My residence

bothner06 wrote:

How long can I stay, and how long do I have to ;eave for? After the six months?

On a visitor visa you would most likely get to stay 6 months. If you cross the border just before the 6 months are up you can return applying at the border for another 6 months. 

How long you have to be out of Mexico depends on the border, the border agents have a lot of flexibility in determining that.. 3 days or more would likely be safe. So far that has shown to be an indefinite situation, but as with all things it can be subject to change.

You can apply for a longer visa in the consulate of your country. If you qualify you could get a temporary visa lasting 4 years, or a permanent visa which is , well permanent.

Hi to all, I am not but my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are US citizens. Based on talking to them, the question is how much time must you stay in a US State to keep your benefits and pay your IRS and State taxes as a U.S. resident seems to be 183 days???

But maybe they're wrong.

Adios y buen dia a todos, GyC.

There is no time limit the US applies to US citizens.  The IRS will want their cut of your US earned income no matter where you live.  In fact, they will want a cut of foreign earned income unless you earned it while residing outside the US for almost an entire year.   

State income taxes vary state by state.  I was trying to figure out a way to not pay California state income taxes if I claim my primary residence in Mexico.  I found out it's not that easy.  CA has about ten points they use, in addition to where you live, to determine if you are still a CA "resident" and taxpayer.

Thanks "jamesr3939" for that awnser. Helps me understand, in our case ,my wife and I lived in Quebec and as soon as we told the provincial (equivalent to a State) revenue office our intentions of moving to Mexico they've told us that we stop paying taxes but also stop having healthcare coverage kept our driver's license till expired or till getting a Mexican one and get refund.

Adios y buen dia a todos, GyC.

I knew Canada treated their citizens very different.  My mom and dad lived in Palm Desert, California and had plenty of Canadian neighbors during the winter months.  I recall my mom saying there was a number days they could be out of the country before jeopardizing their benefits. 

It seemed all the Canadian license plates showed up within two weeks of each other in October and disappeared within two weeks in May.

jamesr3939 wrote:

There is no time limit the US applies to US citizens.  The IRS will want their cut of your US earned income no matter where you live.  In fact, they will want a cut of foreign earned income unless you earned it while residing outside the US for almost an entire year.   

State income taxes vary state by state.  I was trying to figure out a way to not pay California state income taxes if I claim my primary residence in Mexico.  I found out it's not that easy.  CA has about ten points they use, in addition to where you live, to determine if you are still a CA "resident" and taxpayer.

Yes the U.S. will want their money , and you can pay those taxes using internet filing and not be in the country.
California is a whole different thing, They will want their cut of anything you earned there or anything you own , or did own there.

Trust me there is no way to get out of California taxes. I imagine they don't care if you are still living there or not , just if you own or earned anything there. At Least that was their position when I was there. You have to not have any financial ties to California, that's why I closed my IRA and paid the fee.

As to CA that's not totally accurate.  You can still have some financial ties to Cali and not pay state income taxes. 

I worked for the State and know of several State employees who worked along the borders with both Oregon and Arizona.  They lived out of state, mainly because of the larger communities and they claimed tax exempt for Cali state taxes.  Even though they earned income in CA they didn't pay CA state income tax and the other two states were much more tax friendly.

how long do I gave to leave Mexico after six mo. before going back?

bothner06 wrote:

how long do I gave to leave Mexico after six mo. before going back?

Hi "bothner06", if I may suggest, you should call the Mexican consulate near your residence for the most accurate answers or if you're in Mexico go or call the closest INM office.

They will be please to help you. Also, this link on the immigration rules the article 60 is good to read (in spanish), http://www.gobernacion.gob.mx/es_mx/SEGOB/cambiomenu
I'm inclined to say there's no exact time BUT INM could ask questions on your reasons for entering on a tourist visa so often. Here's an interesting article about a couple doing so dated sept 13th http://explorenayarit.com/blog/6-month- … ease-read/



Adios y buen dia a todos, GyC.

jamesr3939 wrote:

As to CA that's not totally accurate.  You can still have some financial ties to Cali and not pay state income taxes. 

I worked for the State and know of several State employees who worked along the borders with both Oregon and Arizona.  They lived out of state, mainly because of the larger communities and they claimed tax exempt for Cali state taxes.  Even though they earned income in CA they didn't pay CA state income tax and the other two states were much more tax friendly.

"At Least that was their position when I was there." What I said was accurate then, My son is a state employee in Calif. now so I will have to ask him about current rules.

bothner06 wrote:

how long do I gave to leave Mexico after six mo. before going back?

Generally 3 days to a week depending on which border and which state you are going to, you can also exit Mexico into Belize and return in 3 days. People were just exiting and immediately returning and Mexico noticed that, but you could still try it.  So it depends on you .

I need to get cat supplies and groceries, do I have to go to Barre de Navida? Do they have a good grocerie?

Mazatlan would be ok too

travellight wrote:

At Least that was their position when I was there." What I said was accurate then, My son is a state employee in Calif. now so I will have to ask him about current rules.

Unless the tax law has changed since I retired in 2004, it's been that way for at least 20 years.  From what I just read on the FTB www site it might be harder now than back then.  Now they take into consideration California property ownership, CA driver license, location of bank accounts, and CA vehicle registration.  It appears you have to sever almost all ties to CA to avoid paying state income taxes.  Obviously, you can exempt out of state tax withholding but it might bite you in the butt later when you get hit with a huge tax bill.

bothner06 wrote:

I need to get cat supplies and groceries, do I have to go to Barre de Navida? Do they have a good grocerie?

Barra de Navidad is a small area so it depends on what you mean by groceries, there would be things like cat food, Oxxos, and very small markets, plus likely a fruit stand . I know I went to a similar sized town and the options were very limited, so if you are looking for full sized markets Mazatlan would be a better choice.
Yet a quick search shows that Barra is better supplied than the city I visited. Check it out.

jamesr3939 wrote:

travellight wrote:

At Least that was their position when I was there." What I said was accurate then, My son is a state employee in Calif. now so I will have to ask him about current rules.

Unless the tax law has changed since I retired in 2004, it's been that way for at least 20 years.  From what I just read on the FTB www site it might be harder now than back then.  Now they take into consideration California property ownership, CA driver license, location of bank accounts, and CA vehicle registration.  It appears you have to sever almost all ties to CA to avoid paying state income taxes.  Obviously, you can exempt out of state tax withholding but it might bite you in the butt later when you get hit with a huge tax bill.

Sounds pretty much the same , and we did move out of Calif well before 2004.  and as I recall had a hard time with the property and state tax issues. We moved to a state with no state taxes, just taxes on purchases. I would choose that over Calif. taxes any day.