With the population of Florida growing everyday by a thousand people, you would think that becoming a Florida resident is as easy as crossing over the Georgia-Florida border. But there is a long list of criteria that has to be met and if you plan on living out of state part of the year, be careful.

There are many benefits to being a resident of Florida, especially if you own property. Tax benefits to legal residency are – no state income tax, no state gift tax, no state inheritance tax and no separate estate tax. And if you own real property you also have the benefit of the first $50,000 in value being exempt from city and county taxes under the Homestead Exemption.

In addition, Florida places strict limits on the amount by which any reassessments of the taxable value of homestead property can increase. The annual increase of the assessed value of homestead property is capped at 3 percent, a very advantageous benefit as our property values keep climbing. Also a Florida homestead residence is generally exempt from the claims of the owners’ creditors within certain federal limitations.

However, if you also own property in another state and plan on spending part of your time there, you will need to be certain that you reside in Florida at least six months and a day, which do not need to be consecutive. And you would be making a mistake if you think how would anyone know. The answer to that is one of the mysteries of part time Florida residents. All I can say is states without a state tax are vigilant about verifying their residents are actually here six months and a day, and the IRS also plays a hand in this if you happen to be employed in either of the two sates you’re living in. To be on the safe side, you should keep a travel log with receipts in the event you are ever challenged on the legality of your full time residency.

So how exactly do you become a Florida resident? There are several steps you can take to keep the state of Florida happy. You won’t need to do all of them but the major ones are obtain a Florida driver’s license, register your vehicle in Florida, apply for the homestead exemption on your Florida residence, transfer out of state accounts to a Florida bank, arrange for direct deposits such as Social Security and pension benefits to a Florida bank, register to vote in Florida, file your federal income tax return with the IRS processing center in Atlanta with your Florida address, change address with all credit card companies, open a safe deposit box in Florida, change your address on passports, declare Florida as your permanent residency in your will, and, finally, file a declaration of domicile in the clerk of circuit court’s office in the county courthouse and send a copy to the appropriate taxing authority in your former state.

Filing a declaration of domicile is more important for individuals who still maintain another home in a different state. If you only own property in Florida and plan on living in it full time, it may not be necessary. However, always check with an attorney or tax consultant to verify your position relative to the Florida property and personal tax regulations, and check out www.myflorida.com for more information.

This sounds more intimidating than it actually is. Most people navigate through the process with relative ease. The end result is, of course ,residing in one of the country’s premier states in which to live,. Just keep an eye on the stampede coming across the border.