Some of the biggest logistical problems that full-time nomads face revolve around not having a permanent residence. When you don’t have a fixed address, it can be very difficult to do many things that you need to do in today’s society, such as:
- Get a driver’s license
- Register your van
- Apply for insurance (auto, medical, etc.)
- Get bank accounts
- Pay taxes
- Register to vote
We ran into this problem head on in the fall of 2018. We had been in Missouri for the Midwest Vanlife Gathering in the spring, but we left the state and booked it out West without realizing that John’s driver’s license was about to expire in October.
We obviously both need valid driver’s licenses. So we were left with the following choices:
- We could drive all the way back to Missouri, which wasn’t ideal since we were over 2,000 miles away.
- John could fly back to Missouri for a couple of days to renew his driver’s license.
- We could take this as an opportunity to look into alternative options that might work better with our lifestyle.
The more we thought about it, the less it made sense for us to keep our status as Missouri residents.
We don’t live there anymore, we don’t rent or own any property there (or anywhere, for that matter), and we don’t plan on doing so anytime soon.
So why are we still paying the 6% Missouri state income tax? Why are we locking ourselves into returning to Missouri periodically to renew driver’s licenses and have the van inspected? Figuring something else out could reduce our tax bill and make things much more convenient for us in the long run.
Luckily, there are a few states out there that make it easy for full time travelers to establish domicile, get driver’s licenses, and register vehicles, even if they have no fixed residence. Those states are South Dakota, Texas, Florida, and Nevada.
Choosing to “Move” to South Dakota
After heavily researching our options, we decided that South Dakota made the most sense for us. It had the fewest barriers, and it was the quickest to drive to (aside from Nevada – but because they require a one-month campground stay before granting residency, that wasn’t an option for us at the time).
Plus, there are a ton of benefits to establishing domicile in South Dakota as a nomad:
- It is downright easy to do.
- You only need to be in South Dakota for 24 hours to establish residency, so it’s a quick in-and-out solution for travellers.
- Once you get your driver’s license it’s good for 5 years, so you only need to spend 24 hours there once every 5 years to maintain a valid driver’s license! (Side note: South Dakota is quite a beautiful state, so we highly recommend spending time there regardless)
- You don’t have to be physically in the state to register vehicles. Most mail forwarding services will take care of this for you.
- There’s no state income tax!
- Vehicle insurance rates are some of the lowest in the country.
Those are some pretty awesome benefits! There are some drawbacks, though, namely a lack of health insurance options compared to many other states.
Health insurance is a tricky issue for nomads in the first place, and if you have regular need of a doctor it might make more sense to establish domicile in a state that’s at least near where you spend most of your time.
Disclaimer
There are many factors that go into choosing the best domicile state for you. Do not make this type of decision just because you read about it on a blog, including this one. Do your own research, because there are a lot of things to consider. To give you a starting point, we write all about the ins and outs of different domicile options in this post.
Here are the requirements for establishing domicile in South Dakota as a nomad:
- Sign up for a mail forwarding service (about $150-$200 per year, give or take).
- Stay in a campground, RV park, or motel in South Dakota for one night. Make sure to obtain a receipt that lists your name(s) and your mail forwarding address.
- Bring your receipt, mail forwarding paperwork, and two forms of ID to the DMV.
- Sign the “nomad affidavit” that they give you, which says that South Dakota is your legal state of residence and that you intend to return there whenever you’re done travelling full time.
- Walk out with your new driver’s license!
That didn’t sound too bad. But to get our driver’s licenses we had to physically be in South Dakota.
The issue for us was that we were camped out near Bend, Oregon at the time and had to be back there in a week for an obligation. So we had one week to drive the 1,200 miles from Bend to Rapid City, SD (on the western edge of the state), get all of this done, and drive another 1,200 miles back. Time for an adventure!
Mission: Establishing South Dakota Residency
Step 1: Finding a mail forwarding service!
The first requirement to establish domicile in South Dakota is to sign up for a mail forwarding service in the state.
Mail forwarding services give you a physical street address (not a PO Box) that you can use as your “residence” address. They will receive your mail for you and send it out to you upon request (see our Mail on the Road post for tips on getting your mail while travelling). Many of them will also walk you through the whole residency process, register your vehicles for you, and offer mail scanning services.
The most-used mail forwarding services for establishing SD Residency are:
- Your Best Address
- Dakota Post
- Escapees RV Club (also offers services in TX and FL)
- America’s Mailbox
After looking into all of these companies, we settled on Your Best Address. They have a solid array of available services and competitive prices, they do a good job of walking you through the residency process, we got a good vibe from their customer service, and they came recommended by other nomads that we know.
We think Escapees is a great option as well because of the additional benefits of an Escapees membership. But their SD service has the wrinkle of giving you a legal address in SD but a mailing address at their headquarters in Texas. We thought it would be simpler to just deal with one address.
Important Note
There was a bit of a flap in 2018 over the unexpected closure of My Dakota Address, a mail forwarding service that was widely used by the vanner and RV communities. The suddenness of this closure put many nomads in tough situations with their mail, vehicle registrations, and insurance. It also gave rise to a lot of rumors, speculation, and conspiracy theories that they were shut down by the government, and that the whole South Dakota residency thing might soon be shut down.
But it looks to us like they simply went out of business, which is not uncommon with some of the more “mom-and-pop” mail forwarding operations. Because of this, we highly recommend doing your research and going with an established company that has a solid history and many employees.
South Dakota has been cracking down on vehicle registrations recently. Because of how easy it is to register vehicles there (and the lower sales tax and lack of property taxes), people from neighboring states have been registering their new vehicles in SD to avoid paying taxes. Because of this, if you do not have an SD driver’s license, you need to show proof that you’re signed up for mail forwarding for at least one year in order to register a vehicle. This is not an issue for nomads looking to establish SD residency and register vehicles there.
Step 2: Getting paperwork notarized!
Once we signed up with Your Best Address, they sent us a packet of forms that we had to sign and get notarized (if you’re not registering vehicles there’s only one form you need to have notarized).
So, we headed down to the friendly neighborhood UPS store in Bend! Most UPS stores have a notary, and since there are stores everywhere we’ve used them to notarize things a few times on the road. Getting documents notarized at a UPS store typically costs about $5-$10 per stamp, depending on the location.
After our documents were all squared away, we popped over to the Post Office and sent them Priority Mail to Your Best Address.
Step 3: Drive to South Dakota!
Once our paperwork was off in the mail, we hopped in the van and started driving east. The first night we stayed at a pretty sweet BLM campground about two hours east of Bend. Then we drove clear across Idaho, spending the next two nights at Flying J’s on either side of Wyoming.
After three days of nonstop travel, we finally entered South Dakota. As we drove east across the plains, the looming silhouettes of the Black Hills appeared in the distance. We soon found ourselves driving through a haunting forest in the midst of painting itself for fall, with mountains towering all around us.
It was one of the most beautiful drives that we’ve yet taken. And – bonus – there’s an awesome dog park on the far eastern edge of the Black Hills, right when you cross into Rapid City. “Maybe we actually will settle in South Dakota some day,” we thought.
Step 3: Camp at a campground for one night!
To establish domicile in South Dakota you need to stay at least one night in a campground, RV park, hotel or motel (not a state park since they don’t provide receipts). So we booked a night at the KOA in Rapid City!
Everyone was super friendly, and luckily for us they were used to people staying with them to become SD residents. We told them our story, snapped a group photo, and made sure to get a receipt with both of our names and our mail forwarding address.
Important: When you do your campground stay, make sure the receipt has your name(s) and your mail forwarding address listed on it.
Step 4: Head to the DMV!
The next morning we gathered all of our paperwork and headed to the DMV. Boy, was it nerve-wracking! Even though what we were doing is perfectly legal, we had butterflies in our stomachs, like we were pulling a fast one on the system.
The nerves ended up being entirely unnecessary, though. When it was our turn, we told them with shaky voices about our scenario and explained what we were trying to do, worried it wouldn’t make any sense to them. But they were immediately like, “Alright, you guys live in an RV or something?” Almost like they were asking us something as nonchalant as clarifying our names.
“Why, yes! Well it’s a van, but yes, we are nomads”.
“Okay, great. We’ll need your license application, proof of mail forwarding, campground receipt, and two forms of identification. Oh, and you’ll need to sign this affidavit.”
We gave them our documents, signed their forms, took an eye exam, snapped a photo, surrendered our Missouri IDs, and we had our South Dakota driver’s licenses in hand! The whole process took about 15 minutes, and was way easier than any other driver licenses we’ve ever gotten.
Step 5: Drive back to Oregon!
Now that we had our South Dakota driver’s licenses, we turned right around and started back towards Oregon. This time we took the southern route through the Black Hills, and we took a brief stop to check out Six Grandfathers Mountain. Then it was on to a Flying J in Casper, WY for the night, followed by two more Flying J’s in Utah, then the same BLM campground we stayed at on the way east. We had made it back to Oregon just in time!
Step 6: Get our new license plates!
Your Best Address (and most mail forwarders) can register your vehicles for you, and the great thing is that you don’t have to be in the state! We waited a couple of months before switching our vehicle registration, but we recently got our brand new South Dakota plates!
Step 7: Switch our auto insurance!
One big benefit of “moving” to South Dakota is that they have lower auto insurance rates than many other states. Switching our car insurance was a simple matter of logging onto their website and updating our address to our new one in South Dakota. Doing this slashed our premium by over 20%!
Important Note
Most auto insurance requires you to have a “garageable” address, which a mail forwarding service decidedly is not. There are insurance agents you can speak with in South Dakota that are fully versed on the mail forwarding scene and can navigate you to good auto insurance options. It’s also worth noting that America’s Mailbox has their own campground, which means they technically qualify as a “garageable” address where you have the option to live and/or store your vehicle.
It’s also a bit of a question mark what insurance companies and financial institutions will do if they catch wind that you have only a mail forwarding address and not a physical residence. After the sudden shutdown of My Dakota Address (which we talk about above), some nomads found themselves dropped from their auto insurance policies because their address had been “outed” as a mail forwarding address. Financial Institutions are required under the Patriot Act to have physical addresses for all their customers – so it’s a good idea to have a friend or family member’s address to provide in addition to your mailing address.
Step 8: Register to vote!
Voter registration is handled at the county level in South Dakota. To register to vote, you need to physically appear at the County Auditor’s office in the same county where your legal address is located (you also need to provide a one-night campground receipt within said county).
Since our mail forwarding address (legal address) is located in Sioux Falls, we would have had to drive all the way to the eastern end of the state to register to vote in Minnehaha County. That wasn’t possible at the time, but we plan on heading up to Sioux Falls to get this done before any major elections come around.
If you prefer to do this all in one go, both Escapees and America’s Mailbox are located in Box Elder, SD, just outside of Rapid City. Your Best Address and Dakota Post are located in Sioux Falls.
We’re Now Officially Residents of South Dakota!
Becoming residents of South Dakota was a fairly painless process and in our opinion made a lot of sense for us. Again, we must emphasize that before making this type of decision for yourself to do your own research and make sure you understand all the implications of making such a change.
No matter what your domicile needs are, we highly recommend stopping through South Dakota on your travels. It’s a beautiful state filled with wonderful people, and it has some of the most incredible scenery that we’ve encountered in our travels.
We are now the proud holders of South Dakota driver’s licenses, and Gnomie is looking fresh with his new custom license plates!
For more awesome vanlife tips and epic build guides, be sure to follow us on Instagram @gnomad_home and on Facebook. Cheers!
Any updates on this? I’m seeing that some laws went into effect on July 1st, 2023 that nomadic remote workers registered in SD (folks with mail forwarding addresses and services but do not physically live in the state) with employers who are NOT registered in SD can no longer claim residency and your tax status is no longer valid.
Hello, thanks for your comment. We are aware of the situation in South Dakota, and are gathering more information for an update. This tax status situation is actually **not** due to any laws that went into effect on July 1st, but rather the South Dakota Department of Labor choosing to enforce a very strict reinterpretation of existing laws related to unemployment insurance. Their stance is that unless you have a physical residence in SD that is NOT a business address (i.e. mail forwarder of campground), then your employer is ineligible to pay into SD unemployment insurance on your behalf. This… Read more »
Wow, this may change some things for me then. I am getting ready to get SD residency and plates soon. My situation is unique. I plan to travel a good bit and I work online remote fully. I plan to go to help my family out, and also then to my wife’s family in New England, and spend a few months in NC/SC over winter. So we will be in NC/SC for about 4 months and travelling all about the rest of the year. We plan to buy a small home there and perhaps airBB it while we are travelling… Read more »
Hi Brad, anytime you make a legal decision such as residency it pays to do your own due diligence, including talking through your situation with the company who will handle your mail forwarding. They will have lots of specific information about requirements in the state. It’s also important to note that unexpected issues can always crop up for people trying to go an unconventional route like nomadic living without a permanent address. Some RVers have recently reported issues with the SD department of labor coming down on this issue, and refusing to accept UI taxes from people who do not… Read more »
I have one question. Do you receive Domicile or simply Residence status following the information you provided? Next, I see many questions about Banking. Most large banks including but not limited to Bank of America, Chase and USA Bank all have a presence in SD. You may simply change your branch to the SD location of your choice. If your bank doesn’t have branches in SD, consider joining a Federal Credit Union in your local area. Most have “correspondence” agreements with SD Credit Unions. Former Federal Employees and Military members (with a good DD214 or Retirement ID) and their dependents… Read more »
Hi George, these steps allow you achieve resident status, which could also be your domicile if you’ve also established community relationships and severed ties with another state that could claim you. As I understand it, domicile isn’t necessarily a status you “receive,” so much as a reflection of where you have the most connections and spend the most time. The question of where you’re domiciled usually won’t come up outside of a legal challenge of some sort. For example, if you took all these steps to become a resident of South Dakota, but continued to spend much of your time… Read more »
One of my businesses has a Bank of America bank account in California. After about ten years, I moved to a different county in California and my business came with me. I was unable to change the home bank branch and was told that stays at the branch where the account had been originally opened. The only way Bank of America would change the bank branch on record would be to close the account and open a new account in the city I had re-located to.
I did the same thing you did about 18 months ago. All was good until I got picked for Jury Duty. I wrote a letter to court exposing permanent traveler, hardship getting back 750 mile etc the courts response was too bad. You use the privileges you do your duty.
That’s a great point, Vince, thanks for sharing. I’ll make a note to add this into the article.
Is this based on residency or voter registration?
Ah yes. SD is voter registration. So if you don’t register, you should be able to avoid this. But then you’re also disenfranchising yourself.
Hello just received my SD License yesterday!! (November 2022). Getting the License was indeed quite easy stayed at hotel (in Sioux Falls) asked them to use the PMB address and they did. DMV was a wait of a few hours but had no issues. I was told have 90 days for vehicle registration so thought I would get that done while in the state. This was at a different location the counties treasurer office. Waited 15 minutes then saw a teller. They auto filled out the application form for me from my previous State title. One thing I noticed on… Read more »
Glad it went smoothy! That’s a long wait at the DMV, when we did it we were in and out in less than 15 minutes, licenses in hand. We had our mail forwarder do the vehicle registration for us, I think they charged about $40 in fees and we didn’t even have to be in state – they just mailed us the plates! SD is a great state for nomads.
~John
John,
Great information for someone like my wife and I considering setting up residency in South Dakota. We are in the process of selling our home in Illinois where we spend less then three months a year. We do have a home in Wisconsin where for insurance purposes we could use as an address. Mt question deals with banking. Since are present bank has branches in South Dakota would it be possible to use new South Dakota address for banking ?I could also use my local Wisconsin branch .
Hi Gerald, banking can get a little tricky sorting out what you’re “supposed” to do vs what you’ll actually be able to do, due to the Patriot Act. Technically banks need a physical address for you, so using a mailbox address will not work if the bank is aware that it is a mailbox. If you do have a physical address you can use, then that will be an option. Hope that helps!
~John
Fantastic info. A great informative read. Thanks so much!
What do you do for health insurance
Hi Andy, health insurance is a tricky subject in the United States, even when you’re not a nomad. We go over some of the more common options in our vanlife how to page (this link jumps you right to the insurance section): https://gnomadhome.com/vanlife-how-to/#insurance
Hope that helps!
John
we moved from calfi. to oregon in 1990 and did that to lived in are motor home
for two years came back to oregon and bought a place . so why did you do all you went though you could do in oregon.
Hello, Oregon requires proof of an address within Oregon in order to obtain a driver’s license. South Dakota specifically allows people without any addresses to both get a DL and register vehicles, which is why so many nomads do so. Hope that clarifies!
Do you know if a sales tax or excise tax is charged on a vehicle that was purchased in a non sales tax state?
Hi David, great question. South Dakota charges a 4% excise tax when registering a vehicle. If you bought the vehicle in a state that has taxes higher than 4%, SD grants reciprocity and you will not owe any taxes to SD (you must provide documentation). However, if you bought your vehicle in a state with taxes below 4%, then you will owe taxes upon registration to bring your total tax up to 4%. This FAQ page from the SD Department of Revenue has some helpful information. Also, if you choose to go with SD, your mail forwarding service can walk… Read more »
Hi, I am new to the whole concept of transferring my residency to another state but it sounds intriguing. I am nearing retirement and I would love to avoid any expense that is not absolutely necessary. I was reading in a SD Legislature, Legislative Research Council Report https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/207175.pdf, quote: “Driver License – If someone has lived in the state 90 days, they are considered a resident eligible to obtain a driver license (SDCL 32-12-26.1)”. This seems at odds with the guidance provided here. What’s up with dat?
Hi Mark, I can’t speak to that. But I can tell you from experience that you can indeed get a SD driver’s license with nothing more than a mail forwarding address and a campground receipt. Us and many other nomads have done just that. If you have further questions, mail forwarding services in SD such as Dakota Post, Your Best Address, and America’s Mailbox can provide further guidance and are able to walk you through the whole process. Hope that helps!
Do you also have a blog entry that covers the cost of health insurance? I’ll be retired likely when I do this, and the rest of the requirements are very clear, thanks to you. I appreciate it.
Hi Lisa, we don’t have a post on that, unfortunately. I’m not sure if we will do one because it’s a very complex that varies greatly from state to state, and from situation to situation. Although we do a lot of research, we are not insurance experts and we don’t want to give out incorrect information on something so vital. Sorry we couldn’t be of more help.
~John
I enjoyed reading your article! I work for the South Dakota Residency Center, and we also provide digital mailbox services and assistance with establishing SD residency. I want to make your readers aware of this additional option that is very affordable. You can google South Dakota Residency Center. Thank you.
Whoa, whoa, whoa… While reading through the various descriptions of fees that one would have to pay when registering a vehicle, I notice that there is mentioned a 4% excise (of vehicle value!) tax to get a title- how is that not mentioned here (or on several other “vandweller” blogs)? That fee alone is tantamount to another sales tax, and is stated to apply even for passenger vehicles (such as my SUV). This would amount to ~$2,000! Am I missing something here? I have fully owned (cash purchased) my vehicle for several years, purchased in another state, have already paid… Read more »
Hi Ben, I think you are misunderstanding. You are exempt from the 4% excise tax if you already paid tax on the vehicle in another state. In other words, if you are transferring a title from another state, you will not owe any tax to SD (unless you are transferring from a state that charges less than 4% tax, but there are only about 5 states in that category). You do need to provide documentation of tax paid, but that’s the case with title transfers in most states. If you are registering a vehicle that you just purchased, then of… Read more »
Hello just received my SD License yesterday!! (14th November 22) I was told have 90 days for vehicle registration so thought I would get that done while in the state. One thing I noticed on the printed form for registration that the sale date was filled out as today by the teller. I pointed that that at the window. I told them I have fully owned my vehicle for several years, purchased in another state out and there are no liens on the title which I provided to the teller I have from Maryland. I was told by the county… Read more »
Thank You and all those posting info on becoming a nomad not of choice but for survival…for need…
Can’t afford a apt…
Thank You…
You’re welcome JuanAntonio, best of luck!
Not sure where your information that TX only needs a mailing address is coming from – it’s not accurate. Texas law clearly states that one must provide valid residential address (no top of any mailing address) and business address, including registered agent’s is not acceptable: Texas Administrative Code, Title 37, Part 1, Chapter 15, Subchapter B, Rule 15.25
Hello, please see this page from Escapees RV Club giving a detailed rundown of the process of establishing Texas domicile as a nomad: https://www.escapees.com/education/domicile/texas/. Escapees operates a mail forwarding service and a campground that you can use for your legal address in the state of Texas. They also have friendly customer service that will walk you through the entire process of getting established. We personally know several nomads who have worked with Escapees and have gotten Texas plates and driver’s licenses without having any sort of residence in the state. Hope that helps!
~John
Unfortunately, not having physical address is a problem in the US, for all financial institutions and insurance, a remnant of slavery. No, not everyone has local “family or friend’s” address they can give, obviously. Homeless shelter might be one type of address that can work in some situations. Addresses of campgrounds, hotels. As soon as nothing is actually mailed there, so one has to either have fully electronic correspondence or has to setup a separate mailing address in addition to the “residential”, where stuff such as insurance or debit card can get mailed to. Another option might be to file… Read more »
Hi- I enjoyed reading through your story and the information you posted. We, the South Dakota Residency Center, in Spearfish, SD, love to assist travelers with establishing residency in South Dakota. Please visit our website, choosesd.com, to learn more. We are happy to talk to you on the phone if you have questions.
Hi Lynne, thanks for the info and resources! We definitely recommend reaching out to places like yours when navigating this process!
I couldn’t find anything on your site about using a service like America’s Mail Box to establish the legal address needed to open South Dakota checking and savings accounts. Can this be done?
Hi Mike, the bank account aspect is a little trickier, since per the Patriot Act banks need to have a physical address on file, not just a mailing address. We got around this by using my parents’ address as our “physical address,” and using our mail forwarding address as the mailing address where the bank sends cards, etc. Doing it that way – using a friend or family member’s address as the physical address – is one way to do it, and also probably the safest/easiest/most legal way. However, America’s Mailbox specifically has their own campground/RV park attached, so there… Read more »
John, many thanks for your reply. I checked with America’s Mailbox, and they did not offer the option of using their attached campground/RV park as a physical address. They instead agreed with your suggestion of using a friend or family member’s address. But if I follow the steps you detail to establish South Dakota residency, but then give a South Dakota bank a physical address in California, say, won’t that void my South Dakota residency and leave me liable for California income taxes? Maybe I’m missing something. I recently retired, and once the COVID virus abates, I want to sell… Read more »
Hi Mike, I’m not sure if that would void your residency. We used an address in Missouri, but didn’t pay taxes there. You would basically only be using that address for banking. Your mailing address, insurance address, address that you give the IRS, and vehicle registration should all be at your mailbox in South Dakota. From a state’s perspective, I believe they would have to make a case that you are still a “resident,” and if you don’t own or rent any property in CA, your vehicles are not registered there, you are not registered to vote there, and you… Read more »
Mike, I agree and am in a similar situation. Leaving any traces of residency in California, especially California might get you in trouble with the FTB as you have a residence in CA that you use with all your banks etc. The more I’m reading the more it sounds like the only real option is to go with a “friends & family” address. That imo defeats the purpose of the mail forwarding services. I might as well ask my friends or family to check my mail… Biggest issue is not everyone has friends and family in S.D. Not really sure… Read more »
Hello, yes, banks generally have caught on to the PMB thing. When we were domiciled in SD, we used a relative’s address in Missouri for our “physical address” that we provided banks, but our mail forwarder was our mailing address so our relatives did not have to deal with our mail. This worked fine for us, but your mileage may vary. There are many legal implications that go with domicile, and it’s very important to cut all ties with your previous state and create ties with your new state in order to avoid your previous state going after you for… Read more »
Hey John! Does having your banking physical address in a different state impact your domicile in South Dakota? I’m worried about moving my blog (online business) to South Dakota but having my banking physical address still in California. Wondering if that raises any red flags, and what you did about your business banking address – is that also at your parents? Thanks!
Hi Kristin! Our business is actually registered in Wyoming using a registered agent (https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com). It’s $125 per yer, and you get mail scanning and a physical address (not a mailbox) to use for your business, which works for bank accounts as well. In our situation, we actually use our Registered Agent address as the business address for banking, taxes, etc., but we’ve given banks mailing addresses near our actual location for mailing out debit cards, etc., and it hasn’t been a problem. The issue with using a mail-forwarding service for a banking address is that they are required to be… Read more »
Thanks so much for your detailed reply! I’ll look into those things! I am still a sole proprietor, but may look into becoming an LLC.
You forgot to tell her that is she maintains any nexus with California, such as physical address on file, actual presence, voter, car registration, property, CA accounts, etc her WY LLC will trigger foreign corporation registration requirements in CA, complete with mandatory $800/year franchise tax and by any means will not remove state taxation requirements in high-tax CA. You can play avoiding foreign LLC registration with a state like SD, without income taxes, but you can’t play this money-grabbing game with the state like CA. They’ll know she has that WY LLC once they see her federal return (and they… Read more »
*with the money-grabbing state like CA! SD does not pursue foreign LLCs because they have no corporate or personal income tax, CA will purse the fact of WY LLC unless all traces of personal nexus are cleanely severed from CA. Or, if she never files federal return for WY LLC, which is only possible if it generates 0 income.
Even if you have zero profit, you need to file the federal tax return annually.
And for that (unlawful discrimination against people without physical address) you have to thank Patriot Act, in case someone isn’t old enough to remember how these draconian requirements came about. Patriot Act -> Know Your Client -> War on US Expats. More to come, be assured. The goal is more control.
Could you have flown to South Dakota instead of drive there from Bend?
Hi Chuck, we certainly could have flown to SD instead of driving. The process works the same, and the DMV also accepts hotel/motel receipts. For us, though, flying is a HUGE hassle, especially last minute. We need to book flights (and flying in/out of small airports like Bend and Rapid City is not cheap), find/pay someone to watch our dogs while we’re gone, pay for a hotel, pay for a rental car to get around, pay for food, etc. All things considered it worked out to be WAY cheaper to drive, we had our home/bed/kitchen with us the whole time,… Read more »
A point of clarification, you do not need to join a mailing service to register your vehicles by mail in South Dakota. It might feel like a daunting process when you begin but it really is easy. I just registered my 1991 Ford f250 which will be traveling to Baja California in the next few months in South Dakota by mail gathering the forms from the South Dakota motor vehicle department online and working with the good people of Pennington County which is where Rapid City is located. There is not a clear tutorial that I could find on a… Read more »
Hi Don Miguel, thanks so much for the information! I’m sure this will help some readers of this site! While you do not need a mail forwarding service to register vehicles by mail, you do need one in order to obtain a South Dakota driver’s license without a physical address. Thanks again!
~John
I think you may find that obtaining a drivers license in state which you do not reside or live has become far more complicated under the real ID system. I don’t know how current your information is but you are going to have to commit a crime to obtain a DL in a state you do not or have not resided. I’m not going to speak to South Dakota specifically but I own land in Nevada, I was married in Nevada, I work in Nevada from time to time and had a Nevada drivers license until recently which Nevada was… Read more »
Hi Don Miguel, we obtained our South Dakota driver’s licenses in October 2018, and they were Real ID licenses. Also, per the residency affidavit, there’s no language on there that states “I will return to South Dakota to live full time within a certain timeframe.” They specifically do not mention any sort of timeframe, which is the key here. You could travel indefinitely, for years or decades even, and never break your vague assurance that you are a South Dakota resident. As far as we were concerned when we obtained our licenses, we were planning to remain South Dakota residents… Read more »
John some of your information is totally wrong. To begin with it’s easy to get health insurance in South Dakota if you’re on Medicare under 65 and disabled you can get Medicare supplemental insurance also you can get a real ID with the gold star if you produce your birth certificate at the time you get your driver’s license I go through your best address and been of South Dakota residence for The Last 5 Years got my driver’s license in 2015 from South Dakota with the gold star.
Hi Mark, thanks for commenting. I’m not sure where you’re seeing wrong information. We also got Real ID licenses from South Dakota, and I discuss that in the comments. As far as health insurance, you can indeed get health insurance in South Dakota if you are a resident (as you can in any state that you are a resident of), and it’s no harder than any other state. However, at the time we wrote this article, South Dakota had fewer options on the healthcare.gov exchange compared to other states, which we felt was important to note. And if you are… Read more »
Not true for “all states”, simply!…I can speak for California: this 2-doc address proof requirement is for Real ID – but your Driver’s License DOES NOT HAVE TO BE REAL ID! DL is a separate document from Real ID (a license to drive, not a license to fly airplanes without passport), and in California you can get both: NON-Real ID DL and Real ID DL. Only latter requires 2-docs for address. My lastest and recent California DL is non-Real ID which I opted for, and did not require 2-doc for address. I won’t be playing their unlawfuil Real ID games.
Super duper helpful article! Thanks! Is your ID renewal date your birthday (five years later) or five years from the date you got you ID. Therefore you and your partner have the same renewal date? And so I understand properly, you can renew your ID once online, but after that you have to go back? So, in theory, you don’t have to go back to SD for 10 years? We don’t plan on that. It’s been one of our favorite stops and the motorcycle riding was amazing.
Hi Robyn, the renewal dates on our licenses are our birthdays. My understanding is that you can renew once online, but I would double check with SD when you’re planning. And SD is quite a beautiful state, we love going there as well!
~John
Thanks!
Hey amazing to hear that you guys got driving licences out there.
Happy for both of you.
Hi! We are preparing for full time RV living from SC. SC charges property tax each year on our car and motorhome probably around $2500 each year! They do have a max sales tax of $500 so that was nice when we purchased them. Florida will charge us the difference if we decide to register them there. Do you know if we will be required to pay sales tax on motorhome if we register our motorhome there which would be over $3000. Thanks
Hi there, I’m honestly not sure about property taxes, and I imagine that differs by county. I don’t believe you’ll have to pay sales tax (we didn’t), but I do know that the cost to register an RV in South Dakota is assessed by weight. Since our van is technically a passenger vehicle, we didn’t have to go through the RV registration process. Most counties in SD also charge an annual “wheel tax,” which is usually about $4 per wheel per year for any vehicle (so a 4-wheel car would be taxed $16 per year). I recommend contacting the people… Read more »
Did you consider Wyoming as an option? If so, what were its pros/cons?
Hi Bart, my understanding is that Wyoming does not allow you to use a mail forwarding service as your legal address for driver’s license and registering an insuring vehicles, so it’s not an option unless you have a friend/family member who lives there. South Dakota, Texas, Florida, and Nevada all allow you to use a mail forwarder, which is the big reason why these states are so attractive. This can be a complex subject, though, so I urge you to do your own research and not take my word for it! Hope that helps!
~John
This is a FANTASTIC resource for those people who are looking to find a way to do van life full time! I’m in Missouri so stop by and say hi if you come back this way! 🙂
Thanks Annette! We’d love for you to come join us at the Midwest Vanlife Gathering this May in Illinois!
Cool, I have been wondering about this for a while. I have lived in a van and then a car while working in one area and using a mailbox and that worked fine but I might want to do some long term vanaobde traveling one of these days.
South Dakota is one of a handful of states that make it easy on nomads. And no matter what, we highly recommend visiting, it’s quite a beautiful place!
thanks, John! I loved it there and this would be a really good reason to go back for a visit! I like the idea of not having to hit up friends to send me stuff in the mail.
I got my Master’s Degree at South Dakota State University and went skiing in the Black Hills one Christmas break while at Mizzou. A beautiful, diverse state!
It definitely is – we were blown away by all the natural beauty that it has to offer!