Moving out of NJ...legal obligations for my handguns??

[GRIZ 3,369]

You can't be a US citizen without a state of residence is my point. And yes, NJ is ridiculous but this is bigger than NJ.

 

There are hundreds of thousands of US citizens living out of the US that legally have no state of residency. They are residents wherever they live and if they stay out of the US (10 months I believe) they are not subject to paying US Federal Income Tax. These rules don't apply to US citizens (USC) working in Bermuda. More on that later. Permanent residency is very difficult to get and Bermudian citizenship is almost impossible.

 

It seems to me that by changing all your stuff to another NJ address you've chosen to be counted as a NJ resident. The first thing you need to do is get a Bermudian Drivers License to not only establish your residence but also to comply with the law in Bermuda. If you sold your residence in NJ you need to pay the exit tax to terminate your NJ residency. You are already paying the same taxes in Bermuda a citizen there pays. No income tax but payroll tax and taxes on just about everything.

 

You need to file a Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (form 2555) with IRS. This allows you to exempt a portion of your income (up to a limit) to compensate you due to the higher cost of living in Bermuda. If you choose to keep "NJ residency" you may get a credit for payment to other jurisdictions. You need to talk with an accountant or lawyer familiar with all of NJ tax law as your situation is not that common.

 

There are too many questions for a layman to answer here. However this is a situation where a lease with your friend for storing your safe might help. You don't reside there and there is no law that prohibits someone who is not a NJ resident from storing guns at property "owned or leased" by them. The guns are in a safe your friend has no access to so there is no transfer.

[Newtonian 453]

I'm curious as to why you didn't pick a state with no income tax?   Establish your residency in NH and they can't get anything from you.  The Feds on the other hand will but there's no escaping them.

Can't get anything from you except sky-high property taxes.

[mikelets456 78]

There is a Flight Tax when you sell your NJ home that you don't get back without buying another home in NJ I think. Then you have to pay a toll to leave if you head west, but they just wish you luck if you are heading north and hoping to make it to one of the few free states up there.

Kind of true. When we moved out of NJ, I feared that, but since we lived there more than 8 years we did not have to pay the dreaded "exit tax". However, people that have lived their less than 8 years or sell Eire vacation/investment home did have to pay this tax.

 

Keep in mind when we moved to PA there was some sort of "moving" tax instituted by the state of PA that is split with the owner...and it wasn't cheap.

 

Btw, the nice thing about PA is the 3.01% income tax! dirt cheap car insurance and inexpensive private schooling. Compared to the 8% income tax I paid on NJ, 6k for car insurance and double the cost for private schooling makes a huge difference.

[RS1200XL 4]

Can't get anything from you except sky-high property taxes.

 

 

If you live in a built up area with a great school system, yes taxes are high.  If you live in an area with few services your taxes are pretty low.  If you have kids you're going to want to pay the higher taxes. 

[Heavyopp 167]

Can't get anything from you except sky-high property taxes.

NH isn't the cheapest state for property taxes but they are cheaper than here --  I have 51 acres, just land in Warner NH --  Property taxes on just the land are a dinner out -- This year $112 -- They where higher a few years ago but believe it or not, when real estate crashed the taxes went DOWN -- It was only a few dollars but they went down

 

My taxes will climb when I put a house there -- I figure, with a moderately sized home -- $5000 to $7000 

 

Still beats the pants off the $12,000 here for a 70 year old home with 1 full bath 

[Newtonian 453]

NH isn't the cheapest state for property taxes but they are cheaper than here --  I have 51 acres, just land in Warner NH --  Property taxes on just the land are a dinner out -- This year $112 -- They where higher a few years ago but believe it or not, when real estate crashed the taxes went DOWN -- It was only a few dollars but they went down

 

My taxes will climb when I put a house there -- I figure, with a moderately sized home -- $5000 to $7000 

 

Still beats the pants off the $12,000 here for a 70 year old home with 1 full bath 

When I lived up there, in 1977-79, NH had the reputation for being a low-tax state. It still has no income tax, I believe. But the influx of refugees from Taxachusetts changed the demographic, particularly in southern NH. Over time the distinction between "good" and "bad" schools, adequate and inadequate services, mostly a result of individuals migrating from the nanny-state to the south, forced NH to obtain its revenues from property taxes. (My profs.' kids all went to those "bad" schools, by the way, and turned out fine). 

 

The difference is no more evident than in Portsmouth. Back in my youth that burg was seedy and needy. Today it's a tourist trap.  

 

Regardless, you're right. I'd move back in a heartbeat, were it not for heavy family responsibilities down here. 

[ryan_j 0]

There are hundreds of thousands of US citizens living out of the US that legally have no state of residency. They are residents wherever they live and if they stay out of the US (10 months I believe) they are not subject to paying US Federal Income Tax. These rules don't apply to US citizens (USC) working in Bermuda. More on that later. Permanent residency is very difficult to get and Bermudian citizenship is almost impossible.

 

You're talking about the foreign earned income exclusion. This has nothing to do with state of residency, which is usually the last state you lived in on US soil, or in the case of being born abroad, the state in which your parents lived in at the time.

 

And regarding the FEIC, you still need to file a tax return. All US citizens and permanent residents need to file one regardless of where they live. States require it too.

 

http://www.taxesforexpats.com/articles/expat-tax-rules/state-taxes-expat-tax-return.html

[ryan_j 0]

NH isn't the cheapest state for property taxes but they are cheaper than here --  I have 51 acres, just land in Warner NH --  Property taxes on just the land are a dinner out -- This year $112 -- They where higher a few years ago but believe it or not, when real estate crashed the taxes went DOWN -- It was only a few dollars but they went down

 

My taxes will climb when I put a house there -- I figure, with a moderately sized home -- $5000 to $7000 

 

Still beats the pants off the $12,000 here for a 70 year old home with 1 full bath 

 

I live in Sussex county NJ and when the housing market went in the crapper, they reassessed several areas in town. My home was severely overvalued and my assessment went down a couple hundred grand. I now pay $8000 in taxes where I was paying $10,000+. This is a direct result of an overwhelming amount of tax appeals that people filed.

[oneshot 45]

DO NOT MOVE TO THR RUTLAND AREA !!! NEAR KILLINGTON.

 My gf lives in Rutland and it has turned into gang land. Dirve bys, car jacking ,armed robbery on a daily basis.

But as was said before you need to do nothing but move your belongings. No FID ,no permits, nuttin nada zilch.

  However they have no castle doctrine per say

[71ragtopgoat 23]

DO NOT MOVE TO THR RUTLAND AREA !!! NEAR KILLINGTON.

 My gf lives in Rutland and it has turned into gang land. Dirve bys, car jacking ,armed robbery on a daily basis.

But as was said before you need to do nothing but move your belongings. No FID ,no permits, nuttin nada zilch.

  However they have no castle doctrine per say

Amazing what areas of this country are turning to crap. I watched rural areas of PA turn to blight in the last 20 years. Places I thought would never change because they were so out of the way.

 Cheap homes and a bus line was all that were needed to flush them.

[GRIZ 3,369]

You're talking about the foreign earned income exclusion. This has nothing to do with state of residency, which is usually the last state you lived in on US soil, or in the case of being born abroad, the state in which your parents lived in at the time.

 

And regarding the FEIC, you still need to file a tax return. All US citizens and permanent residents need to file one regardless of where they live. States require it too.

 

http://www.taxesforexpats.com/articles/expat-tax-rules/state-taxes-expat-tax-return.html

I never said the Fed requirements have anything to do with state taxes or said you didn't have to file a Federal return. US Taxation for expats in Bermuda is different as you can work there for 20 years but not considered a resident as you would in most other countries. The form I mentioned has to do with exempting a portion of your income on your US taxes to offset the high cost of living. Bermuda is in the top 10 (maybe 5) most expensive places in the world to live. Depending on several factors you can work overseas and pay no taxes.

 

Your link shows states look at it differently when you leave the country. As I said before and is said in your link if you want to avoid a state's income tax you need to sever all ties to that state including mailing address, drivers license, FID, etc. That the OP has not done. The OP stated he's left NJ and has no intention to return but maintains all these ties.

 

For the average person there is nothing that says you can't maintain US Citizenship, reside overseas, and not be a resident of any state in the US.