29 Aug If I domicile in Florida, can I keep my boats registered in N.J.?

Q. This October we will be heading to Florida and filling out paperwork to establish Florida as our domicile. We own a home and will change car registration to Florida. We will be spending at least 6.5 months in Florida before returning to New Jersey. My question: Can I keep my boats registered in New Jersey?
— Skipper

A. This is a great question.

When it comes to establishing your domicile, you don’t want to mess up.

It’s important to understand the difference between residency and domicile. Domicile requires physical presence in the state with the intent to make that state your fixed or permanent home, and residency is based on time spent in a state.

That’s where the magic number of 183 days comes in.

There are steps you should take to declare permanent residency in Florida, said Ken Bagner, a certified public accountant with CLA in Livingston.

“These are some, not all, relevant steps that should be considered to establish intent,” he said. “You can keep your boats registered if you want in New Jersey but I would recommend moving as much as possible to Florida to show intent that you really changed your domicile and that would be a fact against changing domicile.”

Your boats alone may not be an overriding factor, he said, so it’s important to take other steps.

Bagner said you should file a formal declaration of domicile pursuant to Florida law that is recorded in the public records of the Florida county you live.

“You file a Declaration of Domicile in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court in which you intend to reside,” he said. “You may download the declaration from your Florida County’s website. The counties require notarization.”

Then, Bagner said, you should:

• Update your estate planning documents to comply with Florida law.
• Obtain proof of voter registration in Florida matching the address you reside.
• Obtain a valid Florida driver’s license and relinquishment your driver’s license from New Jersey.
• List your Florida address on your federal income tax returns.
• Establish a banking relationship in Florida.
• Obtain Florida license tags on any motor vehicle you own.
• Purchase a home in Florida instead of renting one.
• Establish accounts for utilities at the property for which permanent residency is being claimed.
• Spend a significantly greater portion of each year in Florida; that is, be physically present a majority of the time.
• Do not spend more than 182 nights in New Jersey in a calendar year.
• Establish a place of employment in Florida.
• Establish a relationship with a physician and have medical records transferred.
• Dispose of any home in New Jersey (or transfer title to a Florida limited liability company). You may want to consider with your attorney whether the New Jersey properties you own should be transferred to a Florida Limited Liability Company, he said.

Bagner said taking these actions will have a bearing on the intent to reside permanently in Florida and ultimately, it is up to the taxpayer to show proof they are no longer a resident of New Jersey.

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This story was originally published on Aug. 29, 2023.

NJMoneyHelp.com presents certain general financial planning principles and advice, but should never be viewed as a substitute for obtaining advice from a personal professional advisor who understands your unique individual circumstances.