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Closing July 24...


JimM68

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And then we will hit the road. My, the DW, and our 3 dogs.

My first post on this forum.

 

My first and biggest question is regarding domicile?

 

We are residents of Illinois.

Our income tax rate is 3%, license plate renewals are only a hundred. Sales tax is high, but we won't be buying anything here...

Our non medicare health insurance is cheap, thanks to our "low income" which won't change...

 

My company is a montana LLC, physical location is in Illinois. I split out sales numbers between Illinois and montana, none of this will change.

 

Is there anything to be gained to setup domicile in one of the "popular states"?

When I read up on "domicile" on escapees, it says:

A: pick one of these three states.
B: get escapees mail forwarding in your choice.

 

I (my company) all ready has mail forwarding through a montana company, won't cost me nuttin to send personal stuff there too...

Why is montana no longer on the "full timers" list?

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Jim,

 

Welcome to the Escapees forum!!! I am sure those more knowledgable than I will wade in on the domicile issue. Just wanted to wish welcome and good luck as you take to the road. Hope you and the pups can stay clear of Franz and Noplace2 as you travel. I certainly will try to. :lol:

 

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!

The one that dies with the most toys is still dead!

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Let me first say welcome to the Escapee forums and to the Escapees RV Club as well! Thank you for choosing us as part of your research program.

 

Let me first suggest that you read this article about selecting a domicile which was published in the Escapees Magazine a while back. I really think that you will find the information in it to be helpful. There is a lot to consider in selecting a domicile so I'll try to discuss a few of the points. When you say "my company" do you mean that you own a business that you will continue as you go on the road full-time? If so, and if that business is performed in IL you will probably still be required to pay their state income tax but legal advice might be in order on this question.

 

The first issue that you must consider in your choice of domicile is what address you plan to use for vehicle registration and driver's licenses, along with any other legal issues. I am pretty sure that IL does not allow the use of mail forwarding service as an address for these things and I know that it is true of MT. There are only a few states that do accept mail service addresses for licensing drivers, registering to vote and some other things. That is the first question that you need to determine before you choose to stay in IL or in any other state. That is probably the #1 issue that causes the majority of fulltimers to move toone of the three mentioned states.

 

Why is montana no longer on the "full timers" list?

As far as I am aware, Montana has never been one of the states preferred for fulltimer domicile because of the fact that they do not allow you to claim a mail service address for driver's licenses along with their 6% or so state income tax.

 

The three most popular states, TX, FL, & SD all share some key factors that make them so popular. All three do allow the use of a mail service address for vehicle registrations and driver's licenses, none of them have any state income tax, and none of them require you to spend a period of time physically in the state to be accepted as a resident of the state.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks Kirk!!!
Good info.

 

Yes, with own a business located in Illinois, and also business property, and to that extent, we are stuck here.

What about vehicle registration costs??
I find nothing on this, anywhere, including various Texas Government websites.
Illinois registration costs $108/year. No inspection, can renew by mail (yet to see if I can change my mailing address so they send the renewal to my forwarder.)

 

What about "home school"?
We have to deal with this for one more year. Illinois has no rules at all. No reporting, no curriculum guidelines, no standardized tests. Zippo, Nada, nuttin. It's an issue for us.

Kirk, great article. I've read a thousand like it, all valuable resources. But we need to move beyond theoreticals and into reality.

My next "official function" will be license plates on our toad, in December.
I have to tell my insurance company something.
Our BC/BS is a nationwide network so that is a non-issue.
I am registered to vote in Ill, wonder what it takes to get absentee ballots mailed, and if they will mail them to Mt?

Here's a pic of our 2008 Monaco Knight.


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.Yes, with own a business located in Illinois, and also business property, and to that extent, we are stuck here.............

What about vehicle registration costs??..................I find nothing on this, anywhere, including various Texas Government websites.

Since you have to have an address to register vehicles and to maintain a driver's license, I suggest that you use the same one which is used for your business. The other alternative might be to consider use of a Montana LLC for the RV but the driving license is still a problem. I don't believe that IL law allows the use of a mail forwarding service for an address on either of these documents. TX registration fees are available online and you can download a copy if them in .pdf format.

 

What about "home school"?

While we didn't have that to deal with, we have friends who did and they found that TX has no regulation of this. There are ways to get curriculum help and to get a diploma issued so I suggest looking farther into that, but I'm not a good source of such information.

 

I am registered to vote in Ill, wonder what it takes to get absentee ballots mailed, and if they will mail them to Mt?

You will need an IL address for that as well as other issues so make sure that the business address is acceptable. Since your business is already at a Montana LLC, it might be that you could go that way also for your vehicle registrations, but if you were to move that address to TX you would not have any state income tax and you would be in a much more RV friendly state where your mail service address would be fully acceptable for all purposes (including voter registration) under the state laws and those laws have been tested and upheld by the courts all of the way through the supreme court.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Thanks Kirk! Great info.

 

So registration on the bus is not too expensive.

 

Great news on homeschool, will check further on that.

 

I think I'll proceed with a January date to go to Texas and become a resident.

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