Do American Liveaboards Have To Be State Residents?

[Cheechako]

[QUOTE=John A;844397]As with everything else in life, it depends.

If you drop your residency in the T&C do you then become a toursit, unable to either work or own property in the T&C?

I don't know of any state that would issue you a drivers license without a valid address in that state. Upon returning from cruising I found that to prove residency in the state of Washington I had to produce two months worth of two different utility bills to prove that I lived in that state.

Dealing with banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, and verious levels of Government that you are a citizen of, is easier with a US mailing address.

You should be aware that Federal and State tax offices trade data with each other. And with the increased cooperation between foreign countries and the Dept. of Homeland Security nothing is secret anymore.

I had a mailing address in States and officialy was on a vacation.[/QUOTE]
This is a great point which I always considered to be my situation. To anyone official anywhere I was a tourist. No one get's better treatment than "tourists"
Did you give up your us driver's license?

[saylor240]

Originally Posted by John A

I don't know of any state that would issue you a drivers license without a valid address in that state.

Check out southern California, apparently you can vote, get a valid Drivers License, free medical, housing and food stamps, all without even documentation you were even born>?>>

Check with your accountant, If your income is less than 12,500 USD a year, you do not have to file taxes, and if you are only in the US less than 35 days no income tax on first 94K of income. so you may just adjust your days in the states.

[John A]

I changed my address to Washington state from California. While cruising, the drivers license expired. I can nolonger pass the eye exam so forget a new license.

Last year per a notice from Social Security I don't owe any taxes if my total income is below $25k. I still file a return to retain a warm and fuzzy relationship with the IRS to record interest payments/dividends from investments.

[osirissail]

Like Hud3 and CaptForce - There's a reason when you exchange boat cards with other Americans that it seems they all have "Green Cove Springs, Florida" as their address. Florida has no tax liabilities if you are not there, but you can get the address for all your Federal, banking, voting and other needs.
- - If you come back into Florida with the boat then you will be technically liable for Florida "registration/use" fees if you leave it in the water for more than 90 days. For extensive RV touring you can put the boat on the "hard" and avoid even that "fee" although you will have to pay State Sales Tax on the yard bill.

[Canibul]

We plan to base the boat here, in the TCI. We certainly wouldn't want it up in Florida. Most of the cruisers we've met who are based in Florida seldom get south of Georgetown ha ha. We're already well south of there to start with.

Seriously, We live within sight of a boatyard with a travel lift. We've been customers of theirs for years, and have a power boat there now. We haven't quite figured out how to do it with a catamaran, without importing the boat ( 46% import duty!) , but I am sure there is a way. Put it on blocks in the yard for 'repairs', yearly, and tell them to take their time getting to the repairs as long as they are finished by the start of our cruising season, for example.

If I can't find a legal way to keep it here, I would be looking at basing it in the Dominican Republic, a hundred and thirty miles south of here, over Florida six hundred miles north.

The driver's license issue is one I hadn't thought of. As for registering RVs, there are several states in the US that are friendly toward that lifestyle. South Dakota is one. We own property in Colorado, but are giving up the idea of trying to register any kind of vehicle there. Can't do it as a non-resident, even though we are property owners. BUT we can establish an LLC company in Montana, register the vehicle to that, and then just drive the company vehicle. Totally legit. Don't even have to visit Montana to do it.

But the whole Driver's License thing puts another spin on it. We do need to be able to rent cars, and to drive here when we are in the TCI and our TCI licenses would no longer be valid if we dropped our residency here. We'd have to sell our vehicles here, too, and just rent when we were on island. That's not as bad as it sounds, by the way. Owning a vehicle here is mongo expensive.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

Originally Posted by John A

Upon returning from cruising I found that to prove residency in the state of Washington I had to produce two months worth of two different utility bills to prove that I lived in that state.

I would think that would be pretty difficult if one was a liveaboard. How else can you show proof if you have no utility bills? To me, it just seems some rules/laws are in place just to force someone to do something they don't want to do. Isn't there states that require a drivers license in order to operate a boat? I thought I read that somewhere recently but still doesn't make much sense.

Originally Posted by Canibul

BUT we can establish an LLC company in Montana, register the vehicle to that, and then just drive the company vehicle. Totally legit. Don't even have to visit Montana to do it.

I've heard Delaware makes it easy to setup a company and do the same thing.

Originally Posted by sarafina

Some military personnel select states with no personal income tax for residency.

I used to have Virginia for state taxes then, during a deployment, switched to Florida since there's no state income tax. I might even switch again to Texas as I'm looking to retire there (haven't decided yet).

[Canibul]

I'm not sure of the vehicle situation in Delaware. In Montana, there is no requirement to return yearly for any kind of an inspection sticker update. We plan to use and store the vehicle in Colorado, and could drive it to Montana once a year without a huge hassle if they ever changed the laws there, but it's nice not to have to. I wouldn't want to have to drive to Delaware and back to the Rockies every year. Montana also has some tax advantages. We don't plan to take the RV setup east of the Mississippi. Ever.

Texas is where I presently have the travel trailer registered, but it's not a motor vehicle. My family is in Texas and there was no problem registering the trailer with just a mailing address. I had been planning to ressurect my old Texas license but it's my understanding that they had to tighten the laws up thanks to the terrorists of the world, now you have to prove actual physical residency. I would STILL do it in Texas, except I don't want to have to drive a vehicle down and back to renew the inspection sticker. If I was retiring in Texas as a full time resident, it would be a no-brainer.

But I retired to these islands, instead. So far.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Canibul

We plan to base the boat here, in the TCI. We certainly wouldn't want it up in Florida. Most of the cruisers we've met who are based in Florida seldom get south of Georgetown ha ha. We're already well south of there to start with....................

Maybe there's been a misunderstanding with the use of St. Brendans Isle at Green Cove Springs, Florida as a legal address and the referrence to "based in Florida". There is no need to have a physical presence of you or your boat in Florida in order to use this service. You can remain well south of George Town and still rent a car with a Florida Drivers license.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by S/V Antares

If you work outside the US I thought you did not pay taxes (Income) up to a fixed amount?

There are exemptions and deductions that are available to you as a non-resident of the U.S. Nonetheless, the law says that, as an American citizen, you must file a return no matter where in the world you live (unless your income is below the minimum, in which case you don't have to file a return even if you live here in the states).

[John A]

Originally Posted by Dan_78

I would think that would be pretty difficult if one was a liveaboard. How else can you show proof if you have no utility bills? To me, it just seems some rules/laws are in place just to force someone to do something they don't want to do. Isn't there states that require a drivers license in order to operate a boat? I thought I read that somewhere recently but still doesn't make much sense.

Of course!!

The main reason for rules/laws is to force people to conform to what the majority think is the correct way to live.

[osirissail]

Without getting into the "politics" - as a cruiser or in an occupation that keeps you "on the road" for most of your life - picking a single "home/base" State and coordinating your tax, banking, voting, drivers license, etc. makes life much simpler.
- - Each State has - as they are entitled to have - different rules and ideas of what they can use to claim that you owe them "taxes," etc. Having to argue, document, and fight them can get tiresome - not to mention expensive. So picking one State and coordinating all your "public" records, etc., IMHO, leaves more time to enjoy your retirement and/or cruising life.

[tropicalescape]

someone wrote that you coulnd not get a drivers license without 2 previous months power bills...so does that mean you have got to live there for two months just to get a license..I dont think that is right ...why would anyone move to such a place ..in NC you just prove your age and provide an address ..real or not ...and you get the license...DVC

[osirissail]

A little more thread drift - but it gets worse than what Tropicalescape mentions. We in the USA are now subject to "Real ID" regulations for drivers licenses and State ID cards. That means providing two or more photo ID's, address, and your SS card (and maybe some more stuff). All of this stuff goes into your "file" and is accessible by somebody "wiping" your new Drivers License through a "reader." Welcome to the brave new world . . . are you sure you want to come back from the Turks and Caicos?

[John A]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

someone wrote that you coulnd not get a drivers license without 2 previous months power bills...so does that mean you have got to live there for two months just to get a license..I dont think that is right ...why would anyone move to such a place ..in NC you just prove your age and provide an address ..real or not ...and you get the license...DVC

What in the world does right or justice have to do with rules and law?

And I didn't say "you" I said "I".

This is what I encountered in Vancouver, Washington State, to prove residency. I had to prove residency and join a local bank so that I could successfully apply for a Masters Credit card so that I could purchase items at Costco on credit.
You should try to rent an apartment with no furniture, no local credit history, no recent rental history, Social Security for income, and a passport for identification. Now that's a challange!

Please feel free to live wherever you wish. I'm happy.

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

someone wrote that you coulnd not get a drivers license without 2 previous months power bills...so does that mean you have got to live there for two months just to get a license..I dont think that is right ...why would anyone move to such a place ..in NC you just prove your age and provide an address ..real or not ...and you get the license...DVC

You might want to check the NC requirements before you renew or apply for a license ... things have changed. Welcome to the post-9/11 world.

NCDOT: Getting a License or Learner Permit, Steps