Mailbox Services - Updates?

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

2 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I may be moving to Texas and I am 65.  I recall reading about exemptions but I seem to remember the exemptions can vary by country.  Do you have any good links for more info?

There are a few property tax exemptions and amounts that are mandated by Texas state statutes, but the Texas state statutes give counties and cities the option to give larger amounts.

Unfortunately, I had to really dig in order to figure out the actual property taxes I might pay if I bought a house in one of the cities which is at the top of my list, El Paso.

Here's a link that shows the exemptions amounts for entities within the El Paso Appraisal District:

https://epcadrepository.blob.core.windows.net/documents/Entities_Exmptions_List_Jan_2018_03_22_2018.pdf

If one is trying to figure out the actual property tax one might pay for a house in a specific place, it's necessary to use the levy amount and exemption amount for the county, city, school district, and special district (water or sewer district, etc.)

I actually built a Google sheet for several example houses in the City of El Paso in order to figure it all out, which I verified against the public amounts shown on the EL Paso Appraisal District website to make sure I was right, which included the exemptions for which I would qualify.

If you're a Google guy, I'd be happy to share that Google Sheet, which would make it easy to understand how it all works in El Paso

[OnMyWay]

6 minutes ago, Gentleman.Jack.Darby said:

If you're a Google guy, I'd be happy to share that Google Sheet, which would make it easy to understand how it all works in El Paso

Yes, I would love to check it out.  Will PM you.

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

13 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

Yes, I would love to check it out.  Will PM you.

No need to PM.

I'll post the Google object link here once I make a copy and set privileges.

Others may be interested down the road.

[OnMyWay]

16 minutes ago, Gentleman.Jack.Darby said:

No need to PM.

I'll post the Google object link here once I make a copy and set privileges.

Others may be interested down the road.

I hit you up with a few questions specific to my situation in my PM.  

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

3 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I hit you up with a few questions specific to my situation in my PM.  

OK, I'll check that shortly.

Here's a public link to the Google sheet; anyone with the link can access the file.

Fields in pale blue can be changed to see the effect of a change in tax rate.

Any field that requires a note, explanation, or has links to authoritative sources has a small triangle in the upper right corner and will be visible by hovering the mouse pointer on it.

The privileges are set to "commentator" so I'd appreciate any comments, good or bad, or suggestions for improvement. I don't get butthurt, so if I've f--ked up, let me know so that I can fix it or improve it.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18E03tMyNVWs8tyabzEAjv6dU4Z9Jn9AJ319W-0UQfHM/edit?usp=sharing

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

I hit you up with a few questions specific to my situation in my PM.  

I just followed up to your PM

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

4 hours ago, HappyJack said:

Interesting stuff, thanks.  I have been living in the Philippines full time for 10 years using my sisters house in NY to get mail.  The house is sold and she is moving out of state so I guess I am "moving" too.  I will most likely end up with a Florida or N. Carolina address and drivers license.    Will I be considered a resident of my new address if I am living in the Philippines?  Can NY still  consider me a resident and try to collect taxes from me if I have no address and don't really reside there?  All interesting questions that I guess need to be answered.

The best way to change one's legal domicile and/or state of residence is to DO affirmative things, i.e, to take actions to sever ties with one's old state and to take actions to establish ties with one's new state.

NY, along with California, is notorious, at least among CPAs doing tax work, for chasing (former) residents that still have any ties, no matter how weak or nebulous, to NY and California and who have made no demonstrable effort to sever those ties or who spend more than a "minimal" time (NY's definition) in the state.

When it comes to state income tax, many states use not only a physical presence test to determine if one is a resident subject to state income tax, but also a legal domicile test, i.e., the place to which one intends to return, at some point, however indeterminate, in the future. For example, military service members usually have many residences over time, but only one legal domicile, usually the place in which they grew up or were living when they joined the military.

As far as NY is concerned, it's likely that they consider you a resident, at least for tax purposes, because you have an address in the state and likely a driver's license. Residence is also established by, for example, being registered to vote in NY, having bank accounts or personal property such as a safe deposit box or a storage unit in NY, having a will, healthcare power-of-attorney, general power-of-attorney or professional license in NY. Those are the things, in additional to physical presence, that states, especially tax hungry ones, use in an attempt to establish that a person is a resident or otherwise subject to their taxing authority. And by the way, issues of who and who isn't subject to a specific state's taxing authority is determined by that state's courts, up to an including the state supreme court. Not really an independent party in my view.

It's best to take positive steps to sever one's residence in a specific state, such as physically staying out of that state, selling any real property one owns in that state, ensuring that one's personal property is moved from that state, possibly selling one's business or interest in a business located in that state or at least not actively managing that business, etc. and filing the appropriate form with state taxing authorities telling them one has left the state and established legal domicile and/or residency in another state.

As well, one should take positive steps to establish residence in one's new state: buying real property or entering a lease or other agreement for an apartment or other living quarters, setting up or sharing with someone else household utility accounts, opening new or moving existing bank accounts to one's new state, registering to vote, updating one's address with the IRS and other federal entities with an address in the new state, establishing relationships with doctors and other healthcare providers as well as other professionals such as attorneys and accountants, join a new church, have new wills and powers of attorneys drawn up in the new state, etc.

It's really important to be able to prove to one's old tax hungry state that one has completely severed ties with them and are a bona-fide resident or have established legal domicile in one's new, tax-friendly state.