# Us address?



## chulor (Aug 19, 2013)

I'm already a MX Permanente, I have 2 questions:
If I totally give up my US residence and have no US Address, (or friends/family to use)

-What state do I pay my taxes in, have for my US bank address, Social Security and things
tied to?

-And with my new Medicare, I also need a US Address in case I needed to come back to use my Medicare, establish a primary care Dr, etc.

(I do have my Handy Mail PO Box, routed thru Texas, but I know that can't be used for these things)

Thank You

chulor


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chulor said:


> I'm already a MX Permanente, I have 2 questions:
> If I totally give up my US residence and have no US Address, (or friends/family to use)
> 
> -What state do I pay my taxes in, have for my US bank address, Social Security and things
> ...


You can use your Mexican address on the IRS tax returns. You can vote in the last place where you lived. I tried changing some US bank account addresses to Mexico and found that it caused lots of problems. There were features of the online banking that were not available, so I went back to using my son's address. I don't have a suggestion for an alternative if you have no friends or family that are trustworthy in the US. Maybe it would not be an issue for you to use your Mexican Address. For Social Security/Medicare you can use your Mexican address. However, I don't know how that would impact using Medicare benefits.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

chulor said:


> I'm already a MX Permanente, I have 2 questions:
> If I totally give up my US residence and have no US Address, (or friends/family to use)
> 
> -What state do I pay my taxes in, have for my US bank address, Social Security and things
> ...


Responses are in bold underlined, within your quote.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

TundraGreen said:


> I tried changing some US bank account addresses to Mexico and found that it caused lots of problems.


I have a debit and a credit card at Bank of American both with my Mexican address. They mail new cards to this address. This attitude of BofA has changed to my benefit in the last ten years. I don't know if it was because many of their customers live in Mexico or the increase in the account balance.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

RVGRINGO said:


> You will not pay any state taxes, since you are not residing in any US state.


This is not always correct. The correct answer depends on your last state of residence.

Where is your US house?


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## gairloch (Jun 24, 2011)

Not Paying State Tax.
Some states are do not care, they say once you leave to become resident elsewhere you do not owe tax.
Some states do not pursue. And some state pursue you. Nevertheless, if you become a resident of another country with the full intention of staying there and with no intent to return, you can safely pay your last state tax and then stop (just like anyone else who left). I came from Virginia (they pursue), but in reviewing the outcomes and cases of the State Tax Comm, I found that if you take the proper steps you CAN stop paying state tax. So if you come from a state that pursues, just be sure of your intent; be ready to prove it i.e resident permit, banks accts, housing, schools, bank accts, driver lic, etc... AND able to show that you have severed links to your last state. Be aware some state like VA will cancel your DL if you tell them you have left...
Of course you could have changed it to TX before you left...


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Medicare: Part A is permanent, but can only be used in the U.S. It comes at no extra charge with SS. Part B; only usable in the U.S. It's optional, and has a monthly cost. If you drop it, you can re-up it with a stiff penalty in case you return to the U.S. and want to use it. The SSA doesn't care what address you use, or where you want your checks sent. Mine is direct deposited to a Mexican bank. They send their annual "are you still alive" letter to my Mexican home.

If you go to the website for American Citizens Abroad, you can find answers on how to conduct all your business using your Mexican address. That includes banking; credit cards, etc.

State tax information depends on your state. I vote from here using my last state of residence. When a "jury duty" notice arrived, I just sent them the info. about being an expat living in Mexico. No problem.

I have a Texas mail drop address, but when I tried to order some U.S. stamps, I discovered that the government is "onto" that and won't ship to it. No surprise there. Otherwise, I receive most of my mail there, forwarded to a local mailbox in my town.

One suggestion, if it's not too late already: If you bring your car into Mexico initially, get a "certificate of non-operation" from your local state Dept. of Motor Vehicles. This can be done by mail. Then, when you sell the car, you won't be hit with past years' license fees plus penalties. (If you decide to go "Permanente", you will be obliged to sell the U.S. plated car.)

Best of luck and welcome.


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## chulor (Aug 19, 2013)

How do you vote in the last state you lived in or get jury notice there? Is it thru your friend/relative's address? And do you keep an active dr license there?
thanks


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

chulor said:


> How do you vote in the last state you lived in or get jury notice there? Is it thru your friend/relative's address? And do you keep an active dr license there?
> thanks


Unless you get a Mexican driver's license you will have to return to renew it after one online renewal. At least that is Texas law. You can also vote as an absentee like our military does.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

chulor said:


> How do you vote in the last state you lived in or get jury notice there? Is it thru your friend/relative's address? And do you keep an active dr license there?
> thanks


I am not 100% certain about the first question, but I think I went to the folks at the Lake Chapala Society who were taking care of voting from abroad and the ballot probably came to my Texas P.O. Box. This has been over a dozen years ago. Once, I got a jury notice in that mail. Haven't had one since. I won't use someone else's address because I like to keep things simple. YMMV.

Since I have only returned to CA once in those years for a funeral and flew in at the time, I have no need to maintain a CA drivers license. I have a Jalisco, MX plated car and Jalisco drivers license.

My husband and I moved here and planted both feet firmly in Mexico for the long run. Our offspring know they need to visit us here, and they do...at which time we spoil them rotten, and they love the experience and the differences. 

However, at least of our expat friends has one foot in Mexico and the other in CA, to which they return every year for over a month. I know of others with the same pattern.
It's an individual choice. Whatever makes people happy.
:music:


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

lagoloo said:


> One suggestion, if it's not too late already: If you bring your car into Mexico initially, get a "certificate of non-operation" from your local state Dept. of Motor Vehicles. This can be done by mail. Then, when you sell the car, you won't be hit with past years' license fees plus penalties. (If you decide to go "Permanente", you will be obliged to sell the U.S. plated car.)


I don't understand this. If you don't have valid US plates, all it means to my knowledge is you cannot drive your car legally in the US (*). I don't understand the "past year's license plus penalties" comment. 

If I drive my car in MX for three or four years, then do a border run and sell it, whether or not my US plates are current should not be an issue. I just sign the title over to the buyer, and its done. Them getting plates is their business, nothing to do with me. Again, my understanding.


(*) Please let us not get into whether or not this matters to the Mexican government. My Mexican insurance company has assured me in writing it does not matter. I am proceeding based on that. I need a valid US driver's license, having current US plates is irrelevant for a TIP car is what they have told me.

.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

@Urbanman

Remember that to sell a car you need a valid title. And the state issues the title. If the title is encumbered, you will be forced to clear the encumbrance to sell the vehicle. 

I've never heard that it was so, but certainly I can imagine that a state has the means to slap an encumbrance on your vehicle title for unpaid taxes and fees.

In Washington state I once went two months over the renewal deadline. I had left my car parked in Washington while I was in Cancun. When I went back to Washington I drove straight to the DMV (1 mile without getting caught for expired tabs) and paid the bill and they gave me new tabs on the spot without a penalty for late payment - tabs that expired 12 months from the prior expiry, so the tabs only had 10 months left on them. I don't know what would have happened if I was more than 12 months late. Fortunately that renewal didn't require emissions inspection or it would have been more problematic.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

If you drove your car into Mexico and years went by until you applied for Permanente status, then when you would go to sell your car, it would appear that you owed for the intervening licence renewals, along with penalities....or so I was informed. Since I had a "non-op", this didn't apply and I paid no fees. I transferred title to the new buyer and there was no problem. This was in 2010.


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

lagoloo said:


> I transferred title to the new buyer and there was no problem. This was in 2010.


Did you sell the car in the same state in which you formerly had active plates?


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

No. As stated in a previous post, I have only returned to CA on one occasion by airplane, so the car never returned to the place where it formerly had active plates. The sale took place in Mexico, with the car going back to the U.S. with its new owner, crossing the border at Arizona. The ultimate destination was in the eastern U.S. Since it was sold to a relative, I was informed of what happened after they picked it up here. They had no problems with the paperwork and paid no back fees or penalties. 

I was aware of the need for the "certificate of non-operation" because of a former business which involved spending time at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

Laws must vary from state to state. My tags and inspection sticker were both expired when I went back. In Texas if your tags were issued in January and you don't renew them until say March, they don't give you a full year, you simply lose those three months and the new tags expire again in January, there is no penalty that I was charged other than losing three months, I just explained that the truck had been in Mexico when the tags expired. I did sell the truck in the same state but it had current tags and inspection.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

My pickup truck entered Mexico in 2004 with CA plates which expired that year, and it was sold in 2010, so there were 6 years with no current plates from anywhere. Bought a Mexican car in 2010, per Permanente requirements. The pickup wasn't eligible for nationalization at any point and had lots of miles on it.


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## gairloch (Jun 24, 2011)

Renewing your Stateside driver's license. Be aware, that by renewing a stateside driver's license you are declaring that you are a resident of the state. And state residents are usually required to pay state income tax.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

gairloch said:


> Renewing your Stateside driver's license. Be aware, that by renewing a stateside driver's license you are declaring that you are a resident of the state. And state residents are usually required to pay state income tax.


Not Texas.:yo:


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## UrbanMan (Jun 18, 2015)

gairloch said:


> Be aware, that by renewing a stateside driver's license you are declaring that you are a resident of the state. And state residents are usually required to pay state income tax.


I do not agree that having a driver's license from a particular state is THE determiner of tax residence. 

If banks and/or brokerages begin reporting earnings to the IRS, and they list your address as being in a state that has state income tax - that potentially would be much more of an issue than a driver's license.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Good point.
It's one reason I like to "keep things simple". Trying to have it both ways often backfires.


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## Zorro2017 (Jan 9, 2017)

UrbanMan said:


> I do not agree that having a driver's license from a particular state is THE determiner of tax residence.
> 
> If banks and/or brokerages begin reporting earnings to the IRS, and they list your address as being in a state that has state income tax - that potentially would be much more of an issue than a driver's license.


You cannot have both a Louisiana drivers license (which charges a state tax) and a Texas drivers license (which does not). New drivers license applicants must also be able to furnish documents that prove their identity, legal presence in the United States *and Louisiana residency.*

This is how Louisiana nails construction workers from Texas with a state tax when the work is there. Louisiana taxes them and reports their income. You can keep your Texas drivers license and work in Louisiana but you will be charged the state tax as they will report your income.

https://www.dmv.com/la/louisiana/drivers-license


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

You can have income in more than one state and be required to file income tax forms in more than one state. Whether you are obligated to file taxes in a state depends on whether you have income in that state and whether that state taxes the income, not whether you are a resident.

Professional ball players that play games all over the country get taxed by each state they play a game in on the part of their income that is considered earned in that state.


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