Dual residency - Montana Owners Club

c214dick · 08-02-2011, 10:36 AM

Though we bought a house in Florida we still own our home in Illinois. Louise is so in love with her Illinois gardens it doesn't look like we will be putting Illinois on the market any time soon.

Today I went to our assesors office to start proceedings in order to appeal our higher property taxes with a deppressed real estate market. Amongst other things, I was informed that if I file for a homestead or senior exemption in Florida I will lose my exmptions in Illinois. It seems as though those states with exemptions share information.

In order to determine the best route to go I need to figure the most economical way. If I want the exemptions in Florida I need to establish residency there. For that to happen I need to register my vehicles in Florida and obtain a Florida drivers license. I have heard that vehicle registration in Florida is more expensive than Illinois. I know my property taxes are higher im Illinois than Florida and I have until 3/2012 to apply for my exemptions in Florida.

Has anyone experienced this situation with other states and what did you do?

jimcol · 08-02-2011, 10:43 AM

Dick, Just thinking out of the box a little. Could one of you file for residency in Fla. the other retain Ill. residency? Jim

NCFischers · 08-02-2011, 10:47 AM

Then they won't be living together.

jimcol · 08-02-2011, 11:02 AM

No, but they could sure visit each other alot!

awaywego · 08-02-2011, 01:25 PM

Dick,
If you want to register your vehicles in Fla. you have to show that you paid the tax on them when you bought them in Ill.
If you did, you do not have to pay the fee in Fla. You pay a transfer fee (about $100) plus the tag fee.
I moved my 2001 Montana reg. to Fla. in 2002 and I paid the transfer fee but not the tax since I had paid it in Va. and showed the receipt.
Hope this helps. I did it all on the phone and mailed the title and etc with a check and that was it.

richfaa · 08-02-2011, 01:58 PM

Do some homework on the difference between residency and domicile. You can be a resident in many States but a Domicile in only one. It would appear to me from talking with other folks who domicile in Ill that it is more cost effective to change your Domicile to Florida and have a residence in Ill.

Do the research.

kdeiss · 08-02-2011, 02:17 PM

When we established residency in Fl last year transfering Truck,Car Montana ,Plates for the three plus drivers licenses for both
$1,100.00
This will qualify you for Homstead exemption. Your appraised value of your home will be reduced by $25,000 on school and $50,000 on other taxes. Our taxes are less then 1/2 of what they were in suburban Pittsburg Pa with same appraised value

richfaa · 08-02-2011, 04:21 PM

Domicile..Where you vote, pay taxes, kids go to school, vehicles are registered, etc.... Example our Domicle is in our local city in Ohio. We have a residence in Florida.Domicile is your permanent residence. It is sort of complicated.

c214dick · 08-03-2011, 12:57 PM

Rich, I thought you wintered in you RV. Is that considered your residence? If so, what is the reason and or advantage?

richfaa · 08-03-2011, 02:34 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by c214dick

Rich, I thought you wintered in you RV. Is that considered your residence? If so, what is the reason and or advantage?

yes our Rv is our residence and the Campground address and lot Number is our Florida residence. We have a Florida ID, we work at Disney World.By having a Florida residence we enjoy many of the advantages of being a Florida resident.

There is no particular advantage as you can reside anywhere. When we wintered in Arizona we had a residence there also..however neither AZ or Florida is our Domicile.. If we wanted to we could use that Florida residence address to get Florida registration for one or all of our vehicles. We see no advantage to that. There is a lot of research to do.

adelmoll · 08-04-2011, 04:13 AM

We just did that this year.. For health insurance reasons and the fact that we spend about seven months at our lot in Florida. We used South Dakota for the first six years of full timing and saved a bundle on our auto/truck/rv insurance but in Florida it went back to what it was in Minnesota.. There is a one time fee when you change the title on your current auto of about $350.00... Our truck was exempt because of its weight as was the Big Sky... The license themselves were not that much.. Drivers license wasn't bad and we saved quite a bit on being able to homestead our lot.. All in all the biggest increase was in the vehicle insurance but perhaps you are paying a lot more in Illinois then we were in South Dakota so won't notice a big change.. Yes, they do notify the former state you lived in to be sure you are not homesteading in both.. We have friends that own a home in Ohio and did that.. It turns out that Florida is a lot cheaper for them than Ohio so they are happy.. Florida has a lot of other benefits for residents too.. 1/2 price on campgrounds at the beautiful fhu State Parks, resident discounts to Disney and many of the other theme parks in Florida as well as exemption on fishing licenses for Seniors... Hope this helps.

Helen

richfaa · 08-04-2011, 04:29 AM

You do need to do a in depth study with your Domicile State, In your case Illinois. Residency and Domicle laws vary State to State. We have been checking the Ohio laws the last few days.We can spend 182 days in Ohio and will not be considered Domicled here for tax purposes. We spent 181 days in Ohio last year.

We will one day make Florida our Domicile State and maintain our residency in Ohio. In Ohio it is called the snowbird law...HB 73.

ols1932 · 08-04-2011, 06:34 AM

As Rich says, your domicile is where you vote. Then that's also where you pay state taxes (if any); where you get called to jury duty, etc.

Orv

c214dick · 08-06-2011, 07:17 AM

We are domiciled in Illinois. According to Florida DMV, as long as we do not stay more than 6 consecutive months we are not required to license our vehicles in Fl. In order to qualify for the homestead exemption we need to be domiciled in Fl which requires getting the Fl driver's license, registering vehicles and getting Fl insurance. Additionally, show Fl address, utility bills, etc. If I were to transfer all licensed vehicles/trailers to Fl, my initial cost would be $1590.35. Fl is also in the top 5 for insurance premiums. Though my State Farm agent could not help me determine the difference in premiums between Il and Fl, I was able to research and find that it is about 15% higher in FL.

In addition to the above costs I would lose my homestead in Il in order to qualify for Fl. I have to wait until Monday to get the tax info for Fl as they are closed on Fridays. I was able to determine that the previous owner qualified for the senior exemption which reduced the value by $50,000. The house was assessed at $106,000 and the taxes were about $1240. Assuming that I do not keep the Fl homestead exemption my Fl taxes may double. I have already applied for and received a senior exemption in Il for an additional $350 in tax savings. I also plan on protesting my Il property taxes in September due to the depressed real estate market and have been told by the assesors office that the process is easy, painless, and they are already looking at appeals.

Bottom line seems to be if I lose the homestead in Fl in order to keep the exemption in Il it may be a break even situation. Assuming that all vehicles are transferred to Fl just to get their exemption I would be out of pocket and additional $1590 plus increased insurance cost. I guess we will be snow birds and maintain two homes as well as Monty until I can convince Louise to give up her gardens. NOT

Thanks to all for your suggestions and help.

richfaa · 08-06-2011, 10:50 AM

We had always heard that Florida was a "cheaper" place to live and that may be the case depending on what part of the country you live in now and if you want to maintain your present standard of living. Florida does not have a State income tax true but they tax about everything else. A home the size and valuation of ours here in Northern Ohio would be triple the tax in Florida. We have found that the cost of living , food, utilities, etc is actually higher in Florida that here.

What we are finding out is that we can Domicile in Florida and still spend 182 days in Ohio without being domiciled in Ohio and not pay taxes on on income not earned in Ohio or Ohio State income tax for the time we are not in Ohio.

It is a grey area and we as on yet have no answer as to the status of our retirement pay. Our Government retirement check is issued by OPM and they are not in the State of Ohio.
The law reads like we can be domiciled in Florida, spend 182 days in Ohio (our S&B) and NOT pay taxes for the time spent at our Domicile(Florida)

It is one of those it sounds to good to be true things and much clarification is required.

Red939 · 08-06-2011, 02:34 PM

Just MHO, but I would be extremely cautious when considering a change of this nature. Uncle Sam (and his minions in the IRS) and especially state tax folks, are cracking down on those registering vehicles, boats, houses, etc in a different state when it is obvious to all the object is to avoid taxes.

c214dick · 08-06-2011, 07:20 PM

Like Florida, Illinois does not tax retirement income, for now. Because of the Illinois' financial problems they will probably impose a tax soon.

richfaa · 08-07-2011, 08:14 AM

Ohio is attempting to keep folks from moving to a State like Florida that does not have a State income tax. This bill HB73 will allow "snowbirds" to keep their Ohio Domicle and be able to stay in Ohio for up to 183 days (6 months) and not pay Ohio tax for the 6 months they were away(Florida)There a also some other Tax breaks that are not yet clear to us.. We like in here in Northern, Ohio execpt for winter.

c214dick · 08-07-2011, 11:56 AM

Ohio is a great state. We lived in Westerville, outside of Columbus, for almost 6 years. We always had a good time especially camping in the Hocking Hills area. If Illinois chooses to add the state tax for retirees maybe they could follow Ohio's example.

richfaa · 08-07-2011, 02:34 PM

Illinois does not tax retirement Income.That would be nearly our entire income. Florida has no State tax that is good news..However the proptery tax on our home in Ohio would be more than double the amount if in Florida. Folks pay less property tax in Florida because they downgrade to a much lessor home. I could do the same in Ohio. We have been wintering in Florida 4 years now and always looking and asking questions.

We do not see Florida being a lower cost area than where we are now. However..The winters in Florida are priceless

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