going to pick a place to call home, you might as well do it where you don’t have to pay income tax.
Here’s a list of states that have no income tax:
- Alaska
- Florida
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- Wyoming
Tennessee and New Hampshire may not charge income tax, but they tax interest income and dividends. That takes them off the list.
From there, you’ll want to examine the sales tax in each state.
Let’s take a look at that:
- Florida (6 %+)
- Nevada (6.5% – 8.75%)
- South Dakota (4 %+)
- Texas (6.25% – 8.25%)
- Washington (6.5%)
- Wyoming (4% – 8%)
Now, we’ll move on to personal and property tax.
Since that will be charged regardless of where you live, we want to examine what states utilize it:
- Florida
- Washington
That takes them off our list, too.
We just have four states left on our list: Nevada, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.
Now wasn’t that refreshingly easy? Texas
and South Dakota are the most populated states when it Mild
weather is often a deciding factor but remember you don’t have to live in this
state full time. Some only return to
their home state once a year or less.
Many states require you to return to your home state for things like
jury duty or renewing your driver’s license.comes to full time RVers calling them home. But once you narrow it down to a few states that all give good tax advantages, it comes down to personal preference, the routes you travel and really what you like the best.
For some, there are other factors more important than taxes when deciding where to domicile. For example, some friends of ours who are retired air force, get several military perks in the state they chose as their "residence." So taxes are not the ONLY basis for deciding your home state, just a good place to start.
Are you a full time RVer? How did you decide what state to call home? Share your experiences in the comments below!
4 comments:
We are full time and currently domicile in SD but are considering "relocating" to FL. Florida does not have a personal property tax as you stated. Their PPT is only for businesses or landlords with property (stove, refrig. etc) inside a rental unit. RV's are not taxed. Most people choose one of the Big 3, FL, TX or SD. FL offers a 50% discount on state park stays if you are a resident senior 65+. It's tempting us :)
That would be a big draw for me too if I were full timing now. Do you know if FL's state parks allow month or longer stays or if it's restricted?
Teri, to the best of my knowledge, FL parks have a 2 week limit but I have heard that some, at their discretion, will let you stay 4 weeks during the off season as long as occupancy is low.
We have a little over a year before we'd be illegible for the discount so that should be enough time to orchestrate a "move" :)
Just googled FL state parks and there are lots. Even if you stay two weeks in each you could fill a long period of time.
However, I do like to "settle" for a month or two every once in a while. Gives me a sense of balance. :)
Post a Comment