Yes excellent point.

CA is ridiculous

 

The CA State Tax Board would send me a "notice" every year even though I was active duty and a Texas resident. Finally quit after I got orders and moved to D.C.

 

Make sure your cellphone and credit card bills reflect that you actually live there. States are getting smarter. They will also sometimes interview your neighbors and even ask them to keep a log of when they see you. They may also ask for your non revenue travel records. State tax is deductible off your federal tax so keep in mind that reduces the hit substantially.

 

Or use prepaid like me. OR has the lowest cell phone taxes. Roughly $0.75 per line.

I don't have any non rev records for jump seating. AA doesn't track it. YMMV.

Moving your mail there means moving your mail there. Don't give them a reason to investigate and it will never be an issue.

 

Interviewing your neighbors? How accurate can that be? If someone showed up at my front door and asked me to keep a log on the people next door how would they know if I'm telling the truth?

 

Just pay your taxes like everyone else.

 

Just move here.

 

Both Calif and NY will make every attempt to tax income generated in their states, even if the individual doing the work lives elsewhere. If your trip originates in CA, chances are CA will view that as income generated in CA, and will try to tax it accordingly. I have first hand knowledge that NY does this with medical doctors who live elsewhere but take temporary work in NY, even if they do that work remotely while physically sitting in another state. Need to be very careful how the company is set up to operate in various states if you're gonna play those games.

Not only that, CA will go after a mil pension if the pension was either earned OR benefits paid while a CA resident, even for a short time.

Tax evasion is a big deal, can't blame it all on mil folks gaming the system, and if you're talking about CA you have to consider CA state tax as an unavoidable cost of living, or a "good weather tax" if you're in so cal. Trying to establish residence elsewhere while "working in" CA is a good way to get pooped on unless you're rich enough to get a really talented tax shyster on your side. Last time I checked, "rich enough" was on the upside of $250k per year, and the scheme 10 yrs ago involved setting up an LLC with one employee (yourself), and then paying into a defined benefit pension with unlimited personal and company contribution. Thats apparently able to survive an audit only if you keep it up for long enough to be reasonable that you might actually end up earning back some sort of pension out of the money you squirrel away tax exempt into the pension fund.

But... don't take tax advice from other pilots, and be careful which tax and estate shyster you trust.

 

What a bunch of nervous Nellie's.

 

Yep, why sweat a potential felony conviction and losing your job!