what is a domicile 
a domicile is the place where you maintain a permanent home because it s your fixed or principal place of residence your domicile is used in a variety of legal or tax purposes understanding domicilesat birth your domicile of origin is the home you share with your parents or legal guardians this location remains your domicile until you reach the age of majority and acquire a domicile of choice this locale remains your domicile until you leave it and relocate to a new domicile with the bona fide intent to make the new domicile your fixed and permanent home no matter how many homes you own only one is your domicile it is the one you acquire intending to remain indefinitely and to which you relocate after you abandon your old domicile it could be the home where you live work bank vote and register your car 1as noted above there are certain rights and responsibilities associated with your domicile this means that your domicile means you must adhere to certain activities based on this location this includes things like voting certain registrations your driver s license and car registration filing taxes and claiming benefits and filing lawsuits among others residence and domicile are not the same and have distinct legal meanings 2uses of domicilesyou ll see some of the concepts below mentioned throughout this article for now here s a summary of the different way your domicile may be used other domicile considerationssome people live equally in two homes for example suppose that after many years of living in maine and vacationing in florida a person then decides to live half the year in maine and the other half the year in florida they file their taxes and make a will in maine but vote and have registered their car in florida this even split of their essential activities between maine and florida indicates that they did not intend to abandon maine when they moved to florida consequently both maine and florida are their residences but since they file taxes in maine that state becomes their domicile not florida you cannot change your domicile by merely filing a declaration of domicile in another country or state instead your lifestyle must comport with a permanent change of domicile your intended domicile can be inferred from the place where you live and spend time your domicile is the location you declare in legal documents such as the address you use to vote bank register vehicles and pay taxes ending a domicile association includes your efforts to close bank accounts surrender your driver s license remove your name from voting rolls and pay taxes as a non resident your domicile carries legal consequences it defines which country state and courts have jurisdiction to probate wills administer estates adjudicate lawsuits and assess state income and death taxes after a divorce the legal domicile can affect your ability to claim and monitor alimony and child support payments your domicile affects the circumstances under which you pay state taxes residence in a country or state limits the reach of taxing authorities to tax income you earn within its borders 2the imposition of death taxes is by the domicile country or state depending on your stated domicile and that of your beneficiaries estate tax implications may be dramatically different the domicile can extend its reach to all of your income from any source worldwide however indications of residence such as owning real property or indications of domicile such as failing to abandon your previous domicile properly can subject you to taxes in more than one state 3upper income taxpayers will often domicile in a state that has the lowest tax liability for them domicile vs residenceyou may have heard residence and domicile being used interchangeably to refer to your home however the two terms have distinct legal meanings the distinguishing factor between the two words is the length of time you intend to live there a residence is a home you expect to live in for a temporary period whereas a domicile is a home you plan to live in for an indefinite period any place you own property or live for a prescribed period can be your residence but only the one site where you intend to make your permanent home and remain indefinitely can be your domicile thus you can have many residences but you can have only one domicile in one intended place 2your domicile is also your residence but your residence may or may not be your domicile 