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What State is best for a Full Timer?


Bill&Jean

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Currently selling home in Mo. and going full time in a MH. I currently have the MH registered in Fla. and have a physical address there. We both have Mo. drivers licenses. We are wondering if we should change our physical address to Tx. or SD or leave it in Fla.? We would like to move the Driver licenses to the state of the physical address I think. We actually spend the winters in Az. I guess the question is which state has the most advantages for Taxes etc.

Thanks,

Bill & Jean

Bill & Jean O'Dell with Lucy

2014 Tiffin Phaeton QBH

2018 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4 

 

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Why change from Florida. No special drivers license required, no annual vehicle inspection, no personal property tax on vehicles, very low vehicle regesteration cost, no state income tax, and they have a really great mails services.

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There is an excellent article on the Escapes home page on just this subject

There is no "best place". It what us best for you

Taxes and medical xcare are just one part of the decision

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Howdy,

 

We've been thinking deeply about this.

 

The best option overall seems to be Florida as John and Selah stated, but as we've no Medicare and we don't plan to stay in or near Florida much if at all, the decision will apparently hang on how much we can save on Obamacare premiums vs how much income tax we will have to pay if we choose to domicile on a state outside Florida but nearer to where we plan to be traveling most (US SW).

 

It would be a much easier decision if we could find good, reasonably priced plans with national coverage in Florida, but at least for the two ZIPs we've checked on HealthSherpa (the ones for Escapees and St. Brendan's Isle mail forwarding services), we could find none.

 

Cheers,

--

Vall.

Getting ready to join the RV full-time lifestyle in 2017!

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There is an excellent article on the Escapes home page on just this subject

There is no "best place". It what us best for you

Taxes and medical xcare are just one part of the decision

If you mean the Escapees "Information Kit" ( a PDF), I couldn't find any info on health care costs, especially pre-Medicare costs.

SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
www.rvSeniorMoments.com
DISH TV for RVs

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Again its not just about medical insurance although that's a biggy

What about protecting your investments, inheritance laws and taxes, vehicle insurance costs etc. Lots of stuff to think about

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Again its not just about medical insurance although that's a biggy

What about protecting your investments, inheritance laws and taxes, vehicle insurance costs etc. Lots of stuff to think about

 

If you're under 65, it's a hugey.

 

If you're over 65 and receiving Medicare, you have more choices than if you're under 65 and have to buy your own health insurance.

SKP #79313 / Full-Timing / 2001 National RV Sea View / 2008 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
www.rvSeniorMoments.com
DISH TV for RVs

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  • 3 weeks later...

The State of Minerva.

 

Although being a Native Texan, I can't imagine not wanting to be a TEXAN. :D

 

On a more serious vein, I think the advice you have gotten is good. Seems like that you have a foot up in Florida, so if the INSURANCE problem looks good, I would say GO.

.

And: Don't forget the MANTRA of the Full-time RVer: "Follow the 70 degrees."

Traveling America in "God's Grace"

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No one state is perfect for everyone. You need to look at the registration for you vehicles, health insurance (if under Medicare age) license requirements, personal property taxes, income tax and sales tax.

 

We were already native Texans and on Medicare, so it was an easy choice. License fees on the vehicles were not an issue, no personal property tax, no income tax and no property tax since we no longer owned property.

 

The drivers license requirement for our truck and trailer (class A non-commercial) was no big deal. Test ws pretty easy and quiet frankly, if you cannot pass the test, you have no right to be driving a larger rig.

 

The state inspection on the truck and trailer is taken care of when we get back to Texas (usually the winter). We get our license tags on line and just check the box that the vehicle is current out of state. You have 72 hours to get it inspected once you return to your destination in Texas.

 

Have fun on the road.

 

Ken

Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd also suggest that you consolidate everything in Florida. You already look like you are a Floridian, so may as well go all the way.

 

Yes, getting health insurance that is actually good anywhere in the country is a problem. I wonder, though, if you could get a policy for where you own your property, then, when you need coverage, call the company and tell them that you are on vacation in wherever you are, and ask them for directions to a doctor that can take care of you in-network. Of course, in our case we went on MediCare about the time we went full-time, so insurance wasn't much of an issue for us.

David Lininger, kb0zke
1993 Foretravel U300 40' (sold)
2022 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS

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My wife is pre-medicare. I am not. We were in Texas for more than 25 years and when we went full time, we stayed. Last year, Blue Cross dropped all their PPO plans. All that was available were HMOs. This isn't a great choice for a full timer that doesn't spend a lot of time in the state. Blue Cross in Washington state still offers individual PPOs, a much better option for her, in our opinion. We rented an RV pad from some friends in Washington state and became residents there. Like Texas, there is no property tax on vehicle and no income tax. Unlike Texas, registration fees are much lower and there is no vehicle inspection or special drivers licenses required. Unfortunately, also unlike Texas, Washington sales tax on vehicles includes county and city sales tax. In Texas, it is only the state portion.

 

Also, in Washington, when you move there, they look for the difference in sales tax from what you paid in your home state and what you would have paid in Washington for motor homes. Autos and light trucks are exempt from this rule. When I first tried to register my motor home, they wanted to collect the difference between Texas (6.25, I think) and Washington (8.75, I think) based on the bill of sale 4 years prior. It took a visit to the department of revenue to get the bill reduced to about $650, based on the current value, rather than what I paid for it. Because the registration fees are so much less than Texas, I'll save enough in registration fees to break even in a couple of years.

Michael

2017 Allegro Bus 45OPP
Cummins ISL 450

Visit us at schwarz.org!

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Hi Michael,

 

We rented an RV pad from some friends in Washington state and became residents there. Like Texas, there is no property tax on vehicle and no income tax. Unlike Texas, registration fees are much lower and there is no vehicle inspection or special drivers licenses required. Unfortunately, also unlike Texas, Washington sales tax on vehicles includes county and city sales tax. In Texas, it is only the state portion.

[...]

Because the registration fees are so much less than Texas, I'll save enough in registration fees to break even in a couple of years.

Interesting! I just checked HealthSherpa.com and indeed found some pretty interesting PPOs for a random Seattle ZIP. Thanks for posting that info, we are now wandering whether WA could be a viable option for us too.

 

Can you please tell us more about how your WA domicile, specially how you handle postal mail, voting and other domicile things?

 

Cheers,

--

Vall.

Getting ready to join the RV full-time lifestyle in 2017!

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You will need to get FL. drivers license in person. It will be good for 8 years then on renewal it can be done on line.

Same with the vehicles after first time registration they can be renewed on line. You can also do it for 2 years at a time if you want.

Full Time since Oct. 1999
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  • 2 weeks later...

We have been investigating this domicile issue also. Our Alaska home sold this week and we would like to maintain our domicile here as long as we can; need to see how long that is. I am exploring Florida. DH has a CDL and would like to keep it. What issues does that present in FL? In TX? We are both on Medicare ! The supplement is higher every where and the our vehicle insurance is too.

2015 Newmar Dutch Star 4375

Chevy Z71 toad

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am in a similar situation except we are already in FL and have been many years.

 

We are selling our house and going FT and I am seriously thinking SD because of the insurance costs. We plan on finding someplace cooler to live than FL.

 

The other SD advantage is exemption from jury duty. It is not actually an exemption-it is called something else but you don't have to worry about it. I have jury duty in FL next week and there is no such option on my joy duty notice.

 

Sales tax is less in SD as we have not purchased our FT rig yet.

 

Health care is taken care of for us.

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We have been investigating this domicile issue also. Our Alaska home sold this week and we would like to maintain our domicile here as long as we can; need to see how long that is. I am exploring Florida. DH has a CDL and would like to keep it. What issues does that present in FL? In TX? We are both on Medicare ! The supplement is higher every where and the our vehicle insurance is too.

No problem with the CDL. Florida will issue it with the exchange of his AK license. I downgraded my CDL class A to a class E since I don't currently need it and it's a pain to keep up with the medical card. FL will upgrade my license if needed in the future.

2013 DRV Mobile Suites 38TKSB3 w/ Hydra Lift motorcycle lift, MorRyde IS suspension, MorRyde hitch pin

2013 Ford F450 w/ Trailer Saver air hitch

2011 BMW R1200RT motorcycle

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  • 1 month later...

No one state is perfect for everyone. You need to look at the registration for you vehicles, health insurance (if under Medicare age) license requirements, personal property taxes, income tax and sales tax.

 

We were already native Texans and on Medicare, so it was an easy choice. License fees on the vehicles were not an issue, no personal property tax, no income tax and no property tax since we no longer owned property.

 

The drivers license requirement for our truck and trailer (class A non-commercial) was no big deal. Test ws pretty easy and quiet frankly, if you cannot pass the test, you have no right to be driving a larger rig.

 

The state inspection on the truck and trailer is taken care of when we get back to Texas (usually the winter). We get our license tags on line and just check the box that the vehicle is current out of state. You have 72 hours to get it inspected once you return to your destination in Texas.

 

Have fun on the road.

 

Ken

Hi Ken,

Maybe you can answer some questions since you are a resident of TX. I have a 40' MH and will be required to take a test to get my TX. driver licenses. Do you know how many questions are on the test? One other question is how long are the licenses good for and can they be re-newed on line? How many years is the registration on the vehicle good for when it gets done?

Bill & Jean O'Dell with Lucy

2014 Tiffin Phaeton QBH

2018 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4 

 

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When I get to Livingston Tx. I am going to get Tx. driver licenses and register my MH and Toad. Does anyone know how long it takes to get the MH inspected and the test taken and all of that? I will establish residency once I get there.

Bill & Jean O'Dell with Lucy

2014 Tiffin Phaeton QBH

2018 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4 

 

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You can usually get it all done in a half-day.

I believe they will need to do a road test to get the correct license, and therefore it might take a fair amount longer than a half day.

Sue and Paul- fulltimed 2009 -2015 with Dozer, our Gray Tuxedo cat

 2012 DRV Mobile Suites 36TKSB4 pulled by a 2020 F350 Platinum

Our "vacation home" : 2018 Arctic Fox 1150 truck camper

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I believe they will need to do a road test to get the correct license, and therefore it might take a fair amount longer than a half day.

 

To be a bit more direct, I'm pretty sure that most Tiffin Phaetons have a GVWR in excess of 26,000 pounds, therefore, a Texas non-commercial Class B license will be required. Since you are already driving your MH, I doubt that the driving test will be an issue, but at many (most?) Texas DPS locations such tests have to be scheduled; you can't just walk in and expect to take the road test. In addition, there is a written test for which it might be worth reviewing the relevant material. All told you could easily spend most of a week getting this done depending on how far in advance road tests are being scheduled.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
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