By Katrina, on February 12th, 2007%
Thanks to the Internet, email, online banking, and online tax filing, we are closer to a paperless world than ever before though it will never be 100% paperless. Snail mail will continue to exist if only for packages and junk mail. Like it or not, you still need a way for snail mail to get to you. For RVers, just a post office box or a private mail box will not do because you need the mail to get to where you are now, not where you will be in 6 months. If you are a full-time RVer, you also need an address to establish residency.
You can use family and friends for mail forwarding and even an address but remember they have lots of other things going on in their lives and some of those things, believe it or not, are more important than your mail. I do not recommend using this method for more than a month now and then.
Professional mailing services are the best choice. Depending on how much mail you get, there are several levels provided by most services along with additional services such as registering vehicles for you, receiving legal notices, faxing, free internet in their office when in town, providing your location to friends and family with your permission, etc.
The best service for you depends on A) your residency choice, B) how much mail you get, C) price, D) extras provided with each plan, E) miscellaneous such as the wheel tax in some South Dakota counties which does not apply in others according to where your mail service is.
Continue reading Mailing Services for RVers
By Katrina, on February 12th, 2007%
If you are going to be a full-time RVer, this is a question you will have to answer sooner or later. As much as we would like to be gypsies and say our home is where our rig is, the realities of life, laws, insurance, taxes, etc. demand that we declare a particular address as our home. How you choose what state and address depends on a lot of different things and does involve state laws so what anyone tells you to do should be well investigated and should take your own specific situation into account. Seeing a lawyer wouldn’t hurt either.
If you are getting a pension from a job, be aware that changing your state of residence may have no affect on paying taxes on it. Also, if you plan to spend the bulk of your time in one state, you should check their residency and vehicle laws. They may be able to claim you as a resident and that may very well be OK by you if you don’t travel a lot. Each state has their own definition of what makes you a resident so be careful and know the law. Every state has their laws posted on their site on the Internet so Google away.
Most full-timers choose from 3 particular states to reside in; Texas, Florida, and South Dakota. Why those states out of so many others? Because those 3 have no state income tax. Why not Washington state which has no income tax? Because the other 3 have no income tax, no state inheritance tax, no personal property tax, reasonable sales taxes, low insurance rates, low vehicle registration fees, you can become a resident by mail (car tags, mailing services, *voting) and slight differences between them that will make at least one of them right for you.
Continue reading Where Is My Home?
