It’s an unfortunate reality, but many of my clients come to me after the tax man has knocked on their door. They thought signing and filing a simple Declaration of Florida Domicile would be the only item necessary to prove legal intent and keep the tax man at bay. But – as this article in Institutional Investor point out – certain state’s Department of Taxation & Finance have become vigilant investigators in their pursuit to recover lost tax revenue.

While certain states use the “180 day” rule as their starting point, proving your intent can become a long, tedious and frustrating process. This is especially true if you are an high-income earner. As the article states “In 2012, The New Yorker reported that New York audited about 4,000 returns a year, bringing in about $200 million annually in delinquencies from those “wrongly or fraudulently claiming nonresident status.””

In my Florida Domicile Seminars – which I give for free each year in Naples, Florida – I explain all the basic steps to take to prove your intent to domicile in Florida. I also discuss some unique cases and additional tools to help people navigate the process. One of those tools is TaxBird, a cool new smartphone app that tracks state residency specifically for domicile purposes! Add Taxbird to your phone and it runs in the background using iOS location technology. Customized to each state’s domicile requirements, it’s easy to use and could save you from an audit! The best part is that it has built in alerts to let you know when you’re reaching your residency threshold and time to head back to Florida!