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Old 02-10-2015, 03:15 AM   #1
JandC
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Florida Residency Question

Here is the question. Lot purchased. Getting ready to place final order for manufactured home to be placed on said lot. Delivery probably in September.

We currently are Illinois residents. Illinois has no state income taxes on retirement income (including SS). Vehicle insurance rates are decent, along with registration fees.

However, if we stay Illinois residents, our property taxes on the Florida home will be about 40% more. Plus the first question everyone asks seems to be "is this your primary residence". I suspect when we call the insurance company for quotes that will be a question they will ask.

So here is my question. Can your primary residence be in Florida, but you still have Illinois DL's, registrations, health insurance, car insurance, and file federal/state income taxes in Illinois? And what if you are only living 5 months in Florida and 7 months in Illinois (in reality it would be 5 months in Florida, 3 months in Illinois, and the rest traveling).

Any ideas welcome!
 
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Old 02-10-2015, 04:02 AM   #2
kdeiss
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J and C
To establish Florida residency Florida Drivers License Vehicles registered in Florida Proof of Home ownership.
This will qualify you for homestead discount on your taxes in our case that = about $400.00 on a $200,ooo home

Insurance on a Mobile Home in Florida can be expensive if you get wind coverage

Hope that answered your question
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Old 02-10-2015, 04:43 AM   #3
pineranch
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I suspect you will have to get $$$ quotes for both options, then choose. If caught making the wrong decision, you may find out the bad news when filing a claim.
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Old 02-10-2015, 04:45 AM   #4
mhs4771
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Each situation is unique. We switched from New York State to Florida couple of years ago to get away from NYS Income Taxes. We stay in an RV park for 6 months during the winter months, but use the GoodSam mail forwarding service as our address. DMV required several bills with the Florida address, we had RV Insurance and Electric Bill, so it was pretty simple after that. We still own a home (don't ask me why) in Western NY that we pay property taxes on. We did change our Home Owners insurance to a seasonal home, because if you're not living there full time and file a claim it could be denied, so check with your insurance provider on that note. That's the best I can offer.
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Old 02-10-2015, 05:02 AM   #5
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My cut is that as long as you have a physical address in illinois, then it will be your state of residence...not a po box, which doesn't count. If you decided that you wanted to make fl the state, then your health insurance will need to fall under florida provider control. John
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Old 02-10-2015, 05:57 AM   #6
JandC
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So this may boil down to the fact that we will only own real estate in Florida, therefore making the argument that we are still Illinois residents a weak argument?

Okay then, for some of you Florida folks, how much is your annual registration on your Montana's, and say for example a newer 1-ton and a 2014 Explorer? Health insurance may not be an issue because (don't hate me now) my previous employer pays that no matter where I reside.

I hesitate changing my DL to Florida and keeping the DW Illinois in an attempt to satisfy any and all requirements, because then I would suspect filing income tax could be an issue.

Then there is the firearms issue. As a LEO I am not concerned about concealed carry, but how do Florida residents purchase ammo or guns? Do you have to have some type of permit. In Illinois you have to have a FOID card and there are tons of waiting periods.

Thanks to all for helping me "get my head" around all these issues.
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Old 02-10-2015, 06:02 AM   #7
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Concealed permits are easy here in Florida IF you are a state resident, pass the background check, attend a safety class and as of two years ago have $50
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Old 02-10-2015, 06:48 AM   #8
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If Florida is your legal residence, you have 30 days to change your driver license.
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Old 02-10-2015, 10:41 AM   #9
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Looks like your residence would be Illinois. The "hook" was when you bought your lot requiring state real estate taxes. Most folks living partially in FLA rent their lots and only require a license plate on their park models...much cheaper. Not trying to second guess you here at all. You generally have to declare one state or the other your residence...maybe a tax lawyer...where are your benefits the best for you...FL or IL? Course FL has no income tax so that may help. Decisions Decisions. Good luck.
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Old 02-10-2015, 10:59 AM   #10
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Understand "residence" vs" Domicile" Big difference, You can have more than one residence but only one Domicile. We are Florida Residents but our Domicile is Ohio.
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Old 02-10-2015, 11:00 AM   #11
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When we thought of selling in Illinois and moving to Florida we found that one of the big expenses was the transfer of registration and title of all our vehicles. That included truck, car, Montana and utility trailer. It was about $1500 after that the annual registration cost was not bad. As long as we still had our property in Illinois we could not double dip the homestead exemption.
Homestead required Florida DL, Florida registration and proof of living in the sunshine state.
Florida has an additional senior exemption in addition to the homestead which Illinois does not have.

Good luck
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Old 02-10-2015, 02:14 PM   #12
Phil P
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Hi

One thing you have left out. Florida requires a Florida resident claiming Homestead Exemption to reside in Florida more than 6 months a year. It can be 6 months and 1 day but it must be more than 6 months.

As long as you are not employed in Florida you can live here up to 6 months and you’re out of state license and registration etc are still valid. If you work even a part time job you must surrender you out of state license and get a Florida driver’s license and Florida vehicle registration. However you’re CDL can be validated in Florida without surrendering your out of state CDL.

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Old 02-10-2015, 03:48 PM   #13
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Ditto what Phil said
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Old 02-11-2015, 03:37 PM   #14
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I am a current LEO and usually your home is where you have property, spend most of your time, have a drivers license and vehicle registration. Some states have a time limit on how long you stay before you are considered a resident. So you need to figure out which state offers you the best bang for your buck. I also know your home state can be a challenge on this from talking to fellow Leo' s from Illinois.
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Old 02-12-2015, 02:14 AM   #15
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Without changing things like your drivers license and registration and getting a bank account and doing other things residents do you are risking your former state coming back on you claiming you are really still a resident.
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Old 02-12-2015, 02:33 AM   #16
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you can't have it both ways with the homestead tax. one way is to just become a resident of florida and if it doesn't work for you then switch it back.

as for your vehicles, you should be able to go to the florida registration office and get the costs. here is a google search: https://www.google.com/search?q=vehi...utf-8&oe=utf-8
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Old 02-12-2015, 02:56 AM   #17
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Have compared some vehicle insurance rates between the zip code we insure under in Illinois and the zip code we would possibly have in Florida. About 40% more. Depending on what property we buy in Florida, and what the homestead actually saves us, all that could almost wash out.

As a retired LEO, concealed carry restrictions do not apply. As long as a retired LEO qualifies with their home department once a year and gets approval, then they can carry throughout the U.S. Talked to my buddy who is a retired LEO from Illinois and moved to Florida 3 years ago. He visits family back in Illinois during the summer and does his qualifications at his old department while there. He also told me I could go to a county Sheriff's department down in Florida and qualify every year, they would send the information back to I.S.P. (my old department) and then I.S.P. would certify me. So now my firearm questions are pretty much answered.

I am starting to think that the best/easiest course is to just switch everything to Florida and be done with it. If it cost a little more than so be it. I can easily start spending 6 months down here!

Thanks for all the replies!
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Old 02-12-2015, 03:53 AM   #18
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You go to your Florida County office With ID your Auto and Titles and registrations (you can go on your county website to see what ID is required)you then take an Eye test Next you sit with a clerk he will transfer titles and registrations check your vin numbers of your vehicles in the parking lot issue you Plates and drivers licensee also register you to vote all done with the same clerk. I did forget to mention you have to have proof of insurance on your vehicle. For us 2 Drivers license's Registration and Plates for Car, Truck and Montana was a total of $1,100.00
You can also register for your Homestead exemption in the same building usually but another dept.

Just a little extra info. For years my Montana was insured on my Truck Policy. We decided to leave it on a germinant site in Pa. I come to find out we are Florida residence with Florida insurance and the Montana needs to be in Florida at lest 6 Months to have coverage. I had to then obtain coverage after talking to a lot of insurance agents it is now covered as a mobile home no longer towing so it is not an issue
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Old 02-12-2015, 05:37 AM   #19
JandC
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Thanks for the info Ken. Sounds like the transfer of vehicles will be a little pricey.

Right now I have Progressive on the Montana and a full time package. If we make this switch I will talk to them and see how that can be changed. The Montana will stay on a lot in a CG in Illinois (winterized) between November and May each year. Then between May and November we will be traveling around but never pull it to Florida again. So maybe Progressive would still insure it under a secondary Illinois address since it would never be located in our Florida "home" state.
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Old 02-12-2015, 11:40 AM   #20
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JandC

As I remember in order to insure in Pa the Montana had to be titled In Pa and required me to have a Pa License to register it Like you I thought of using a relative's address but more complicated then that. Give this a lot of thought as it appears you are.
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