First timer with a mail and tax question.

[Fisk33]

First of all, I just want to say hello to everyone.  My wife and I are about six weeks away from going full time in a motorhome.  It's been a long journey to get here and we're both excited.  I haven't started the Escapees mail service yet, but we're going to in the next week or so.  My question is about S. Dakota residency, timing, and sales tax (not income tax).   Here's my situation:

We're listing our house for sale in a few days.  If it sells as fast as all the others around here, we'll close by the end of November.  We're moving into our class C motorhome until we can buy a big class A with the profit from selling the house.  Within a week or two of closing, we plan on making the switch.   I looked into doing the LLC from Montana but decided it's too borderline illegal for us.  But my question is about SD sales tax and when I would be eligible to list my home as SD instead of where we're living now (Indiana).  The difference in sales tax would be about 5k.  If I joined Escapees now, and got my address, would that be enough to use it when we go into the dealership and do all the paperwork, including a loan for the balance?   Or would I need to go to SD and get my drivers license before I'm officially a SD resident?  I'm going to register the motorhome and both cars in SD anyway, I might as well purchase the motorhome with SD residency and save the money if I can.  Anything wrong with what I'm planning?  

Thanks.

[Danfreda1]

We had our South Dakota address before we sold our home in Illinois. We also ordered our kenworth and new horizon and then got our drivers license in South Dakota. Bought the truck in tn and the fiver in ks and payed sales tax in South Dakota. I would get on the South Dakota address now not in a week or so. 

[Kirk W]

5 hours ago, Fisk33 said:

If I joined Escapees now, and got my address, would that be enough to use it when we go into the dealership and do all the paperwork, including a loan for the balance?   Or would I need to go to SD and get my drivers license before I'm officially a SD resident?  I'm going to register the motorhome and both cars in SD anyway, I might as well purchase the motorhome with SD residency and save the money if I can.  Anything wrong with what I'm planning?  

Legally speaking, vehicles must be registered and taxes paid in the state where they are garaged. As long as you will be parking them in Indiana and living there, by the letter of the law you would pay the tax and register there but it is very possible that you would not be caught. Legally you are not a resident of SD just by getting a mailing address there but you probably won't have an issue from that as long as you aren't in Indiana for too long. The issue of taxes that might be due on the sale of the house is a very different issue. Single homeowners can exclude up to $250,000 of the profit from the sale of their primary residence from capital gains tax, and this exclusion doubles to $500,000 for married couples filing jointly, under the federal income tax laws, provided it has been your primary residence for at least two of the past five years. If there are state taxes involved, that would be based on Indiana tax laws. Unlike the federal government, Indiana makes no distinction between short-term and long-term capital gains – or even between capital gains and ordinary income. Instead, it taxes all capital gains as ordinary income, using the same rates and brackets as the regular state income tax. Since the house is in Indiana and the sales transaction takes place there, I believe that you will be subject to Indiana tax law. It might pay you to consult either a local CPA or possibly a tax attorney. 

[Fisk33]

Kirk W, thanks for the detailed reply.  I appreciate you taking the time to help me.   You said that legally, just getting a mailbox in SD doesn't make me a resident.  That makes sense, but what does make me a resident?  Do I need a DL also?   Once we close on the house, we'll have our SD address and we're taking off for Tx for a week and then over to Florida for four months.  After that, who knows.  We wont be back in Indiana until next summer.  So once we close on the house, I would think we could go to a dealership and get a loan using the SD address.   At least, that's my thinking.