Licensing in NC, tax home in WI?

[aazobeck]

Hi all!

I have a quick question about my tax home. Before traveling, I lived in NC. I have my driver's license, RN license and have a rental through the month of May. Once my lease is up, I plan to rent a room from a family member and call that my tax home, but it is in Wisconsin.. Is keeping my driver's license and RN license in NC okay while i claim my tax home in Wisconsin? I would like to keep those things there because I plan to go back to NC eventually.

Next question.. if I were to choose not to rent, do I tell my company that my stipends need to be taxed? Can they do that and is it worth it to not have to deal with a tax home?

I just want to make sure I have all this down before I start renting there. Thanks so much in advance!

[elkpark]

If you're going to be physically living in WI, WI will expect you to get a WI driver's license and surrender your NC license. Also, WI and NC are both "compact states" (signatories of the Nurse Licensure Compact); the compact rules specify that you can only be licensed in one compact state (at a time), and that state must be your state of primary residence. Unless you are going to be "maintaining a permanent residence" (the language used in the compact rules) in NC, which it sounds like you're not going to be doing, you need to apply for licensure in WI and your NC license will become invalid.

If you were moving to a non-compact state, you could keep your NC license for as long as you liked, but the rules are different when moving from one compact state to another.

You can always get new licenses if/when you return to NC in the future.

[aazobeck]

Thank you for the information! That makes sense. If I were to not claim a tax home, could my travel company tax my stipends? I'm debating the pros and cons of each option.. Either going through the hassle of renting an apt that I'll barely live in or taxing all my pay and hopefully still making a livable amount of money..

[NedRN]

You won't lose your NC license, it simply reverts from multi-state to single state. If you are going to be itinerant (without a tax home), you should inform your agency of your new tax status. Otherwise you will owe a ton of money at the end of the year.

You can be itinerant for tax purposes, yet maintain a nexus in NC, thus keeping your driver's license (and possibly owing NC state income taxes). Theoretically your compact license will still be good, but I've heard of rulings the other way. Clarify that with the NC BON.

[chare]

You won't lose your NC license, it simply reverts from multi-state to single state...

Not if she becomes licensed in WI with multi state privileges.

[NedRN]

Not if she becomes licensed in WI with multi state privileges.

Sure, but that will only happen with WI residency. What I said is the general principle, when you leave state residency, the license reverts to single state. If you reside in a compact state and obtain a multi-state license, you are correct that another compact state license will be void at that point. And unnecessary as your compact license will enable working in the previous residency state.