Question:
If I live in Wisconsin for 162 days and in Florida for 160 days and travel outside of both states for the remaining 43 days of the year, can I qualify as a Florida resident. Does it matter that for 35 of the travel days I travel to and from Wisconsin?
Response:
You sound like more of a Wisconsin resident than a Florida one given that for 187 days out of the year you’re either in Wisconsin or traveling in and out of the state. But the answer depends both on Wisconsin law (which I don’t know) and presence in the state is only one element in determining residence.
Other factors that are typically indicia of legal residence include voting registration, automobile registration, which state you use as your address for your tax returns, even where you have a library card, if any. It couldn’t hurt to spend a couple more weeks a year in Florida to cement the state as your residence. (If you don’t want to because you really prefer to be in Wisconsin, perhaps you should give that state your loyalty and tax dollars.)
