Domicile Questions / Working for Another State

[Xone]

Hey guys!

I have a lot of questions about making Texas my legal domicile as I transition to full-time RVing, and I am very overwhelmed and need help.  I’m just going to dive in and if anyone can answer anything, I would greatly appreciate it!!!

I only recently started thinking about and researching full-timing, and almost all information I find is in regards to people who are retired and don't work, or people who are self-employed...very little information I've come across is directed toward people who still work for a boss and a company located in one state, while they travel around the country working remotely.

I have read about moving to states without income tax and one person said that if my employer files my state income taxes under Texas, I would not owe any, but if they file it under my current state, even if my legal domicile is Texas, I would owe income taxes.  Of course it would be nice to not have to pay those but I don't want to do anything unlawful.  Since I still work in my current state, would it be worth the struggle of changing my domicile, if I still run the risk of not getting that major benefit it seems a lot of people switch for?

The positives of changing to Texas...  A close friend lives there and I am strongly considering having them receive my mail, so I could just use their address as my own.  EVERYTHING is up for renewal right now.  My health insurance, car insurance, car registration, emissions test, and driver's license are all expiring within the month.  It seems like the universe is telling me now is the perfect time to switch domiciles.  Some of those things only come up for renewal every two or five years.

The negatives...  I spoke with the State of Texas yesterday and they said my boss would have to fill out a form for the Secretary of State saying he is "doing business" with Texas, in order for me to live there and work for him in his company's state.  I am really not wanting to cause hurdles for my boss...  There is very little time for me to get everything in order, since everything IS expiring extremely soon, I would have to get myself to Texas and completely overturn my life on paper in short order.  I am especially concerned that Texas will not "believe" my residency plea.  When I tried to hint at the RV thing while talking to the Texas DMV, they acted like I had two heads, and were very, very skeptical and already questioning if I was truly moving to Texas or not.  I don't want to do anything wrong or illegal and since I'm just following what I've read online, I really have no idea what I'm doing.

One thing I worry about is that I would like to put a lot of my possessions into a storage unit in my current state, and I'm not sure if that would call my residency and intent into question.  If I switch states I would get my new insurance, license, registration, voter stuff, and all of that in the new state, but I loathe the idea of paying to truck my furniture to another state, not to mention the bugs in Texas!  Would this be a potential issue?

Most instructions I've found online deal with changing your vehicle stuff, and not so much on how to actually establish the elusive residency...as in the address part of things.  Does getting all the vehicle stuff switched effectively switch your residency, or is it when you tell the post office that you have a new address?  Is it as simple as telling them to forward or update my address to my friend's address, or will they require some form of proof, like would my friend and their roommates have to get my name added to a water bill or something, to satisfy the post office (or anyone else)?

Should I buy my RV now, here in my state, or should I wait until I make my residency decision, then buy one in Texas?  (The model I am interested in is actually available at dealers in both states, lucky me.)  Either way I would register in my domicile state, but I've heard there's danger of paying sales tax twice.  (When I spoke to the Texas DMV though, they said to bring my bill of sale showing I paid tax, and it should be fine.)  Is it unwise to purchase in my state if I do wind up "moving" to Texas?

I guess mostly I am just not sure if changing my residency is beneficial in my situation, since I work for a company in this state.  I could buy my RV in Texas and the sales tax is a smidge lower, but otherwise, is it really wise for me?  I've never done anything like this and just feel so overwhelmed by all the questions I don't have answers to.  Any help from anyone would be extremely appreciated!

Xone

P.S.  Sorry, I was browsing the wrong board when I hit New Topic, I've asked an Admin to move this to the correct one.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

It is pretty much where you earn your income is where you pay your taxes.  Residence has nothing to do with income.

Few employers can post your income in another state.

When we left Maryland for South Dakota, we had to file the half year income we made in Maryland.

[GlennWest]

If I work on Louisiana, tax state, I file state taxes in Louisiana. Texas has none and if I work only here no taxes to file. I am a Texas resident

[Kirk W]

Let me suggest that you start by reading this article from Escapees Magazine about the domicile issue. It should answer some of your questions and perhaps bring up a few other items. 

3 hours ago, Xone said:

The positives of changing to Texas...  A close friend lives there and I am strongly considering having them receive my mail, so I could just use the addreuss as my own. 

1

Let me suggest that you do this by joining the Escapees RV Club and then use the mail service that they have. It has a long and outstanding track record and should you stay on the road for years, don't you think it a little much to expect of a friend to act as your remailing agent? With Escapees you would have your own address for a very reasonable price and fully legal for all purposes.

3 hours ago, Xone said:

I spoke with the State of Texas yesterday and they said my boss would have to fill out a form for the Secretary of State saying he is "doing business" with Texas, in order for me to live there and work for him in his company's state.

While that may be true if you move here and sit in one spot in TX and do your work, but if you are traveling all over the country and seldom working from TX, I don't believe that would be the problem but it might mean that you will have to file taxes in the state your work is located in. This is a legal tax issue and I suggest that you would be better served to get advice from a tax attorney. 

3 hours ago, Xone said:

I am especially concerned that Texas will not "believe" my residency plea.  When I tried to hint at the RV thing while talking to the Texas DMV, they acted like I had two heads, and were very, very skeptical and already questioning if I was truly moving to Texas or not.  I don't want to do anything wrong or illegal and since I'm just following what I've read online, I really have no idea what I'm doing.

This is another reason for the use of an Escapee mailing address. Many DMV offices do not deal with this type of situation but the one in Polk County, where Escapee mail is located, do know exactly what to do and they are very helpful to you. In the mean time, download a copy of How to Become a Real Texan as that will be helpful also. 

3 hours ago, Xone said:

Should I buy my RV now, here in my state, or should I wait until I make my residency decision, then buy one in Texas? 

I would wait, as long as it won't mean storing it in your present state for too long and having problems there. Why pay for plates twice? 

3 hours ago, Xone said:

I guess mostly I am just not sure if changing my residency is beneficial in my situation, since I work for a company in this state. 

Only you can determine this, but if you plan to only have a mail service for your legal address, there are only a few states that allow this for things like driver's licenses, vehicle registration & insurance. On the other hand, if your employer supplies your health insurance, you may need to keep your domicile in the state of employment in order for it to remain valid. There is a lot to consider in such a decision and you need to take whatever time is needed to be sure. 

[Twotoes]

Many people live in one state and work in another. Residents of Indiana work in Chicago. Residents of NJ, CT work in NY. You pay income taxes to the state where the income was earned. Many traveling salesmen/woman have territories in multiple states but the company HQ is where you are paid and owe income tax. 

[trailertraveler]

34 minutes ago, Twotoes said:

...You pay income taxes to the state where the income was earned...

This is true if you live in a state with no state income tax, but it is not always the case. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have reciprocal agreements with one or more other states such that state income tax is paid only to the state in which you live. However, in every case both parties to the agreement have state income taxes.

[Dutch_12078]

I spent quite a few years as a senior field engineer, first for a company based in OH, and then a company based in MA. For both jobs, I worked from my home in upstate NY, traveling nationally and internationally as dispatched from HQ. For income tax purposes, my home was considered my "assigned work location" where I earned my wages, and NY received my NY State income tax withholding payments from the company HQ. I knew a couple of other field people that lived in no income tax states, and the only difference was that nothing was withheld (except Federal taxes of course) and sent to the state.

[Kirk W]

It was never clear exactly what the person posting was asking, but since he has not been back since he made that post, it would seem he really didn't want our advice. 

[Dutch_12078]

I agree, Kirk... His statement about traveling around the country working remotely suggested to me that it might be similar to my former situation where I traveled extensively as a job function, but still was considered as earning in one location for tax purposes. On the other hand, if the OP is traveling around in his RV for non-business reasons, and remotely working at a single company location, then that's a different story. With no response so far though, we may never know.