U.S. Taxes from investments while cruising

[John A]

I think you need a mailing address within a State to establish residency, before enjoying there tax codes.

I believe that all offshore Health plans, or those within the US, really want you to obtain your treatment within the US, so plan on travel cost.

Be sure that your driver's license doesn't expire!

Activating a credit card from some distant country is always interesting.

My life was far less complicated when I gave a TRUSTED relative power of attorney and used their address for everything. They can even file your Federal Income taxes for you.

[CarlF]

ACA is a very good deal for cruisers who don't have a high taxable gross income. If your taxable income is around $30K, as you expect, your ACA insurance will be subsidized. A high deductible plan will cost you almost nothing and have much better terms in the event of a horrible illness than a catastrophic plan (ACA pays 100% of everything after your reach the out-of-pocket maximum of around $6300/yr)

In considering residency state, you may want to look at ACA costs and how they handle "out of network" costs since you may not being using the local in-network hospitals much. It could conceivably be better to save on ACA than income tax.

After ACA enrollment ends in March, you can't sign up for ACA until the next annual "open enrollment period". The next one starts November 15 and ends January 15.

[Boatguy30]

Frankly, it's hard to imagine the healthcare situation not changing by 2017. conservatives want to push hard for asset tests so all of us will be SOL on subsidies. I go thru this every 6 months with the state if Florida for my children's insurance and they are very pesky about where all your money is, how you make it, copies of leases from any rental properties, etc, etc. How much your car is worth, it goes on on and on.

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

Frankly, it's hard to imagine the healthcare situation not changing by 2017. conservatives want to push hard for asset tests so all of us will be SOL on subsidies. I go thru this every 6 months with the state if Florida for my children's insurance and they are very pesky about where all your money is, how you make it, copies of leases from any rental properties, etc, etc. How much your car is worth, it goes on on and on.

Here we go. Frankly, it's hard to justify taxpayers or subscribers subsidizing health care for those who could afford it if they wanted to. The purpose of the ACA is to subsidize people who can't afford care, not those who choose to use their assets for other pursuits. So means testing is the only way to keep the system honest.

Do we want everything subsidized, and higher taxes/fees, or less subsidies and lower taxes? "Both" isn't an available option, so let's have the discussion. Not here, of course, but on a national level.

That's quite a different discussion from this thread, however.

[John A]

Almost ALL other countries of the world have socialized healthcare!
A surgical procedure requiring a seven day hospital stay in northern Panama at the second largess city in the country cost $365 USD total. Daily visits to a clinic in Bequia for over two weeks was free. Cancer removal from the inside of my bladder and three days in a private room came to $5100 USD total in Trinidad. Dental visits were never more that $35 USD at several countries. All doctors I had were trained in the US or UK.

I, and many others let our state-side healthcare coverage lapse over a period of time. It's interesting to note that the US is so lacking in providing Healthcare to everyone.

[Boatguy30]

My point is it will eventually have to be all or nothing.

How poor is too poor? If I make 50K a year and live in a tent how much can I afford to spend in healthcare vs. someone that has a $2,000 house payment.

Do you want someone looking at all you bank statements, daughter's baby sitting income, etc every 6 months to determine what you can afford?

I can "afford" healthcare with my assets; I just can't "afford" the US healthcare system.

[denverd0n]

And this thread is now, officially, COMPLETELY off on a tangent!

[letsgetsailing3]

Originally Posted by Boatguy30

My point is it will eventually have to be all or nothing.

How poor is too poor? If I make 50K a year and live in a tent how much can I afford to spend in healthcare vs. someone that has a $2,000 house payment.

Do you want someone looking at all you bank statements, daughter's baby sitting income, etc every 6 months to determine what you can afford?

I can "afford" healthcare with my assets; I just can't "afford" the US healthcare system.

Great point.

We can't afford to pay heart surgeons $500K a year, and let people with an average family income of $45,000 or no income have unlimited access to their services. We likewise can't subsidize everyone. Someone has to pay for the services.

It's a weird system, for sure, but nobody wants to make the necessary adjustments.

[BandB]

Back on the first topic of taxes. Growing up in the tax accounting field, I remember my father's stock answer was "If you'd like to come in, I'll be glad to review things so I can answer your questions." The point was that without knowing all the specifics, the advice can't be good. St. Brendan's may be an excellent choice but then where is your daughter going to school? What exactly is the source of your income? What assets do you have and where? Changing residency can be complicated and requires a complete effort. Again, St. Brendan's is expert on that. At one time Florida had an intangibles tax but no longer does. Then there are things like registration of your boat and it's home country and port. Will you have to pay a use tax when moving it? What about automobiles and taxes on them?

[onestepcsy37]

and another piece of good news (maybe) about florida residency.

if your boat is over 30 years old it qualifies as an antique and annual registration fee is minimal. my 37 foot 34 year old cutter cost $8.00. (eight dollars!).

[sailorboy1]

Isn't the real question more about which states have an easy way for a cruiser to be a resident of? There are only a handful that don't have an income tax, but that doesn't mean it is easy to sail off and then become a resident.

I live in New Hampshire that doesn't have a state income tax or sales tax. But when I went to get a drivers license and register to vote I needed an utility bill. Don't know how to do this cruising really.

It seems that Florida is the cruiser state of choice with no income tax and easy to become a resident and has lots of state colleges.

[ReMetau]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

It seems that Florida is the cruiser state of choice with no income tax and easy to become a resident and has lots of state colleges.

The OP really needs to do their research, but if I am not mistaken, I believe that you must reside down here for 6 months before they consider you a resident. If you are bringing a car down here, then expect to pay an environmental impact fee when registering. You will also need to register your boat and pay a tax on it if your state collection tax was lower. These are just a few of the things that I can think of off the top of my head.

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by ReMetau

The OP really needs to do their research, but if I am not mistaken, I believe that you must reside down here for 6 months before they consider you a resident. If you are bringing a car down here, then expect to pay an environmental impact fee when registering. You will also need to register your boat and pay a tax on it if your state collection tax was lower. These are just a few of the things that I can think of off the top of my head.

No, you don't need to physically reside in Florida for even one day to become a legal resident. You just can't reside in any other State.

We used Saint Brendan's Isle to file the paperwork for residency while we were living in Nevis full time. We also registered to vote there in State and Federal elections while we were at it. We had to physically show up for our driver licenses, along with proof that our SBI personal mailbox was real (a financial statement from our investment firm mailed to that address did the trick). Establishing residency was about as simple and easy as anything I've ever done, and did't cost but a few bucks.

Also, Florida does not charge sales tax of any amount on boats physically brought into the State if you have owned it somewhere else for more than six months, and certainly not on your boat if you are cruising elsewhere, which is the whole point of being a Florida resident while cruising. If you have a boat in Florida more than 90 days you do have to register it, but the fees are very low.

[dohenyboy]

If you are outside the US on April 15 you get an automatic extension.
File electronicaly.

[Cuttyhunk]

As for health insurance for your daughter when she is in college, many if not most colleges have health insurance plans for students. This may or may not be cheaper than having her on a family plan.

St. Brendan's Isle does seem to have very reasonable rates. I founded Voyager's Service in 1994; sold it in 1998. It is still around, but does not seem to have grown. St. Brendan's has added a lot of features and charges very little, and has grown quite a lot in the intervening years. I used to help my customers with boat registrations, and all sorts of things. This was before everything was online. If you have a friend/family member handle your mail, give them copies of your passports and other personal info. And realize they may tire of the task. Local pack and ship stores (the UPS Store, etc) can give you a local address in the state you consider home. I used a Mailboxes Etc address when I was cruising; that gave me the idea for Voyager's Service.