US residence for cruiser with no ties to land?

[farm sail]

So aside from florida, what other states provide good options for cruiser residency. What other benifit do they offer. It seams florida, texas, and nevada offer no state taxes. Are there others with no state income tax? What states are easy on boat reg and boat taxes

I am pretty much a minimalist. For now i do plan to maintain a drivers license and will have to deal with boat ownership taxes, reg/documentation. Starting from the PNW i dont see me going to florida to get a drvers license if there are decent options closer

Thanks for the input so far.
Lots to figure out

[zengirl]

Originally Posted by farm sail

Starting to research about setting up/maintaining a US state of residence if icut all my ties to land and cruise full time.

The thought of this is new to me and would love to hear thoughts recommendations references or suggestions regarding such things as...

What state to set up residency in and how to do that without living or having a job there.

Boat is USCG documented so at a minimum i guess i need an address for them to send renewals? How do i get it, if i am not there?

I imagine there are many other things i should ask about but dont know i need to know

Thanks

Originally Posted by Russ

These days you must have a land address and St Brendan's doesn't count for things like banks, insurance and such. They are very demanding re a land address, no PO Box etc. Even good old Direct TV couldn't get the idea that boaters were different.
Til just lately even they wanted a land address though to their credit they did adjust, not so insurance companies and financial institutions. A great book, "How to be Invisible" By J J Luna is really funny the guy is either crazy paranoid or the book is tongue in cheek But he does address very novel away around the address problem Worth the read. Russ

You just change your address at your bank, insurance co, etc.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by Russ

These days you must have a land address and St Brendan's doesn't count for things like banks, insurance and such. They are very demanding re a land address, no PO Box etc. Even good old Direct TV couldn't get the idea that boaters were different.
Til just lately even they wanted a land address though to their credit they did adjust, not so insurance companies and financial institutions. A great book, "How to be Invisible" By J J Luna is really funny the guy is either crazy paranoid or the book is tongue in cheek But he does address very novel away around the address problem Worth the read. Russ

Russ, sorry but that's just plain wrong.

We lived in the Caribbean for six years using St Bredan's Isle as our U.S. address and it was acceptable to our financial institutions, Social Security, the IRS, and all of our credit cards. And we were able to vote and hold drivers licenses.

[Cormorant]

For what it's worth:

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming don't levy an income tax. If you're a resident of one of these states, you don't need to file a return in that state.
In addition, New Hampshire and Tennessee only tax interest and dividend income, not wages or earnings:

• New Hampshire collects tax on interest and dividend income exceeding $2,400 ($4800 for joint filers) plus additional exemptions for age, blindness and disability. More info
• Tennessee collects tax on interest income from bonds, notes and dividends from stock exceeding $1,250 ($2,500 for joint filers).

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/19...ect-income-tax

[dohenyboy]

If you are a mega millionaire you can live in Puerto Rico tax free


Why can't things remain where i carelessly left them?

[Lepke]

My cruising is the PNW & Alaska. I use a commercial mail box service that will forward at close to cost. We use the USPS flat rate boxes. I pay a yearly fee much less than $14/month. I don't get any monthly bills so none of my mail is urgent. I pay my insurances yearly and get notices on email. I use a debit card or cash for everything. My income is non taxable. The credit union doesn't seem to care about my PO box address. I try to confine my packages to the times I'm nearby (Oregon) or make special direct shipping arrangements. People that need me right now can email, voice mail my US or Canada cell phones, sat phone (if they are allowed my number) or marine radio. It's never urgent to me.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Lepke

My cruising is the PNW & Alaska. I use a commercial mail box service that will forward at close to cost. We use the USPS flat rate boxes. I pay a yearly fee much less than $14/month. I don't get any monthly bills so none of my mail is urgent. I pay my insurances yearly and get notices on email. I use a debit card or cash for everything. My income is non taxable. The credit union doesn't seem to care about my PO box address. I try to confine my packages to the times I'm nearby (Oregon) or make special direct shipping arrangements. People that need me right now can email, voice mail my US or Canada cell phones, sat phone (if they are allowed my number) or marine radio. It's never urgent to me.

The nice thing about St Brendans Isle, besides their competence, is that you can request that they open and scan any mail piece you want, allowing you to deal with over the web instead of having to forward it.

[Training Wheels]

So, how much does Brendan's charge for all these services?


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[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

So, how much does Brendan's charge for all these services?


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I think they are pretty reasonable. Prices are listed on their website.

[Training Wheels]

Anybody know offhand which state has the lowest property tax on boats, Nevada or Florida? Just mailed my California property tax bill....ugh!


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[a64pilot]

I don't believe FL has any tax on boats, at least they haven't mine, there is the yearly registration fee though, but compared to tax, it's small potatoes


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[Training Wheels]

Thanks. So no fees on Florida if your boat is documented?


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[onestepcsy37]

No property tax on boats in Florida. Like a64pilot says there is an annual registration fee, maybe averages $80, unless your boat is 30+ years old. Then the annual registration is less than $10.

Being documented or not makes no difference.

I paid $8 last year for my 1979 37 footer.

[Training Wheels]

You're killing me. I just mailed my $1400/yr. check for the privilege of having a boat in CA.


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[onestepcsy37]

Like I said in another thread, how can you people live there? Come on over to Florida. I'll have a cold glass of REAL orange juice waiting for you.