Establishing Your Florida Domicile and Tracking Residency

Posted on 6/14/2018

Ahh, The Sunshine State. Florida has warm weather, great beaches, interesting people, and lots of birds – “snowbirds” that is. And yes, I mean the human snowbirds that are getting away from the cold of the North and migrating their life down to warmer climates.

More and more people are considering buying a home in Florida and getting out of their current state. I mean can you really blame them? On top of all those great things I listed above, Florida is a great spot to retire for financial reasons as well, namely the income tax and estate tax. Or should I say lack thereof?

I’m going to take a shot in the dark here. If you’re coming to this blog and researching Florida domicile info, you probably already knew about the financial benefits. Am I right?! Well, let’s get you started on your journey to domiciling in Florida and becoming a resident.

A couple of things to know before we get to the list. First, you can have multiple residences but only one domicile. Your domicile is the residence that you intend to make your permanent home. This will be where you call home, your other residences will be for visits and vacations. Second, establishing a Florida domicile is not an unambiguous process. There are several factors, some more significant than others but all can play a role. Additionally, and probably more importantly, Florida is only one side of the story. You’ll also need to thoroughly review how to revoke and avoid residency in your former state. This part will be as clear as mud. And, unfortunately, where most of the financial consequence will lie. Now, without further ado, let's review the list.  

• Probably the most obvious but just to be thorough – own or rent a home in Florida.

• Get a Florida Driver’s License or ID. This is not just a good idea for helping establish your domicile but it’s also a legal requirement. It’s fairly straightforward to transfer an existing license or apply for a new ID. See the information from the DMV for Driver's License or REAL ID.

• Update your insurance and then register your car with Florida. In order to register your car, again required by Florida law, you will first need to obtain your Florida Driver’s License, update your insurance, and visit an authorized agent to have a VIN and Odometer inspection. Once all of that is done, you can visit your DMV to complete the registration. See more information here.

• Revoke your voter registration from your prior state and register to vote in Florida. You’ll need to fill out a Florida Voter Registration Application and either mail it in or return it to your local office. Yup, that’s right, another stop at the DMV!

• Submit your information to the office of the clerk to declare your Florida domicile, see instructions related to statute 222.17. St. Brendan’s Isle has provided a really nice form with instructions which can be found here. You can find your clerk of court here.

• If you are a homeowner as of the first of the year, you should file for a Florida Homestead Exemption. There are several other things to check for in order to confirm you qualify. However, if you do, the Homestead Exemption is helpful in establishing your domicile and also provides a lot of other great benefits. You can see an overview of how to qualify and file on wikiHow.

• Settle into your new place. Get involved in the community. Find new doctors, lawyers, accountants, dentist, and other professionals in Florida. Move your security deposit box. Vote in the elections (but don’t get overzealous, just once per election).

• Once you have found your new attorney, update your estate plan. Florida has no estate tax but it does have some unique rules. You should review your plan with your new attorney and make the necessary updates to ensure it works in Florida as you had intended.

• Spend your time in Florida! Spend more time here and less time at your old, now second, home. Keep track of where you spend your days throughout the year (I’ve heard of a cool app called TaxBird that is great for this!) and try to stay in Florida as much as possible.

• Review all of your personal accounts and update your mailing addresses to your new home. Importantly, your national address record, bank and brokerage accounts, health insurance, workplace records, etc.

This list is not all-inclusive, but it is fairly thorough and a great start to your process. For a more thorough guide to establishing your Florida domicile, I suggest reading The Florida Domicile Handbook.

One last recommendation is that you pull from the experience and expertise of all the people that you’ll interact with as you go through the steps above. After all, they’re helping people who are in your shoes on a daily basis, so they’ll be a great resource – especially your new attorney and accountant.

Final step - kick back and relax on the beach as Florida’s newest resident!

Questions, comments, feedback? Please contact jared@ware2now.com.