South Dakota or Texas Domicile?

[Nomad Hiker]

Hey Folks!

So we had planned to domicile in South Dakota, mainly because we don't have to go back every year to have the vehicles inspected. We got a call from Escapees wanting to confirm that we realized we would have a Texas mailing address and SD residence address. This made us wonder if there was a reason we should choose Texas besides it's Warmer...We just didn't want our travels to have to revolve around a yearly trip to Texas. Input?

Ginger

[NoDirectionHome]

Health insurance, taxes, etc. You should jump on the escapees site (and others) and do some reading.

 

https://www.escapees.com/resource-center/domicile-info

[mptjelgin]

Also you DON'T have to go back each year to have vehicles inspected. You simply indicate that you are out-of-state at the time of registration. No fuss, no muss. You are expected to get an inspection performed when (if) you return to the state, but you don't need to return just to get vehicles inspected.

[Nomad Hiker]

Health insurance, taxes, etc. You should jump on the escapees site (and others) and do some reading.

 

https://www.escapees.com/resource-center/domicile-info

Health insurance is a non-issue for us as we will maintain BCBS FEP. I've read some things on Escapees site, but can't say I've found much to sway me one way or the other. I re-read the link you provided...thanks..It did not say anything about taxes though. I know SD is only 4% sales tax vs. TX 6.5%ish. I know neither taxes retirement income. IDK about personal property taxes or whatever, I will have to read up on that. My husband talked to DMV in Texas when we were weighing pros/cons, and they were pretty adamant that we had to return every year for inspections; however what they say and what they do may be two different things. Will keep researching. Have to make decision soon.

[Nomad Hiker]

Also you DON'T have to go back each year to have vehicles inspected. You simply indicate that you are out-of-state at the time of registration. No fuss, no muss. You are expected to get an inspection performed when (if) you return to the state, but you don't need to return just to get vehicles inspected.

See above response, Oh and we would only have 30 days for initials inspections vs. 90 in SD and with us in CA the 90 days is more convenient..man I hate going to snow and cold though! UGH. Thanks all!

[GR "Scott" Cundiff]

My husband talked to DMV in Texas when we were weighing pros/cons, and they were pretty adamant that we had to return every year for inspections; however what they say and what they do may be two different things.

 

That's mistaken. When you renew registration online there's a checkbox you check to confirm that the vehicle is out of state. Once that box is checked, you can proceed with the registration.

 

This is our experience and the experience of many people on this forum.

 

So, as you weigh your decision, which is wise, you can discard the idea of having to come to Texas each year for a vehicle inspection.

[2gypsies]

Texas has no yearly inspection unless you stay over 3 days in Texas. As stated above, you just check the little box that you're traveling. If you never return to Texas - no inspections. Texas has no state income tax and sales tax is of no concern if you already have your RV.

[Nomad Hiker]

Texas has no yearly inspection unless you stay over 3 days in Texas. As stated above, you just check the little box that you're traveling. If you never return to Texas - no inspections. Texas has no state income tax and sales tax is of no concern if you already have your RV.

And therein lies the rub...we are having to purchase both the 5er and truck...so sales tax is a consideration for us.

[Nomad Hiker]

Texas has no yearly inspection unless you stay over 3 days in Texas. As stated above, you just check the little box that you're traveling. If you never return to Texas - no inspections. Texas has no state income tax and sales tax is of no concern if you already have your RV.

Thanks for clarifying that for us.

[scouserl41]

We moved out of CA and chose SD due to no inspections and DL by mail after the first 5 years. The domicile address and separate TX mailing address becomes a non issue after the first 30 days. Cost to register our MH AND car in SD $250. If you already paid sales tax in another state on the vehicles SD gives you that as a credit. You can register the vehicles by mail but have to show up in person for the DL.

Be aware that the registrations are based on the first letter of your last name so you might not get a full year the first time ours is D and goes February to February.

BnB

[Kirk W]

Thanks for clarifying that for us.

While it may be that SD proves to be a better choice than TX, or FL, it would appear that you are only considering a very few things in your choice of domicile, and that could prove to be shortsighted. Remember that your state of domicile is where any legal issue is also to be determined and many other things should be considered. If they are to be held as valid you need to get your wills, medical power of attorney, health declarations, voting registration, all moved to that chosen state. In addition, estate laws, common property laws, and any number of other issues could be impacted by the place you choose as domicile.

 

Choosing your state of domicile based upon our opinions is very much like buying an RV based upon our opinions rather than your needs. Most of us manage to spend years on the road with no major challenges to our domicile and usually it doesn't come up until after we have settled in a fixed location again, but if it should the choice could also be critical.

[docj]

We moved out of CA and chose SD due to no inspections and DL by mail after the first 5 years.

 

AFAIK SD doesn't make it easy to do license renewal by mail for RVers who use an affidavit and a mail service address. A receipt (no older than 12 mos) for a hotel or CG stay in SD is required for license renewal. There's nothing that says that the receipt has to be for a stay concurrent with the renewal but that's what most people do.

 

We have heard that some people try to avoid this requirement by making reservations that they intentionally "no show" and then request a receipt for. However, we decided that compliance with SD rules was a small price to pay for the State's hospitality to full-timers.

[LFDR3116]

We are also domiciled in SD. We were advised that you cannot renew your drivers license online. That was why they put the PMB in the address on the license and didn't just use apt# etc at the drivers license bureau. At least that's how they did it in 2015. They specifically told us we could not do it online, and that in person was required.

[teacher's pet]

We choose SD in 2005 and have returned every 5 years for DL, we provided Passport, an address on a bill (insurance in our case) and a receipt from the Yogi Bear CG north of Sioux Falls for one night. We have bought 2 motorhomes and 3 vehicles without a return to Sioux Falls, the taxes, titles and licensing were handled by Dakota Post (former Alternative Resorces). We moved our banking (Wells Fargo), Social Security, health Insurance and wills/trusts to SD. The trusts were from Indiana, the Thompson Law Firm made changes to comply with SD law. My birthday falls in April so not the greatest time to return, so I get a 6 month extension from the State DMV via mail on a e-mailed form from them. This way we can renew at my wife's birthday in July.

[Nomad Hiker]

Remember that your state of domicile is where any legal issue is also to be determined and many other things should be considered. If they are to be held as valid you need to get your wills, medical power of attorney, health declarations, voting registration, all moved to that chosen state. In addition, estate laws, common property laws, and any number of other issues could be impacted by the place you choose as domicile.

 

Choosing your state of domicile based upon our opinions is very much like buying an RV based upon our opinions rather than your needs.

Yes, I agree Kirk. We had already planned our SD trip for January...burrrr. We have an appointment scheduled with an attorney on that trip to set up everything. Just thought I'd post here to see if anyone came up with something we hadn't considered in our decision. Hadn't even doubted that until the gal at Escapees mail forwarding questioned "you do know you are going to have 2 addresses, right?". Thought perhaps we were missing something, but she may have just been confirming that fact. So far, we have not read anything that would make us change to another state other than the original concern that it's just really darn cold when we do have to go back to renew DL.

[Nomad Hiker]

Be aware that the registrations are based on the first letter of your last name so you might not get a full year the first time ours is D and goes February to February.

BnB

So where does C fall? I'm assuming it is certain letters for certain months????

[Nomad Hiker]

If you already paid sales tax in another state on the vehicles SD gives you that as a credit. You can register the vehicles by mail but have to show up in person for the DL.

We bought both the truck and RV in Arizona as they have a reciprocal agreement with SD. All licensing/taxes will be paid to SD.

 

We have heard that some people try to avoid this requirement by making reservations that they intentionally "no show" and then request a receipt for. However, we decided that compliance with SD rules was a small price to pay for the State's hospitality to full-timers.

Yes, we definitely want to have all out "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed.

[scouserl41]

So where does C fall? I'm assuming it is certain letters for certain months????

 

ABC are January.

BnB

[Chalkie]

Hey Folks!

So we had planned to domicile in South Dakota, mainly because we don't have to go back every year to have the vehicles inspected. We got a call from Escapees wanting to confirm that we realized we would have a Texas mailing address and SD residence address. This made us wonder if there was a reason we should choose Texas besides it's Warmer...We just didn't want our travels to have to revolve around a yearly trip to Texas. Input?

Ginger

 

I don't understand this. The Escapees site says that you would have a South Dakota legal address and there are certainly other options for mail forwarding as well.

 

Check out the Domicile Options section here.

[Nomad Hiker]

 

I don't understand this. The Escapees site says that you would have a South Dakota legal address and there are certainly other options for mail forwarding as well.

 

Check out the Domicile Options section here

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, we would have a SD legal address, but the mailing address will be a Texas address.

[LindaH]

Nomad Hikers, on 17 Dec 2016 - 11:48 PM, said:

So far, we have not read anything that would make us change to another state other than the original concern that it's just really darn cold when we do have to go back to renew DL.

 

You can renew your DL's early...up to 180 days, if memory serves. Or, you can apply for an extension as Teacher's Pet mentioned. Either way, it means that you do not have to go back to SD during the winter time (I'm assuming your birthday must be during the winter, since SD's DL renewals are based on your birth date). My birthday is in January and we always went back sometime in the late summer, early fall to renew my DL.

[63belv]

Where do some get this info that you can't renew dL by mail in SD. I just renewed my cal by mail with SD.

[Chalkie]

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, we would have a SD legal address, but the mailing address will be a Texas address.

 

Hmm, OK. I thought that a ways back, I had read that your mailing address would be in South Dakota (when Escapees added SD to the mix) but the actual handling would be in Texas. I guess I misread or mis-remembered. That being the case, when we make the move, I believe we shall be using a SD mail service.

[Barbaraok]

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, we would have a SD legal address, but the mailing address will be a Texas address.

 

Why are you doing this when you have since found out that you don't have to be in Texas every year to renew your registration? You are making things so much harder for yourself than necessary. You can do the registration of the truck/5th wheel by mail, just talk to the folks at the Polk County tax office, they will walk you through the whole process. And once it is registered, you can do a short trip over to Anthony, TX, get the rig inspected and get new drivers licences, no need to go to Livingston at all.

[Kirk W]

 

 

For Tax Billing Information and Auto Registration:

Tax Assessor's Office

416 N. Washington

Livingston, TX. 77351

936-327-6801

For Driver's License Information:

Livingston Driver License Office

1735 N. Washington

Livingston, TX. 77351

936-327-6806