To Domicile or Not to Domicile

There are only Three Things to Consider.

Taxes, Taxes, and Taxes.

A person may have more than one residence, but they may have only one domicile. You choose your residence when you decide where you are sleeping tonight, where you garage and insure your vehicle, where you are counted for the census and where you are allowed to vote.  You choose your domicile when you own or hold any real property, join a government registered organization, hold a driver license or other government issued identification card, buy insurance, open banking relationships or create a Last Will and Testament that will requre probate. 

Your Domicile determines your tax liability.

There are three things to consider which require you to declare Florida as your domicile.

1 - Do you work for a employer who is registered in Florida and pays workers comp and unemployent taxes on your wages based upon Florida rates?

2 – Do you have children in Public or tax supported school in Florida?

3 - Do you spend more than 50 percent of your time during the year or more than six consecutive months within the borders of Florida?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you are required to place your domicile in Florida.

Since other states have similar laws, you will need to check your state laws in your current state of domicle.

Three taxes in Florida

Estate Taxes - Apply on estates with a NET value above the Federal Limits. 2021 limits were 11.7 Million. See www.irs.gov for current limits.

Property Taxes - Due on Real Property, all other tangible and intangible property is exempt.

Sales and Use Tax – Due when you make a purchase for use or initial delivery inside of Florida. Personal Services and non prepared food are exempt from Sales Tax.

Only domicile some of your property in Florida

You may use a Fast Forward service to domicile assets in Florida as long as those assets do not spend 50 percent of the time in any state other than Florida.

Many of our members choose to move only portions of their assets to Florida, maintaining their domiciles in their current location and moving tax sensitive ítems such as a valuable motor vehicles or RV to a Florida Domicile. This allows them to keep their current trusts and wills and property tax exemptions intact.

Use a Fast Forward Vehicle Address Service to register your vehicle in Florida

 Make sure to start this process at least 30 days prior to the expiration date of your current vehicle registration.

 Let us know which assets that you desire to be domiciled at your Fast Forward address You never have to come to Florida, we send you the paperwork package, you send it back, we do the registration work and mail the registration documents back to you.

If you are using our address service to domicile assets only, you only need to change your address on the mail regarding those assets. The most common ítem that is domiciled outside of your home state is your RV. For example, to register your RV in Florida, you will need to provide proof of mail receipt at your Fast Forward address, proof of insurance from a company licensed to do business in Florida and use Fast Forward Vehicle Registration Service so you never have to visit Florida. You do not have to have a Florida Driver License in order to register a vehicle in Florida. We offer discounts when you order this service at the same time as your initial Membership Application for address service with mail forwarding. 

Declare Florida as your domicile

According to Florida Statutes, establishing a Florida domicile may be obtained by choice, however, two necessary elements must be met.

First, there must be physical presence which may be met by using our service to have a year round control over a legal street address in Florida. The more permanent the relationship is with Florida the stronger a case can be made.

The second element, "intent" is subjective. The burden of proof is on the person declaring domicile to show that Florida is the center of the person's social, economic and civic activity.

Due to loss of tax revenue as a result of part time residents declaring other states as their domicile, many states have established criteria placing the burden of proof upon the taxpayer.

The issue is not the steps you will take to become a Florida resident, but rather the steps you take to divorce yourself from your previous state of residence Make sure that you spend more than six months per year outside of your previous state of residence and seek to be able to document the time spent if needed with a contemporaneously recorded travel log and/or charge receipts. Most current information about all that is Florida may be found at www.myflorida.com.

Forward the mail from your current residence to your Fast Forward address and change addresses for credit cards, bank accounts, corporations and partnerships.

Obtain your Florida drivers license by first clicking HERE to get the list of requirements, then visiting ANY driver license office inside Florida to apply for a Florida Driver License. If you have an out-of-state license, and it has not expired beyond 30 days, you may be able to convert your license without taking a written or road test. You may need to have a vision screening and sometimes other tests.

Obtain vehicle insurance from a company licensed to do business in Florida and convert your current vehicle registration to a Florida vehicle registration. If you wish to convert your vehicle to Florida prior to (or without) getting your Florida Driver License, use our Vehicle Registration Service and we do it all for you, by mail. We offer discounts when you order this service at the same time as your initial Membership Application for address service with mail forwarding.

Direct that paychecks, interest and dividend checks be mailed to Florida

File Form 8822 with the IRS showing Florida as your address and affirmatively state on your last return in your former state that it was you final return for that state. It is beneficial to notify tax authorities using certified mail.

Establish wills, trusts, LLC’s, health care declarations and durable powers of attorney which recite Florida domicile and transfer securities, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, investments and valuables from the former state to a location or institution located in Florida. (Courts have held the location of a person's safety deposit to be a critical factor in determining domicile).

Change affiliations with religious and social organizations doctors, attorneys, accountants, and insurance agents to Florida and seek to request non-resident status with organizations maintained in the former state of domicile.

 Maintaining your Florida domicile status

If you have already established yourself as a Florida resident and you have taken all the necessary steps to claim Florida as your state of domicile you may use Fast Forward to maintain your Florida domicle using our home base service.

Forward the mail from your current Florida residence to your Fast Forward address and change addresses for Driver License, insurances, vehicle registration(s), credit cards, bank accounts, corporations and partnerships.

File Form 8822 with the IRS.

If you are claiming a homestead exemption on property in Florida, or are planning to vote, then you must keep your Driver License registered at that address and be able to receive mail at that address all year around.

Getting a Fast Forward Membership is easy

1 - Please click HERE to download and complete the online application.

2 - Call us or email us and we will reserve an address for you promptly.

3 - Send the original application and USPS 1583 form to us prior to the start date of your mail forwarding service.