Has any FTer here chosen Louisiana as their state of domicile?
Sushidog said
08:01 AM Aug 28, 2018
My DW and I am going FT the first of the year and have been considering TX as our state of Domicile. However I have been recently crunching the numbers and it looks like my current and long time state of residency of Louisiana makes more financial sense as my state of domicile during my retirement years. Is anyone else here domiciled in Louisiana? I am thinking about using a mail forwarding service in Bossier city, La because it is reasonable ($100/yr) offers great services if needed and this parrish has no smog check requirements as I have 2 older vehicles (a 1999 gasser motorhome and a toad with 400,000 miles).
We will pay no state income tax on our social security and small pension domiciled in Louisiana. My motor vehicle registration renewals, DL, etc. here are cheaper than TX too. My vehicle insurance rates here are a little higher than TX but not enough to offset the registration fees and the initial cost of transferring everything over to TX. Registration ans some DL renewals can be done online, I only need to return to louisiana every 2 years for a "brake tag" vehicle inspection. However I'm sure that if I am out of state and my brake tag expires that the other state won't cite me till I can return and have it renewed.
I don't have to concern myself with health insurance, as we are in good health for 62 yr olds (I just had my annual physical yesterday) will be going without health insurance during our "gap" years (can't afford it) till medicare kicks in at age 65, choosing to pay cash for any minor medical needs (possibly across the border in Mexico if needed) till we qualify for medicare. Anyway I don't want to make this thread about the wisdom of this decision. It is what it is.
I was just wondering if anyone else has chosen Louisiana as their domicile or possibly left louisiana for another state and why?
Thank you for your kind replies.
Chip
RonC said
11:49 AM Aug 28, 2018
FWIW .. we domicile in Texas because that's where we already were. Looks to me like you have thought it through pretty well. One size doesn't fit all and if Louisiana works for you, then go for it. Just because TX, SD and FL are the most popular, doesn't mean they are the best choice for all.
Sushidog said
04:41 PM Aug 28, 2018
Thanks for your response and support, Ron.
I hope I haven't left out anything in my considerations. I still have family in Louisiana, so we will be returning occasionally to visit when we can take care of vehicle inspections, vision tests for DL when we turn 70, etc.
Chip
Terry and Jo said
04:57 PM Aug 29, 2018
Chip,
The wife and I have recently domiciled back in Oklahoma. We have been retired for 4 years and have domiciled in Colorado and Oregon since then because we stayed over a year in both places. As far as insurance and tags were concerned, it was pretty much a wash between Oklahoma, Colorado and Oregon. However, in Oregon, they taxed our pensions, making it more expensive to domicile there, even though Oregon's tags were good for 2 year instead of just 1. When we moved to Utah, the wife looked into domiciling there, and Utah wanted to tax us on both our pensions and our Social Security retirement benefits. So, we are back to Oklahoma, which is where family is, so we would usually come back here occasionally anyway.
Sounds like you've done your research, and as long as there are no other issues in Louisiana, then you should be good to go. The only negative we have heard is that some states may "require" actual residence within the state to be able to vote. I seem to remember someone with Florida domicile telling us that because they are using a mail service, they can't vote in Florida.
On a side note, the wife and I recently made a trip to Sulphur, LA to deliver an embroidery machine that she sold on E-bay. It was cheaper to deliver it ourselves than to ship it otherwise. Besides, we got to go somewhere that we had never been before. However, we were absolutely shocked with the humidity down there. We thought Oklahoma was bad, but nothing compared to Louisiana.
Terry
LarryW21 said
05:33 PM Aug 29, 2018
A Sportsman’s Paradise!
Glenn West said
07:02 PM Aug 30, 2018
A swamp in most places. I working here now and do not like it.
Sushidog said
06:57 PM Aug 31, 2018
Terry and Jo, funny you mention Sulphur, as I'll be there Sunday evening and staying for a couple weeks opening a new store. I don't know about the voting, but the mail service offers a street address, not a P.O. Box, so I should be OK. Here's the mailing servive I'm considering using: ipostal1.com/virtual-mailing-address-plans-pricing.php We currently receive only 15-20 letters per month (mainly bills), and we'll be getting less bills and legal notices once we retire, so I think we'll start with their base, green plan for only $100/yr. and see how it goes.
It seems voting requirements are getting lax these days anyway, so I don't think I'll have too much trouble casting an absentee ballot, as we will have our new Louisiana street address on our DL, passport, etc.. I doubt our votes would change the outcome of a Louisiana election, anyway.
It is a sportsman's paradise alright, if you like hunting mosquitos. It's a target rich environment for sure.
The fishing is pretty good though, if you have time for it.
My DW and I am going FT the first of the year and have been considering TX as our state of Domicile. However I have been recently crunching the numbers and it looks like my current and long time state of residency of Louisiana makes more financial sense as my state of domicile during my retirement years. Is anyone else here domiciled in Louisiana? I am thinking about using a mail forwarding service in Bossier city, La because it is reasonable ($100/yr) offers great services if needed and this parrish has no smog check requirements as I have 2 older vehicles (a 1999 gasser motorhome and a toad with 400,000 miles).
We will pay no state income tax on our social security and small pension domiciled in Louisiana. My motor vehicle registration renewals, DL, etc. here are cheaper than TX too. My vehicle insurance rates here are a little higher than TX but not enough to offset the registration fees and the initial cost of transferring everything over to TX. Registration ans some DL renewals can be done online, I only need to return to louisiana every 2 years for a "brake tag" vehicle inspection. However I'm sure that if I am out of state and my brake tag expires that the other state won't cite me till I can return and have it renewed.
I don't have to concern myself with health insurance, as we are in good health for 62 yr olds (I just had my annual physical yesterday) will be going without health insurance during our "gap" years (can't afford it) till medicare kicks in at age 65, choosing to pay cash for any minor medical needs (possibly across the border in Mexico if needed) till we qualify for medicare. Anyway I don't want to make this thread about the wisdom of this decision. It is what it is.
I was just wondering if anyone else has chosen Louisiana as their domicile or possibly left louisiana for another state and why?
Thank you for your kind replies.
Chip
I hope I haven't left out anything in my considerations. I still have family in Louisiana, so we will be returning occasionally to visit when we can take care of vehicle inspections, vision tests for DL when we turn 70, etc.
Chip
Chip,
The wife and I have recently domiciled back in Oklahoma. We have been retired for 4 years and have domiciled in Colorado and Oregon since then because we stayed over a year in both places. As far as insurance and tags were concerned, it was pretty much a wash between Oklahoma, Colorado and Oregon. However, in Oregon, they taxed our pensions, making it more expensive to domicile there, even though Oregon's tags were good for 2 year instead of just 1. When we moved to Utah, the wife looked into domiciling there, and Utah wanted to tax us on both our pensions and our Social Security retirement benefits. So, we are back to Oklahoma, which is where family is, so we would usually come back here occasionally anyway.
Sounds like you've done your research, and as long as there are no other issues in Louisiana, then you should be good to go. The only negative we have heard is that some states may "require" actual residence within the state to be able to vote. I seem to remember someone with Florida domicile telling us that because they are using a mail service, they can't vote in Florida.
On a side note, the wife and I recently made a trip to Sulphur, LA to deliver an embroidery machine that she sold on E-bay. It was cheaper to deliver it ourselves than to ship it otherwise. Besides, we got to go somewhere that we had never been before. However, we were absolutely shocked with the humidity down there. We thought Oklahoma was bad, but nothing compared to Louisiana.
Terry
It seems voting requirements are getting lax these days anyway, so I don't think I'll have too much trouble casting an absentee ballot, as we will have our new Louisiana street address on our DL, passport, etc.. I doubt our votes would change the outcome of a Louisiana election, anyway.
It is a sportsman's paradise alright, if you like hunting mosquitos. It's a target rich environment for sure.
The fishing is pretty good though, if you have time for it.
Chip