Tax and Asset Protection Benefits Afforded Florida Domiciliaries

The most common reason an individual chooses to live in Florida is its temperate climate. But Florida's benefits extend far beyond a warmer climate because of its favorable tax laws and asset protection opportunities. Since Florida does not impose an individual income, estate, gift, or generation-skipping transfer tax, and has very favorable asset protection laws, it is far superior than other states with respect to these matters of great concern to most people. While Florida residents who want to avail themselves of asset protection may need to take steps to obtain those benefits, Florida residents can avail themselves of Florida's beneficial tax laws without necessarily taking affirmative action (other than perfecting their Florida domicile). However, they must be mindful of lurking pitfalls if they own property in another state or if they spend significant amounts of time in another state, as they may then subject themselves to state income tax in that state during their lives and/or state estate tax upon their deaths.