What’re the ramifications of getting a drivers lic. in adifferent state?

December 12, 2023 9:16 PM

YANML. My wife and I own houses in two different states. Neither state collects income taxes. Property taxes on the house in state A are FOUR TIMES what they are on the house in state B, despite their values being very similar. State A offers property tax breaks for owner/residents, and require a drivers license in that state to qualify. Since I’m splitting my time between the two residences, I’m considering surrendering my state B drivers license and getting one in state A. I’m wondering if there are reasons NOT to do this…?

One cannot legally hold drivers licenses in more than one state. State B offers no similar tax exemptions. State A may require ‘6 mos. + 1 day’ residence in order to get the exemption, which i will likely satisfy. In the near term, my wife will spend less time in state A than I will. I know my voting state would change to state A and am fine with that. We have automobiles and auto insurance (and homeowners insurance) in both states. What am I not considering?

posted by carterk to Law & Government (5 answers total)

You'd better closely scrutinize the conditions of that tax break (sounds like you're not entirely sure what they are?). It might, for instance, only be available if all owners are residents of the state, so if your wife is on the deed, or it's a tenancy of the entirety, you might not qualify.

If you are older and your wife remains a resident of state B, there may be different rules applying to Medicaid eligibility for each of you should you need it to pay for long-term care, and that may affect whether the state will attempt to recover costs of care from your estate, e.g., your house.

There will also generally be different rules for different social services, but perhaps you're not anticipating needing TANF or the like.
posted by praemunire at 10:41 PM on December 12, 2023 [5 favorites]

These are probably fair afield, but probate/estate laws (and taxes) and divorce laws may be different between the two states.
posted by Mid at 5:12 AM on December 13, 2023

Consider where you prefer to vote. Where you pay majority taxes, driver's license, etc can come into play if your vote is ever challenged.
posted by beaning at 5:47 AM on December 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

This is usually not a problem, but you should check with your employers that it would be okay and manageable if your payroll tax residence changes to the other state.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:03 AM on December 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

One more thing (probably): where you get called for jury duty.
posted by advil at 9:47 AM on December 13, 2023 [3 favorites]