"Residence" Mailing address for Investment Accounts

[FALCON]

I searched for this but couldn't find anything. If there is a previous thread on the subject and you know where it is, please point the way to it.


Summary: My investing company can tell my mail forwarding address is not a residence. They are strict about having an actual residence address on file. They say it is an IRS requirement. How do I get around this without causing some kind of tax/audit liability?


(note: This is not about mail. It's about taxes)


I have set up a mailing address in South Dakota at a mail forwarder. The address is their business address with number at the end (111 ABC St. #1234). As I've been changing my address, some companies do an automatic check with (I believe) USPS to see if it is a correct address. Many of the times, those checks don't like the address having the # at the end. Sometimes their websites won't accept the address at all and I have to call them and say "that's really the address, just put it in"

I changed the address for my account at the investing website I use. It seemed to go fine. A coupe weeks later when I tried to transfer more money from my checking account (at a different bank) to my investing account, the transfer failed. When I went to try it again, I got an error saying "that bank account has been restricted"... huh... I spoke to someone on their customer support chat. She explained that my primary address tied to my account must be a residence. I explained that I don't have an actual residence, only a mailing address. She said (I've cut out a lot of back and forth that was a result of her not being able to understand that it's possible for a person to not actually have a physical residence with a mailing address)

On the rare occasion that we send mail, it can go to a PO Box. Yet the primary address on file doe need to be a residential street address. You are welcome to add that box as an alternate mailing address.

..... we need the address where you live and an alternate mailing address if it differs from the primary address. That primary address needs to be residential street address.

.....You will need to list a physical street address in the primary address section. Beside the zip code you can click in the "I have an alternate address" box. Then enter your box address as a secondary mailing address.

.....We submit tax reportable information (sales, dividends, interest) to the IRS. Industry regulations require a residential street address as the primary address on file.

I was thinking maybe I could just use a family member's address for the primary, and put my SD forwarding address for the mailing address. None of my family or friends live in South Dakota, so the primary address would be in another state. I don't actually get any mail from them, but what I'm concerned about is taxes. As a resident of South Dakota, which has no state income tax, I don't plan to submit any state tax return (I'm assuming that's how it works - that you don't have to do anything). If I set my primary address on my investment account to a residence in another state, I imagine that state may expect me to file a state income return there.

Does anyone have experience with this? How have you handled this?

I think at this point, my options are:
A - Change primary address to family member's in another state. Just see what happens or learn more about this as the year goes on.  
B - Just pick some random house address in South Dakota and use that for my primary address on my investing account.
C - Update my primary address at investment account without using the box number (which might get it to pass the USPS residence check), and add a mailing address that does include the box number
D - Try to convince my investing company that my mail forwarding address is actually a residence

My concern with A and B is that the tax documents from the investment company will probably have those addresses on them. That would be even more of a concern for option A where that address will be in a different state

I feel like option C is the first thing to start with. If that ends up working, I think everything will work out ok.

 

[ggwoman]

I searched for this but couldn't find anything. If there is a previous thread on the subject and you know where it is, please point the way to it.


Summary: My investing company can tell my mail forwarding address is not a residence. They are strict about having an actual residence address on file. They say it is an IRS requirement. How do I get around this without causing some kind of tax/audit liability?


(note: This is not about mail. It's about taxes)


I have set up a mailing address in South Dakota at a mail forwarder. The address is their business address with number at the end (111 ABC St. #1234). As I've been changing my address, some companies do an automatic check with (I believe) USPS to see if it is a correct address. Many of the times, those checks don't like the address having the # at the end. Sometimes their websites won't accept the address at all and I have to call them and say "that's really the address, just put it in"

I changed the address for my account at the investing website I use. It seemed to go fine. A coupe weeks later when I tried to transfer more money from my checking account (at a different bank) to my investing account, the transfer failed. When I went to try it again, I got an error saying "that bank account has been restricted"... huh... I spoke to someone on their customer support chat. She explained that my primary address tied to my account must be a residence. I explained that I don't have an actual residence, only a mailing address. She said (I've cut out a lot of back and forth that was a result of her not being able to understand that it's possible for a person to not actually have a physical residence with a mailing address)


I was thinking maybe I could just use a family member's address for the primary, and put my SD forwarding address for the mailing address. None of my family or friends live in South Dakota, so the primary address would be in another state. I don't actually get any mail from them, but what I'm concerned about is taxes. As a resident of South Dakota, which has no state income tax, I don't plan to submit any state tax return (I'm assuming that's how it works - that you don't have to do anything). If I set my primary address on my investment account to a residence in another state, I imagine that state may expect me to file a state income return there.

Does anyone have experience with this? How have you handled this?

I think at this point, my options are:
A - Change primary address to family member's in another state. Just see what happens or learn more about this as the year goes on.  
B - Just pick some random house address in South Dakota and use that for my primary address on my investing account.
C - Update my primary address at investment account without using the box number (which might get it to pass the USPS residence check), and add a mailing address that does include the box number
D - Try to convince my investing company that my mail forwarding address is actually a residence

My concern with A and B is that the tax documents from the investment company will probably have those addresses on them. That would be even more of a concern for option A where that address will be in a different state

I feel like option C is the first thing to start with. If that ends up working, I think everything will work out ok.

I'm going through Americas Mailbox in SD.  They address this issue on their website and in the application package:

Complying with the Patriot Act:
When you become a member of Americas Mailbox, you will be given a legal address that is good for all purposes, including being on your driver's license.
What you may run across with some credit cards (and also banks and brokerage firms) is this part of the Patriot Act:

CIP (Customer Identification Program) rule (31 C.F.R. 103.121 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title31-vol1/pdf/CFR-2010-title31-vol1-sec103-121.pdf)), which is the regulation implementing Section 326 of the USAPATRIOT Act that requires a financial institution to get the following customer information (bottom of page 480 from PDF above):

(1) Name;(2) Date of birth, for an individual;
(3) Address, which shall be:
(i) For an individual, a residential or business street address;
(ii) For an individual who does not have a residential or business street address, an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) box number, or the residential or business street address of next of kin or of another contact individual;  

All PMB addresses in the country have been flagged as non-residential for purposes of this program.

However, you simply give them the "sticks and bricks" street address of any friend, relative or contact individual of your choice and you will have no more problems. You must STRESS that YOUR mailing address at Americas Mailbox is the ONLY way to contact you. No mail or correspondence will ever be sent to your contact individual.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

I have investment accounts with Schwab and they let me use a P.O. Box for my mailing address. Used a friends address as my home address. I also have all my mail from them delivered electronically so I never have to physically go there and pick it up.

 

[FALCON]

I have investment accounts with Schwab and they let me use a P.O. Box for my mailing address. Used a friends address as my home address. I also have all my mail from them delivered electronically so I never have to physically go there and pick it up.

Are your friend and your PO box in the same state, or different ones?

(If they are different states: how long have you been doing this, and how have you done your state taxes?)

 

[FALCON]

@ggwoman - thank you for sharing that. It may help me out when sorting through details or discussing it with my investment company.