if you rent your home and stay somewhere out of state can you still claim your home as your residence?

Question

this is a hypothetical question - it's a what if question - I'm not doing this -but i thought about it.
thanks

Answer 1

As soon as you rent your home to someone it is no longer your residence. However, if you are going away for a temporary period and rent your home in order to have the tenant care for it during your absence, you could claim that it is still your residence. For example, a university professor gets a temporary appointment at another school for one semester. He rents his home to a professor who is visiting his university for a semester from another country. In reality, he has not given up his residence because he expects to return to it at the end of the semester.

There are tax implications for a residence that you sell at a gain. However, you question does not appear to address the tax issues.

Answer 2

You have to reside in your home "X" number of days during the calendar year to claim residency. If you claim it and are living out of state and get caught not paying taxes to the state you are living in, they can take you to court in a hot second.

You can make inquiries as to each states laws regarding this situation for more specific information and any possible penalties.

I know many people who do this, it's a common practice with folks in the military who have to move with the changing of their duty stations. So, it is best to check with the two states you have in mind.

Answer 3

No, unless you are active duty military. If you are military your domicile does not change when you are posted to a duty station outside your state of legal residence.

As far as tax purposes are concerned, the home generally would not be your principal residence for the time you are not actually living in it even if you are military and your domicile isn't changed.