Escapees March/April 2016

Signed, sealed, delivered

Address and Domicle By Miri Kim Wakuta #126136, Loring & Associates, PLLC, California Licensed Attorney

question of the case was whether the veteran was domiciled in the state of Texas or the state of Oklahoma during his tour overseas. The IRS claimed the veteran was domiciled in Oklahoma. The veteran claimed he was a domicil- iary of Texas. Among a few factors mentioned in the court’s opinion, the court looked to see where the veteran was receiv- ing his mail during the relevant time period. He used a PO box address in Oklahoma as his permanent mailing address and used his home address in Oklahoma when he entered the army and married his wife. The appellate court also looked at other details and ultimately concluded that the veter- an failed to establish his domicile in Texas during the relevant time period. The veteran was found to be an Oklahoma domiciliary during his tour overseas and therefore needed to pay Oklahoma taxes. “How does that apply to Escap- ees?” you may ask. If you become involved in some sort of domicile dispute, the court or a tax board may also consider your mailing address in determining your domicile. Depend-

Let’s discuss an issue that every ful l-timer faces: mail delivery. As you embark on your journey, I am sure you had to address this issue one way or another. Your mail has to go somewhere. Maybe you have a loved one who took on the responsibility. Perhaps you decided to sign up for a mail service. Maybe you have procrastinated and that poor soul who bought your house is dealing with a mailbox full of your mail every day. Whatever your situ- ation, you must know this one thing: The address you use to receive your mail may impact your domicile. T he determination of your domicile is made by looking at the totality ble. Picture your mailing address as a block or a factor. You need to decide whether your mailing address is a favorable factor for you or a factor to be weighed against you.

of the facts. The courts or tax boards look to different factors to decide where you are domiciled. Imagine the domicile analysis as a scale. Each different factor acts like a block on the scale. Some factors may weigh a bit more heavily than others. As full-time RVers, you want to have as many factors on your side as possi-

One of my favorite domicile cases, Sivalls v. United States, highlights this weighing process. It is a short and simple opinion published in 1953. This case involved a tax dispute be- tween a veteran and the IRS. The core

“If you become involved in some sort of domicile dispute, the court or a tax board may also consider your mailing address in determining your domicile.”

32 . ESCAPEES | March/April 2016 | www.escapees.com