Another Californian to Austin, TX

[Ryan Stover]

Hey BP fam,

I love living in San Diego. Friends, family, surfing. BUT, as I've heard "Hate Taxes? Love Texas!"

1.) Could I buy a house in Austin, rent out all of the rooms except my room, and change my residence to TX? I want to do this so that my properties in Oregon will be taxed at the TX rate rather than CA.

2.) Could I live in my parents' old house in San Diego, right under California's nose, so I get all the benefits of California (weather, surfing, friends/family)?

Thank you and Happy 2021!

[Eamonn McElroy]

Statute of limitations never closes on a fraudulent tax return or a return that is never filed....

And yes, this is textbook fraud.  We have (1) an intent to deceive and (2) financial gain.

Going to be hard to argue that you were in TX when cell towers in CA showed you as connected.  And yes, in the era of big data, state and local DORs have started to use cell company records during residency audits.  It's a new technique in their arsenal.  So, if you have your phone near you 24/7 like most individuals, don't lie to the authorities about where you were.

And, it's not a good look that you posted to a publicly accessible forum, under your full name, detailing your plan to defraud the CA FTB before you carried it out...

Maybe if you don't like the high taxes in CA and the tax base erosion from CA to TX, you and your friends should organize and work to change the CA tax rates and laws.