Bi-state Residency
 

Looking for input from anyone with residencies in more than one state.

I'm considering a job in Las Vegas. There are no state income taxes for residents of Nevada. For me, this would net an income difference of around $12,000 annually, or enough to maintain my storage building/rental property in Ohio.

If I become a primary resident of Nevada but still maintain a home in Ohio, can I still register my Ohio vehicles/boats in Ohio? I believe BMV requires an Ohio driver's licence to renew plates. Any way around this?

I've collected license plates from a few different states but I've always had a FL drivers license. I would think if you could own a home in another state, don't see why you can't maintain other "real property" or assets. I would think the biggest hang-up would be location of primary use. If you keep it in Ohio, use it in Ohio (mostly), I would think Ohio would be happy to take your money :D

I could see an issue arise when you go to buy something, want to register it locally, but have an out-of-state ID. Utility bills usually solve that. Here in FL we can renew everything online.

If you claim Nevada as your primary residency, KEEP RECIPTS. You will likely have to be out of ohio for half the year to not pay their stat income tax. Reciepts will hep prove that you were out of state. My parents went through this when they switched their primary residence to FL for NJ a few years ago. NJ still tries to collect state income tax.

I live in TX and register my boat in OK. Save a chit load in sales tax on used boats, but I have a lakehouse in OK. Yes, there shouldn't be any reason why you can't change your residence to Nevada. Just treat the home in Ohio as a second home or vacation home. As for the license - just go get an Ohio license.

you can only be a "resident" of one place, at one time, by definition "residence" is where you call home. YOu can get around the system by letting everyone think you are a resident of somewhere else, but it can come at a price.

Not that I condone this behavior :D here is one way to do things....

Go to Ohio and tell them you "lost" your drivers license, and get a second copy. Go to Nevada and give them to original you "found" later. Now you have a drivers license in two states, and can pretty much do what you want. Do not register to vote in more than one place.

While in the Navy we used to play this game some, always trying to be a resident of a place with the right mix of things we needed at the time.

However, if ever questioned, there is some quantifiable, and non-quantifiable issues that determine residence state. Where do you register to vote? Where is your drivers license from? Where do you spend most of your time? Where do you pay taxes? Where do you call home? WHere do you own real property? Where is your personal property? Where do you have your residence listed on insurance papers? Banking papers? Investment papers? Vehicle plates and tags? If you were sued, where would the summons go to? If you sued someone, which state would you sue from?

Often times there is no one place that fits all of them, but by looking at a the whole picture, and knowing you must have one, and there can only be one, it becomes pretty evident.

SOme states have a "three state" rule, meaning your vehicle license, drivers license, and insurance can not show more than two states between the three, and the two represent the state you are from. This was a problem on occasion while in the Navy for me. I would have a license from KY, insurance from the state I just left, but if I bought a car just before being transferred, I might register it in the next state before my proof of insurance caught up to me.

I have never known anyone to get in trouble playing the game, but I can see where it could cause problems. Hope this helped some.