Connecticut (Dan Malloy) has recently passed Incredible new taxes (with far less than expected labor concessions). I am now most interested in moving to Florida for 6 months of the year. I want to save on both income taxes as well as our eventual Inheritance taxes, as a Florida resident.
I believe that one needs to live in the state of domicile, for the majority of the calendar year. I am looking for advice on how to formally establish that "legal" change of residence ( and any other applicable "pointers").
Many states have a 183 day rule. If you live 183 or more days in the state then you are considered a resident. There may be an exception for military service and attending university. The CT page says
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62&q'1506 NOTE: If you changed your legal residence to another state but continued to maintain a permanent place to live in Connecticut for the entire year and spent more than 183 days in Connecticut in the aggregate during the taxable year, you will be considered to be a resident for that year.
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California has a publication to determine who is and who is a resident. These rules seem pretty standard so they might apply to apply states, but I'm not sure.
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Factors to consider: ? Amount of time you spend in California versus amount of time you spend outside California; ? Location of your spouse and children; ? Location of your principal residence; ? Where your driver?s license was issued; ? Where your vehicles are registered; ? Where you maintain your professional licenses; ? Where you are registered to vote; ? Location of the banks where you maintain accounts; ? Location of your doctors, dentists, accountants, and attorneys; ? Location of the church, temple or mosque, professional associations, or social and country clubs of which you are a member; ? Location of your real property and investments; ? Permanence of your work assignments in California; and ? Location of your social ties. Caution: This is only a partial list of the factors to consider. You must consider all the facts of your particular situation to determine your residency status.
What is the meaning of financial ties? Does CT actually have rules like the one I posted for CA?
These days people bank online, so I don't see that it matters where your bank is located. Nevertheless it may be good to reopen a new bank account at a FL branch office. And you can still own a house in CT, although unless the house is a rental it would be suspect (and besides from an investment point of view you want it to be a rental otherwise you're losing money on it).
I don't know CT law, but the OP needs to know. I have seen state taxing authorities look with great suspicion at taxpayers who sever their state tax ties based upon part-time residence in Florida.
Your problem is not how to become a legal resident of Florida, but how to become a nonresident of Connecticut.
Connecticut defines a resident for tax purposes to include all individuals who are domiciled in the state. Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-701(a)(1). A domiciliary is a nonresident if that person (1) maintains no place of abode in Connecticut; (2) does maintain a place of abode somewhere else; and (3) spends no more than 30 days of the taxable year in Connecticut. A domiciliary who does not meet all three of those conditions is a resident even though not present in the state at all during the taxable year.
The 183-day rule applies to non-domiciliaries who maintain a permanent place of abode in Connecticut and are present in the state for more than 183 days; such a person is a statutory resident of Connecticut even though he or she may be a domiciliary resident of another state at the same time.
For Connecticut's interpretation of domicile, see Conn. Agencies Regs.
12-701(a)(1)-1. Your domicile is your permanent home; the place to which, whenever absent, you intend to return. A domicile, once established, continues until a new domicile is established somewhere else. Thus in order to become a nonresident of Connecticut, you must establish a new domicile elsewhere. In order to change domicile, generally you must meet all of three conditions: (1) abandon the previous domicile (move away from it); (2) move to and reside in a new location; and (3) intend to remain in the new location permanently or indefinitely. You cannot change your domicile to Florida if you retain your home in Connecticut and return there. You must move to Florida (or wherever) and stay there.
Here is a link to the Connecticut regulation defining domicile and residence: Conn. Agencies Regs. 12-701(a)(1)-1. I suggest you read it carefully before taking any action in this regard.
The 30-day rule applies to domiciliaries who meet the other two tests (no place of abode in CT, maintaining a place of abode somewhere else). The 183-day rule applies only to persons who are NOT domiciled in the state.
See subsection (e) of the regulation for a definition of "permanent place of abode." It's pretty detailed. I have no idea what the OP's circumstances are, but if he maintains a home in Connecticut and thinks he can become a nonresident by spending more than 183 days a year in Florida, he's in for a disappointment. On the other hand, if he gives up his CT home and buys a home in Florida, and spends no more than 30 days of a taxable year in CT, he'll be a nonresident even though his domicile may not have changed.
First, thanks for the MANY informative answers/links.
Indeed it was our intent to retain our current CT house, while wintering in Florida sufficient time to make Florida our Tax state (i.e. we do not want to continue to owe/pay CT income taxes). We intend to continue to spend summers (surely greater than 30 days) at our current CT house.
I thought that if we spent over 183 days in Florida, we would no longer owe CT income taxes. Now I am not sure??
I know that common sense has little to do with taxes, but I wonder what would happen if... the OP was a Florida resident, and decided to now spend summers in Connecticut, bought a house in Connecticut, had the other attachments like doctors, banking, religious, joined the local bridge, Rotary, Elks, or other clubs, spent over 183 days a year in Connecticut - but now claimed that because they had not sold their house in Florida, they were not a Connecticut "domicile." Would CT say "Fine, you seem like you live here more than anywhere else, but since you used to have a Florida domicile and haven't abandoned it, we won't tax you like you are domiclied here?"
Here in New Mexico there are two ways you can be a resident:
Have your domicile in NM.
Be physically present for any reason for at least 185 days. A day is defined as 24 hours.
Therefore, it is quite possible to be a resident of another state where you have your domicile and also be a resident of NM because of physical presence.
Not a chance. CT would treat you as a resident. There is nothing that prevents two states from treating you as a resident at the same time. Each state is free to establish its own rules.
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