Q: Can you live in one state and claim residency in another? Our home is one mile inside the state line, but we want to claim residency in the other state.

A: The short answer is no. If you live in one state you can’t claim residency in another. You can split the time you reside in one state or another. But if you own a home, vote in your district, have a driver’s license from the state, receive mail at your home, send your children to school and consider one state your home, you can’t simply “claim” residency in another state. Even if that state is one mile away.

Your question answers itself. You live in one state. That is the state of your residency. Residency is made up of many elements, including where you spend most of your time, where your home is located, where you vote, where you have mail sent, where your children go to school, where you file your tax returns, where your car is registered. The list of items proving residency is quite substantial.

To claim residency in another state, you’d basically have to move and live there.