Offshore Without a Land Address

[crazyoldboatguy]

Greetings,

The Admiral and I have hopes/dream/plans on completing the reconstruction of our old boat and moving aboard more or less permanently in the next couple of years. Not having done that before, there is a lot we don't know. Part of the reason I came to the forum. We were discussing estate planning with our attorney and the issue came up regarding what our "legal address" will be. By the time we board the Surazo, we will no longer own any real estate that we can call home. We will not be renting any apartment, etc, either.

We may have to talk to our tax guy about this but we are curious as to how folks establish some type of "residency" for state tax purposes. We can easily get a post office box and will have a land based agent to handle our affairs during those times we may be unreachable. Just wondering what it takes so that the Tax Man doesn't come after us.

[ReMetau]

Look into St. Brendan's Isle.

[colemj]

There are mailing services that establish a residency for you - you actually get a physical address. They are popular in those states that do not have income tax. They are also better than a PO box because many commercial places will not ship to PO boxes.

Mark

[svmariane]

Originally Posted by ReMetau

Look into St. Brendan's Isle.

+1 Mail Forwarding Services at St Brendan's Isle

NOTE: You CAN, but DO NOT HAVE to, establish residency in Florida - and with their assistance, if you like.

From their website:

For many of our Clients, Florida is an ideal state to establish your residency...

Florida has no state income tax and Tag Registration is very economical.

As part of our mail forwarding services we can provide you with the necessary forms and instructions for these important administrative matters and answer any questions you may have.

In addition we can provide assistance with these other administrative matters:

Florida Voters Registration
Florida Drivers License
Florida Boat Registration
US Coast Guard Documentation Renewal

EDIT: I have no affiliation with the company other than as a satisfied customer.

[JPA Cate]

I believe that you actually need some sort of address linked to your passport. To be honest, I'm not positive of this: i think it's true, not sure.

We have a US address we use, and from which mail is forwarded to us. It is in the state where our vessel is registered. You certainly will need to file income tax returns for income earned in the STATES, while you are overseas, unless you establish residency in a foreign country, and then you'll need a tax lawyer, not a forum, for advice!

Cheers,

Ann

[Pato]

Not trying to high jack thread but I have the same question but I'm in canada and only have 2 months to figure this. Any help is appreciated thanks all


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[barnakiel]

We do not have any.

If you have any land based source of income, you will have your residency where the income comes from.

b.

[Hudson Force]

My US passport has no address information, but my St Brendan's Isle residence is on my IRS papers, driver's license, voter's registration, .... everything else.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Thank you all for the postings. It gives me a base upon which to gather more info.

[seandepagnier]

My passport only has place of birth.

Whenever I need an address, I just put the address of wherever I am right then. For example, the street closest to wherever the boat is anchored, or the name of the bay the boat is anchored in.

[crazyoldboatguy]

OK, so you put down whatever address is near where you are docked. How does that work for tax purposes? If you are paying federal taxes, not a big thing. However, you may owe state taxes on retirement income. So, you need to show which state you reside in.

We will probably have a mail forwarding service since there will be some things that may need immediate attention that we will be unable to handle. For this reason, I will probably have mail forwarded to my sister who will act as a POA in those circumstances where action is required.

We are still just trying to work some of this out. Again, your responses help a lot.

[Stu Jackson]

US passports allow you to fill in the address in PENCIL!

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Pato

Not trying to high jack thread but I have the same question but I'm in canada and only have 2 months to figure this. Any help is appreciated thanks all

Where are you going and for how long?

Friends of ours sailed from BC down to Mexico a few years ago for over a year. They just continued to use their home address. If you're selling up & out, you have a completely different issue.

Help us to help you.

You're not the first, as you can well imagine.

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by crazyoldboatguy

OK, so you put down whatever address is near where you are docked. How does that work for tax purposes? If you are paying federal taxes, not a big thing. However, you may owe state taxes on retirement income. So, you need to show which state you reside in.

The key, is to set up your state address in a state without income tax (florida, Texas, Nevada, etc) That's why St Brendan's Isle is nice and used by a whole lotta folks.

[crazyoldboatguy]

Florida would work ok. Illinois (current state of residence) doesn't tax retirement income so it would work out ok for us, I think.