Domicile States for Full-Timers

[SharonandRoy]

About to go Full-Time need to know what states offer the best for us. Costs such as, taxes, Insurance, Inspections, Drivers Licenses, Do I need a CDL. Good medical facilities etc and so on. We have a 43’ coach GVW 54,000lbs. We’re members of Escapees and plan on using their mail service. Just need to know what state is best.

[Old-Biscuit]

AGE?

If under 65 (no Medicare) then FL (escapees)

If OVER 65/have Medicare.......Many States have No State Income Tax
SD/TX are usual suspects
But Alaska, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming do not tax residents’ incomes. Additionally, residents of Tennessee and New Hampshire are only taxed on income earned from dividends.


GVW 54K....
Might need Non-Commercial CDL that would be dependent on State you choose. Just check their DMV website
43' may require one also

Insurance....
Way too many variables ---age, credit report, driving history, value of RV/Toad, coverage (if FT should have FTrs coverage---similar to S&B Coverage PLUS the auto part), deductible level etc

Yours would be different then Mine...

[wjohnson913]

The big 3 seem to be Florida, South Dakota and Texas. The license fees in Texas are less but they require annual or maybe every two years a vehicle inspection and for your coach a special drivers license.
We chose South Dakota because they are super easy to get licenses and to register to vote. Their fees seem very reasonable but coming from California even high fees would be a big savings.
Insurance costs went down a lot but again that was from crazy California rates.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by wjohnson913

The big 3 seem to be Florida, South Dakota and Texas. The license fees in Texas are less but they require annual or maybe every two years a vehicle inspection and for your coach a special drivers license.

You don't need annual inspections unless you spend more than 3 days in Texas. If you never go to Texas... no inspections. It's a simple short process. No big deal.

[JFXG]

Originally Posted by SharonandRoy

About to go Full-Time need to know what states offer the best for us. Costs such as, taxes, Insurance, Inspections, Drivers Licenses, Do I need a CDL. Good medical facilities etc and so on. We have a 43’ coach GVW 54,000lbs. We’re members of Escapees and plan on using their mail service. Just need to know what state is best.

What state is “best” depends on you. We can offer advice on the administrative factors, but other things are too personally variable.
We started fulltiming on retirement 9 years ago, when we were residents of North Carolina. I recall paying over $1K in pers property tax just on the coach that first year.
We became Texans the next year. Post above is accurate. Escapees is the group to tie up with. Excellent mail service, and they will readily advise and assist you in handling all the local legal/administrative tasks. DL, voter reg, etc. The only one that could take a little time might be the Texas handgun permit, if applicable, the LTC or CHL. You may see or hear both terms being used. You’ll have to take a class and then submit the paperwork. Depending on the class schedules and other factors it could move quite briskly, or take a while.
A couple of points of clarification.... your Texas driver license will need to be a Class B, non-commercial; Class B based on your weight over 26K Lbs, and the non-commercial because you’re operating your own private RV, not driving for hire. You’ll have to take a written test based on a part of the CDL manual (not difficult- they give you the study manual) and a driving test along a standard route around the town. Also not hard. Once you’re properly licensed in your domicile state (Texas) your license is valid in all 50 states.
Texas nominally requires a vehicle inspection annually in order to reregister. They also allow online registration, and if you’re out of state at the time you can hit a check box on the form to that effect, and the inspection is waived until you return. I’ve never seen a reference to a two year limit, or window of any sort. After we left Texas in 2013 we didn’t return for four years. No problem at all with the online registrations.
Texas has some very fine medical, but if you’re full timing you’ll be here, there, and everywhere. This is fine if you’re on Medicare with a Supplement plan, but if you rely on private insurance or ACA, only the PP (Preferred Provider) options will travel with you. (I think that’s still the correct term). Some state exchanges have NO private insurance options that will allow your coverage to travel. The good thing about these tech times is that about any fair sized medical center will be subscribed to My Chart. Once you have the app all the agencies will synch, and all your med people can talk across, records are easily transferrable, even appointment records and physicians’ notes. In 9 years full time we have had medical care- including cardiac, oncology, and surgical- in Raleigh, Georgetown TX, Seattle, Missoula, Cincinatti, Salt Lake, Myrtle Beach, and Boston. All these records transferred smoothly. I can check all these dates and records from my phone, and all the medicos can ref each other system.
If you select Texas as domicile, I’d suggest you plan to stop over in Livingston for several days or a week. Then you can enjoy personal assistance with all this from folks who handle it a thousand times a year!

Good Luck... John

[Barbaraok]

Originally Posted by wjohnson913

The big 3 seem to be Florida, South Dakota and Texas. The license fees in Texas are less but they require annual or maybe every two years a vehicle inspection and for your coach a special drivers license.
We chose South Dakota because they are super easy to get licenses and to register to vote. Their fees seem very reasonable but coming from California even high fees would be a big savings.
Insurance costs went down a lot but again that was from crazy California rates.

Once again, for the 1000th time, inspections aren't required IF YOU ARE OUT OF STATE. Driver's license upgrade, yes, but if one is driving a 54K GVW and can't pass that simple test then one should not be driving!

[momdoc]

For us Florida
No income tax
Low vehicle registration
No special driver's license
We use St. Branden's Isle out of Green Cove Springs.

[TXiceman]

I love it when people put up partial information and not the whole story. Barbaraok is spot on. And i agree 100% on the driver license requirements. If you can't pass the test, park it.

As for which state is best, it will not be the same for everyone. You need to talk to a tax accountant that look at your income, investments, age etc. Then you need to look at health coverage and other insurance to see how they figure in for you. Insurance is influenced by lots of factors, including credit rating.

Ken