Many American residents that live in the northeastern part of the country own a second vacation home in a southern state like here in Florida. People whom prefer to spend their winter months in an area that has the best year-round weather in the country. Some of those, what people call “snowbirds,” begin to realize just how nice it is here in Florida and think about moving into their vacation home permanently.
The Pros and Cons of a Permanent Move to Florida
There is a reason so many people are choosing to live in Florida full-time, especially in the last few months. Let’s take a look at the Pros of making Florida your permanent home and the few cons.
Pros
Tax Benefits
The biggest attraction of people making an exodus out of the Northeast is the cost of living and a big contributing factor in that cost of living is the taxes. Florida is a zero tax state, something not many other states offer. Adding SALT (state and local income tax deduction) caps recently put into place by the current president, it is an even bigger deduction in living expenses.
Real Estate Costs Less
In general, most of the real estate in Florida will give you more bang for your buck than the major metropolitan areas in the North. You could sell your house up north and afford to purchase one even nicer here in Florida. A dream home, in a dream location, don’t forget about the mostly dreamy weather, that you will want to live in forever.
The Cons
Higher tax states have put retirees moving from the state under scrutiny, especially since the recent seemingly mass exodus of New Yorkers to the Florida sunshine. Expect to undergo some heightened checks into your intentions to move to Florida, especially if you are retiring here. They are checking to make sure you are not playing the tax system and still plan to live in a Northern state while pretending your main home is in Florida.
There are some trade-offs you may have to make for claiming Florida as you primary place of residence, especially if you intend to hold on to your first residence and count it as your second.
You will:
Attract non-residential state taxes in some areas and forfeit other tax benefits of owning a primary residence in that state
If you keep your job up north and most of your income comes from your new secondary home, you may have a higher chance at being audited
Need to notify the correct agencies of your change in permanent residence the minute you make it to avoid any consequences. Things that will help to prove you really are moving to Florida include getting a new driver’s license, register to vote in Florida, register your vehicles in Florida, etc. Make sure you spend at least 183 living in Florida.
If you are considering a permanent move to Florida and are looking for a home on the forgotten coast to spend most of your time, please contact us any time.
