Principal Residence

Making bank and live in California? You'll pay 13.3% income tax over a million bucks. Making bank and live in Florida, Texas, Wyoming? You'll pay 0% tax...period.

Read our lips: No tax.

So...defining your principal residence is a big deal when it comes to paying income taxes, and it's partly why so many wealthy people are leaving Blue States for tax haven states (ironically labeled "Red;" those states are actually in relatively good financial condition vs the Blue).

For most states, residency gets defined as where you intend to live, but most have caps. That is, if you spend 183-ish days in California, then you're deemed a California resident, no matter where you notionally "intend" to live. Other states are more casual about things. Like, in Wyoming, since there are no taxes to collect anyway, they're pretty easy about where you define your principal residence. Sorta works like the Mexican border: tons of people trying to get out of California...not many fighting hard to declare the state as their princiapl residence (unless they're from Mexico or other countries that treat their citizens so poorly they'll risk their lives to escape).