Domicile: Texas vs. Florida

Sonny54 wrote:
I've heard (though I do not know the details) that SD is problematic because of health insurance issues.

Those on Medicare have many domicile options. For the nonmedicare crowd, Florida is currently the best bet for full timers needing to buy health insurance....at least this year. Let's hope there long continue to be FLBlue plans with national networks.

But you might think through another senecio...let's suppose none of the states have plans with national networks. Which state might you want to stay if you need care? Is there one where you plan to spend more time than others? For us, those questions still led to Florida, as we like to winter here, so we can get routine care then. Emergency care is covered as we travel. If we returned to our home state for non-emergency care, at least we would not be fussing with vehicle inspectors as well as doctors.

afrescop wrote:
The TX motor vehicle inspection is once a year. You MUST have your vehicle inspected before your tags can be renewed. The registration and inspection are on the same windshield sticker and tied together on the DMV computers. If you already own your RV and it is registered in another state you must pay the 6.25% TX sales tax on the vehicle prior to registering.

If you're out of Texas, you can still renew your registration without the inspection:

Special Circumstances

Out of State Motorists

If your vehicle is currently out of state and you are unable to complete a Texas vehicle inspection in order to renew your registration, you may self-certify that the vehicle is out of state and will be permitted to register online, by mail, or in person.

Since you will be full timing in your RV, PROPERTY taxes in any state is not an issue. I assume that you will be traveling rather than just parking in a State and living out of your RV as a permanent resident.
In that case, vehicle registration, income tax, and health care are your major concerns. For that reason Florida is the best choice with excellent health care plans and low cost vehicle registration and zero State income tax.
Since you will be registering your RV in Florida for the first time, you do have to have the VIN verified but in Florida you can have any police officer or even a private Notary verify it. If you drive to a tag agency, they will verify it there. There are no vehicle inspections.

The TX motor vehicle inspection is once a year. You MUST have your vehicle inspected before your tags can be renewed. The registration and inspection are on the same windshield sticker and tied together on the DMV computers. If you already own your RV and it is registered in another state you must pay the 6.25% TX sales tax on the vehicle prior to registering.

Having lived in FL most of my life, I found that NV was much more retiree friendly as the property taxes in Volusia county where I lived got very expensive. Vehicle registration is more expensive in NV but I found that it did not exceed what I save in property tax. I chose Reno as being retired, the snow ceased to be an issue (I'll look out at the white stuff and say "I'm not going to work today' then remember I don't work any more!). Nevada also has the advantage of being close to so many spectacular RV destinations, especially here in Reno where many are within a day's drive.

We have been FL residents for some time. We chose it over TX and SD. SD wasn't in our travel plans, so didn't do that and after the info about health insurance glad we didn't. Also TX requires inspection and a special license if over 26,000#. We spend our winters in FL, it was easy to change over, registration is cheap, worked for us. My FIL used TX and was always running around trying to get inspected whenever they entered the state.

rvadventure2 wrote:

2 other states that are real good is the state of Washington, and Nevada. Regards

Depending on the age and MSRP of the coach Nevada is not a good choice. They have what is called a Government Services Tax that is calculated on the value of the coach and decreases each year.

I have 2009 Tiffin Phaeton and when I first moved here in 2010 my total registration fees were $3,300. For this year my fees were $1,127.

You don't have to do a vehicle inspection unless you're staying in Texas. You have 3 days to drive through... it's big!

There are a lot of posts on this topic on the 'Fulltiming' section. Check it out.

Perhaps the moderator can move this to the 'Fulltiming' section for you.

Don't come her it is too crowded and you wouldn't like all the woods.
Florida if you like a Sauna.
Texas if you like an oven.
We don't have income tax and registration or plates or tax is 24.00 a year. Don't care if it is a Susuki or a Prevost.
We have four seasons, sometimes three.
Sales tax is generally 9.75 combined.
Now, guess where.

Sonny54 wrote:
I've heard (though I do not know the details) that SD is problematic because of health insurance issues.

If you're under 65 and must purchase your own medical health insurance, then currently FL is the better option.

FL, unlike SD and TX, offers health plans that are "portable" as they have nationwide networks.