State income taxes

[AlexK]

Thanks a lot TJ, I will definitely speak with a CPA. Although LLC is not an option, CPA may help just with preparing tax returns.
I'm kind of aware of what troubles I can get into preparing taxes myself. I did my taxes for 2 states last year and I had to send amended returns to both. But you know, I'm interested in getting more experienced in stuff like that. I consider it a challenge, not trouble.?

 

[Bigbur53]

Hi,

I'm thinking of going rv full-time. I have a remote job and I pay taxes through my employer. There are some articles about state income tax and domicile vs residence but it does not make sense to me.

Some recommend to establish "state residency" in either Florida or Texas. For me that would be a domicile, not residence. The residence, real residence that matters for income taxes, would be your real location during the year.

Example:
Just to make it easy/crazy, let's assume that in 2019 I lived exactly one month in 12 different states. One of them may or may not be Texas.
What benefits (income tax relief) would I get if I had Texas driver licence and mail address during that year?
I believe the right thing to do would be to file tax returns to 12 states claiming part-year residence regardless of your domicile.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Alex.

Only three states require you file income taxes in their state but only if you work in those states for more than two or three weeks. Cr, NY and CA. Hope that helps.

 

[Germanrazor]

The simple answer to your question so you have peace of mind......ask an or your accountant and they will tell you exactly how to work that. Mine does. But I am no on-the road full timer RV person.....yet or if ever. Would I one day move to Florida as I like that state? Possibly. But the RV life for me is just traveling and vacationing as I reside in the loon state of NC under a NUT governor!

 

[Retired]

It is against the law to illegally avoid paying taxes, it is not against the law to legally avoid paying taxes.

That is the first concept to understand.

In your situation, you really have two legal choices: Domicile state or state of residency.

What state issues your vehicle title and tags? Where is your doctor and dentist? What address does your auto insurance use? Where do you vote?

If you truly travel a lot, use Texas or Florida. Swing by once or twice a year and see your doc and dentist, get an eye exam, vote in person or absentee and you are covered.

In our travels we will always use Georgia. We own a home here and will always do all our non-emergency medical care here. Taxes are almost zero once you hit 62 or 65 depending on income.

 

[Joe Dutchstar]

You might want to ask a CPA. You may want to open this can of worms, but know before you do. There will be a nightmare of book keeping and potential snoopy state auditors for sales tax, use tax, local business fees, etc. calling you after you file taxes in their jurisdictions. We have business interests in three states and it is a PIA.

State Taxes for Mobile Workers - A Guide | QuickBooks

Wondering where to pay taxes if you travel for work? Learn how state tax laws affect mobile workers and what employers need to stay compliant with QuickBooks.

quickbooks.intuit.com

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Thank you guys, I understand there are laws and real world. However, I would like to find out what are my lawful options. Living in one state and paying taxes to another doesn't seem quite legal. Especially when your domicile state has no income tax. What if you finally get audited and they find out where you actually lived full year? Wouldn't that be a bigger problem?
And I'm not worried about the audit if I've done everything right.

My question is. What state is your company in. If you travel for your company and keep returning home, do you file everywhere you did a job?

 

[docj]

I'm on the same page with the author - I'd have to file one tax return to my domicile state and one to each state where I lived and worked during the year as a non-resident. And I should be careful and find out upfront how each state determines the residency so that other states don't count me as a resident.

With all due respect, having been a full-timer for >10 years I think you are totally wrong with respect to your understanding of the residency rules. You are required to pay tax to a State if you earn income in that State. Workcamping is an excellent example of work that is done in a State which becomes taxable as income in that State. But the work you are doing in that State cannot be extracted from being in that State; in other words you are working at an RV park in a particular State and you had to be there in order to do that work.

However, if you have a full-time remote job that pays you irrespective of where you happen to be physically then you don't pay taxes to a State just because you happen to be there when your paycheck comes in.

To make this easy to understand let's use an absurdly simple example. Forget all about full-timing. Let's assume you are on an extended vacation traveling around the US. You are a salaried employee and your weekly paychecks continue to be deposited as you travel. You continue to read your email and participate in staff meetings while on vacation. No one would even consider having to pay tax to the States you happen to be in when your paychecks were deposited.

In reality the situation for a full-timer is no different; you're simply on an extended journey around the US. As long as your income doesn't depend on being in a particular State then you aren't "seeking employment in that State" then they don't have to file taxes for that State.

FWIW in the MD/DC/VA metro area hundreds of thousands of people work at jobs in one of the three jurisdictions and live in another. Yet all of them file taxes for only the jurisdiction they are residents of.

 

[lemondrop9344]

I'm inclined to agree with Joel. Just to be sure, I would verify your intentions with a competent tax professional to ease your mind.
As I understand your situation, you will be full timing. That implies you will not have a 'sticks & bricks' residence in which you live. You might find that where you pay you state income taxes might not be your most pressing issue.
Vehicle insurance, vehicle registration, personal property insurance (in RV or storage), voter registration, health insurance/health care & a multitude of other issues associated with a domicile, a mailing address and a physical address.
None of these are insurmountable issues, just time consuming.
Then there is the issue of reliable internet connectivity to contend with. I believe most on this forum would advise against depending on RV park provided WiFi as your primary source.