I’m currently in the process of moving to Spain from California and I want to be sure I’m taking all the steps to cut ties here for taxes purposes. I updated my address to my permanent address in Spain for all my US bank, credit and investment accounts, cancelled my CA voter registration…but haven’t surrendered my CA Drivers License with the DMV because I need a physical drivers license to accompany my international drivers license. Does anyone have experience with this? I know CA is super tenacious about collecting their taxes. I don’t have any property in the US, and we will have jobs abroad. We are truly living Spain, in a home that we own there, and do not want to pay California taxes.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
#taxes
If you have residency in a foreign country, living there full time, and have no other tax liability in California, then there is no obligation to pay CA state taxes.
Be aware that it’s generally not recommended to tell any of your US banking, investment, or credit card companies that you will be living full time overseas. Use a relative’s or friend’s address as a “home address” along with a virtual mailbox as a “mailing address”. Also keep some sort of US phone number that can receive text messages for banking verification needs. Letting the banks and investment firms know you live outside of the country may result in your accounts being shut down and could result in your foreign address ending up on your credit report making applying for a new US credit card or bank account difficult/impossible.