Most states in the United States define “residency” based on a person’s “domicile.” Domicile, in general, is the place which an individual intends to be his or her permanent home and to which such individual intends to return whenever absent.
An individual can only have one domicile at a time. Once a person acquires a domicile, he/she retains that domicile until another is acquired. A change of domicile requires: 1) abandonment of a prior domicile, 2) physically moving to and residing in the new locality, and 3) intent to remain in the new locality permanently or indefinitely. If a person moves to a new location but intends to stay there only a limited time (no matter how long), their domicile does not change.
As indicated above, the location of a person’s domicile is dependent on a person’s intentions. Intent is a state of mind. A state of mind is difficult to prove. As a result, taxing authorities (and courts) look to a person's actions to determine their intent. Some of the factors that courts and taxing authorities look to include:
- Amount of time you spend in one location versus another
- Location of your spouse and children;
- Location of your principal residence;
- Where your driver’s license was issued;
- Where your vehicles are registered;
- Where you maintain your professional licenses;
- Where you are registered to vote;
- Location of the banks where you maintain accounts;
- Location of your doctors, dentists, accountants, and attorneys;
- Location of the church, temple or mosque, professional associations, or social and country clubs of which you are a member;
- Location of your real property and investments;
- Permanence of your work assignments in a location; and
- Location of your social ties.
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