Even though technology now allows most of our communications to happen online, there is still a need for snail mail when it comes to things like government documents, financial documents, and even the occasional greeting card from grandma. If you’re constantly on the move, how does your mail keep up with you? Answering that question COULD also answer your need for a permanent address!
When you don’t have friends or family who are willing to be your personal postmaster, or who even live in the state you want to use for domicile, you can rely on mail-forwarding services like ours. These services assign you a mailing address which you share with whomever sends you mail. We then receive and hold your mail for you while you’re mobile. When you know where you’re going to land for a few days, let us know and we’ll package and ship your mail to you!
With some mail-forwarding services, including ours, you can also use your assigned mailing address to help establish your domicile claim. This only works when the service offers addresses in your desired state. For example, Escapees offers addresses in Texas, Florida, and South Dakota. If you want to use your address with us to establish your domicile claim, you must be domiciled in one of those three states. However, if you already have your domicile claim established with a different address, maybe your parents’ address or that of a close friend, you can still use a mail-forwarding service to manage your mail while you’re on the road!
There are a few more steps to the process than described here, but instead of getting too far off-topic, we recommend you check out our blog on How RVers Get Their Mail. You’ll also find a list of questions to ask when researching the right forwarding service for your needs.
thank you so much for this wonderful and comprehensive information.
If you decide on South Dakota, what happens if you get called for jury duty?
Because California is so aggressive about this issue I would love to see some information aimed specifically at people who want to abandon California as their domicile and move to another state. These posts are really helpful and appreciated! Thank you.
I will be leaving California in a couple weeks to move to Texas. I am basically just following the Escapees domicile article, cutting all ties, registering cars and voting in Texas. California might be aggressive but I can’t imagine they would concentrating on small fry. Now if Mark Zuckerberg were to move he would have to watch out.
Love all of your information. This is extremely helpful. Plan on full-timing starting in 2020. Thank you again
John, we abandoned California in Feb 2019 and made Florida our domicile. We got the usual FL drivers licenses, registration, insurance, plates and voter IDs, but went a step further and filed an affidavit with the Okaloosa county Clerk of the Court stating that Crestview Florida was our domicile. We sold our house in CA two years ago so we didn’t have property, but we also got rid of our CA storage locker and transferred ownership of our remaining vehicles to our children who still live in CA. And of course we changed our address with every bank/institution/entity we deal with to FL. We’ll owe some tax in CA for Jan and past of Feb 2019, but we’re locked and loaded if they try to come after us for anything more.
We were all up for changing to Texas ….BUT the Auto/RV Insurance was going to double or more. And the reason was told of the high amount of claims in the last year from hurricane,wind, hail damage . Also our health insurance premiums would increase. So…unable to make the move. Just be aware of all costs.
I live in Florida now but will have my house sold within the month and will be full time RVing. What’s the best thing to do for my address since I want to keep my Florida domicile. Thanks!
Hi MaryEllen! There are several options for you, depending on your resources and preferences.
If you have friends or family in FL who would allow you to use their address, you can pursue that option. There are also mail-forwarding services like ours (https://www.escapees.com/mail-service/) that handle your mail and also provide an address suitable for establishing domicile.
Question:
Can a maried couple domicile in two different countries?
One is an American citizen (no property) and the spouse has dual citizenship us/other. Only real property owned is outside the USA and is property of the citizen spouse.
Thanks in advance
John, John Mooney,
yes, California is aggressive in their quest for your $$, past, present, and future!
We left Ca. in 2001, selling our house (everything), establishing domicile in another state. We then left the US and lived abroad for 10 years.
For me, the California Franchise Tax Board attempted to collect state income tax on my public employees pension. Since I earned my pension while working in California, according to the FTB, it was still taxable to them no matter what state I was now domiciled in!
Long story short, another public employee took the FTB to court challenging this and his case prevailed, he won…it’s now case law.
This is regarding public employees (police, fire, etc) so may not pertain to your tax situation.
Best to check into this and be prepared.
Please help me understand this too. So he won against CA, what’s that mean for the rest of us? I’m a public employee looking to do just this. Thanks for posting this and your input.
I wanted to choise florida but am curious about the 183 day rule there. I am a travel nurse and would not live in florida for 6 months? How can this be bypassed with escapees
Hi Debbie!
The 183-day rule tends to apply to those trying to maintain a residence in one state while also claiming Florida as their primary residence to avoid income tax. This is less of an issue if you plan to only claim one residence, Florida for example, while you’re traveling elsewhere.
That said, it is best to consult with a legal professional when it comes to navigating the intricacies of domicile as individual RVers tend to have individual variables that can change the circumstances.
We typically refer our members to Loring and Associates, attorneys who are well-versed in domicile for RVers. In fact, their attorneys have written most of our articles on domicile and legal needs for RVers. You can reach them at 800-260-1615
We started our full-time adventure in Texas and set up our domicile with you all there when we found out we would be moving to Kansas for a temporary job assignment. We were in KS 5 months last year and hope to be few than that this year. Since we had to pay state taxes in KS we got a virtual mailbox in KS also (we have mail service w/ Escapees) but never changed our DL’s or vehicle tags as the hubs intended to retire this year. We just found out we will be assigned in OK next —I MISS TEXAS!! We have a lot on the lake in TX but haven’t established it as a physical address yet. Our Driver’s Licenses and vehicles (including our 5th wheel and Motorhome) are all tagged in Texas. Will I be able to continue as a Texas in Oklahoma?
Hi there!
With specific questions like yours, we recommend you reach out to legal counsel directly so all factors can be considered in the discussion. Loring & Associates (who Mrs. Adams works with) typically offer a free consultation, which sounds like it would be helpful in your case. http://www.loringlaw.com/
Hi. I’ve been a California resident for 15 years, and a full-time RVer for the last 5 years. I’ve been using a PMB box from CA, but I need to change my official address soon, because of the AB5 law in California (I cannot work as a freelancer anymore if I “live” in CA). The RV and the car are not on my name. So, I’d just need to change the address on my ID card and make the new address official to the IRS. I don’t care which state is (TX, FL or SD) and health insurance and vote place is not an issue now. Do I still need to “Establish professional and social connections within the county of domicile.?” If I stay in South Dakota for example for a week, would that be enough to do what I have to do?
Hi Claire!
With a situation as specific as yours, we recommend you reach out to Loring & Associates (the attorneys who provide most of our domicile information) for a free consultation.
I am not an RV’er but I just took an early retirement (61.5) from my job in California and plan to leave the state in July. I will most likely not have any income for the rest of this year and will be living off savings. I have friends in Tennessee who will allow me to use their address and I plan to travel a great deal for the next several months. I have also found a very good medical insurance policy through Tennesee that will allow me to get treated anywhere in the U.S. This fall I will start searching for a permanent residence in New Hampshire (unfortunately I do not know anyone there). CA car registration renewal is due June 24, and is of course a lot of money. Question is should I pay to renew and NOT get a Tennessee DL and Car Reg and simply wait till I settle in NH, or is it better if I declare domicile in TN even if I don’t intend to live there permanently? Any help would be much appreciated!
Hi there,
Because we are not legal experts, we at Escapees refrain from offering legal advice. I encourage you to reach out to Shawn or Susie at 800.260.1615 to get a detailed answer to your question, as there are often unique variables and nuances to consider.
We live in NH and are thinking about heading out full time RVing – wanna buy a fixer upper house? 🙂 jk sort of?
We would likely sell and choose another one of these states to domicile. NH car registration and property taxes are a bit higher than most places but there’s no sales tax and no income taxes. Good thing is, if you car is older the registration will be lower and stay lower. Newer cars are usually a few hundred or so to register if not more. I would prob. just register in CA and not worry about it again till NH?