Hey everyone, I've done a lot of research and want to confirm my tax strategy before committing. Would love input from anyone who has done something similar.
**My situation:**
- US citizen, leaving California permanently end of summer
- W2 employee, fully remote, employer fine with working anywhere
- Very clean CA exit — no CA driver's license, no lease in my name, no voter registration. Only ties are work payroll and car registration, both gone before I leave
- Planning to spend ~350 days abroad annually with ~2 weeks back in the US at Christmas
**My planned strategy:**
**State domicile:** Establish residency in a no-income-tax state (leaning South Dakota for simplicity but also considering Florida or Texas) via mail forwarding address and getting a SD driver's license. Update employer payroll, bank accounts, and voter registration accordingly.
**FEIE:** 330+ days abroad should qualify me for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion on my W2 income.
**Specific questions:**
Does SD domicile via mail forwarding + SD driver's license hold up cleanly for someone with no fixed home?
Does FEIE apply to W2 income from a US-based employer?
Is my CA exit as clean as it sounds given my minimal paper trail there?
Any gotchas I'm missing?
Planning a paid consultation with a nomad tax specialist before October but wanted community input first. Thanks!