Declaring a state of residency, and acquiring a given state's CDL.

You certainly seem determined to complicate a situation that is incredibly simple.

The absolute bottom line is that everyone in the U.S. who works has a "tax residence" (an IRS term) where he/she/it is responsible for filing, or avoiding, state taxes. There is NO requirement for that person to earn his/her/its income in the "tax residence" state; the aforementioned person may be a traveling salesman, a migrant farm worker, a long-haul truck driver or even an active duty military member who rarely, if ever, visits the "tax residence".

Any company based in the United States can legally hire employees from any state in the union and if said employee wishes to maintain a "tax residence" in a state different from the state in which the company does the majority of it's business, it is perfectly legal to do so. The United States is still, in many ways, a free country.

In general, one can expect to receive a W-2 form from the employer with the proper taxes withheld for one's "tax residence". There are exceptions to this but there's isn't enough bandwidth available on this planet to review every state & federal tax law that could conceivably apply. You can either take this assertion on faith, do the necessary research yourself or hire a "lawyer specialist" at this point.

As to the "'work' in multiple states" question, that is an issue that holds no relevance for you, as a truck driver. Your tax liabilities will be determined by your "tax residence" and your W-2 form and, no, a truck driver does NOT receive a W-2 form from each state in which he works. It is your employer's responsibility to sort out whatever tax liabilities IT has in other states.

Since one's "tax residence" is usually determined through some proof of physical residency, it is normal for one to hold a driver's license from the same state. There are exceptions to this but I don't intend to wander through the minutiae of every possible scenario that might occur.

In that you seem to be hung up on the Texas scenario, let me clarify it for you:

Regional driving is NOT over-the-road and the driver will NOT be running all 48 states. The driver WILL be operating out of a central location - possibly a terminal or a regional distribution center - and the employer usually requires that you establish residence within 'X' miles of that central location as a condition of employment.

Having established said physical residence, the state will generally require the driver to acquire the appropriate state driver's license within 90 days. The physical residence may also change the driver's "tax residence".

If you intend to drive for an major training company (Schneider, Swift, Werner, etc.) they will not get you into tax, or licensing, trouble. Their profits depend on it. On the other hand, if you choose to work for Lester MacGillicudy's Trucking & Snake Removal Service, you may wish to retain the services of a good attorney.

 

Everything depends on the state and there are different residency requirements for different purposes within each individual state. One may be considered a resident for the purpose of vehicle licensing after 90 days (90 days is pretty close to a standard throughout the U.S.) but a non-resident for the purpose of in-state tuition until a year has passed. Don't get lost in this bureaucratic nonsense.

As for getting a new CDL, it all comes down to changing residences. If, for example, your "tax residence" is Walla Walla, Washington when you go to work for Schneider, you can drive all 48 states, and Canada, for the next fifty years with your Washington state CDL and without ever having to return to scenic Walla Walla.

You're still good if sometime in the future you fall in love and begin to cohabit with the woman/man/gerbil of your dreams in tropical Wahoo, Nebraska. However, if you purchase a vehicle while wallowing in Wahoo, and said vehicle requires a state-issued license, you have just become a resident of Nebraska and will now require a Nebraska CDL.

Clear as mud, now?

 

i've taken several jobs during past years in other states, never changed my TX CDL..

 

I got most my info here
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...5818-relocating-cdl-from-one-state-other.html
my first post was horrible
I have a CDL with hazmat, tanker, and double&triples endorsements. I applied for and was offered a job in Houston for Schneider hauling tankers. I live in salt lake city, Ut and have been unemployef for 7 months. Nobody was forcing me to move. Schneider was the only tanker company I could fond to train me and the closest and busiest was the Houston teriminal . I followed ETHOS' s thread and Wyrob's thread and got a lot of info here
In TTR forums

I'm just whining and being dratic and most likely a big chicken. I've been in Utah 22 years. I really want the job, but am intimidated by the move and terrified I'm going to get down and have something go wrong and then I'll be making a "I worked for Schneider for an hour part 2" thread Lol

 

Here's a thought, scythe08, which may be of use to you. It's not the least expensive method of making the transition to Houston, but it may be the 'safest'.

If you're married, leave your family in Utah for the time being and head down to Houston on your own. You can stay in a residence hotel until you determine if you're going to stay with the job. Should Schneider require you to obtain a Texas driver's license before they transition you from training to a full-time position, use the terminal address as your home address and rent a p.o. box to use as your mailing address where the DMV will mail your license. You can change your various addresses in the future if you decide to stay with the job.

 

Use the terminal address as his home address? Does TX allow that? Doesn't he have to show utility bill or lease contract or such to transfer his driver ID to TX? And if he owns a vehicle in his name, doesn't he have to transfer his vehicle registration to TX as well? I heard that vehicle registration, driver ID and state where one declares taxes must all match.

 

Federal regulations require you to update your license when you move, whether to a different city or a different state. the Hazmat test must be retaken when moving to another state . . . been there, done that in 2000 when I moved to Florida . . . You are only allowed to have one license, and it must be updated within 30 days . . . the one "MAKING" him do this is the federal regulations, not the company or the state, since the state is just enforcing the regulations set down by the feds.

You have to have a physical address for the license. That's for ANY driver's license. A PO Box doesn't work.

TWIC card is something that lets you get into the ports on the coast much easier than if you didn't have one. He has to pay for all of it, as an expense of his job. Some companies will reimburse for the TWIC card, but not always. He's looking at about $180 (rough guess based on WI licensing and what I have heard about TWIC cards).

As to the OP, do you know someone in the area that you could "stay" with when you are there, with an address that you can use? That may eliminate some problems for you.

 

You are quite correct about transferring his CDL to Texas, Rocks. I just looked this stuff up yesterday and already forgot. Rather than admit to being stupid, I'm going to claim a pre-coffee lapse.

 

I just re-read the FMCSR concerning commercial driver licensing and though you are correct about the number of CDLs a driver may hold, I can find no federal requirement to change one's license when one moves. Perhaps you could provide a link?

BTW, trying to utilize someone else's address won't fly any better than my suggestion of using the terminal address; the state will only accept certain documentary proof of residence. As to the P.O. Box, some states will allow a driver to have a MAILING ADDRESS as well as a brick & mortar address.