Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News
“Florida does not require people to file a declaration of domicile to establish residency in the state, said Palm Beach real estate attorney Guy Rabideau of the Rabideau Klein law firm.”
Fox News conservative pundit Sean Hannity has made it official — Palm Beach is now his primary home, according to a recently filed courthouse document.
The former New York resident has filed a “declaration of domicile” at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in which he describes his Palm Beach townhouse as his “permanent home.” The document was recorded Jan. 12.
Hannity has owned the oceanfront townhouse at 9 Sloan’s Curve in a gated development on the South End of town since 2021, when he paid a recorded $5.3 million for it.
On Jan. 2, Hannity announced on his weekday radio show that he would now be broadcasting from “the free state of Florida.” He said the policies of the Sunshine State’s conservative political leadership were more in line with his values than those of liberal-leaning “blue” states such as New York.
But he has never said exactly where he is broadcasting from.
If he were to broadcast from the townhouse, he would be violating a town law that prevents businesses from operating in private homes, officials have told the Palm Beach Daily News.
Hannity recently won the town’s approval to remodel his townhouse with a second-floor addition.
Last week, a spokesperson for Fox News Media provided the Palm Beach Daily News with a brief statement about his broadcast operations.
“Mr. Hannity has access to numerous properties and studios in Florida and for personal security reasons does not discuss his location at any time,” the spokeswoman said.
The late Rush Limbaugh once broadcast his own conservative radio show from his Palm Beach oceanfront estate but ended up renting commercial space for a studio across town to comply with the law.
Hannity hosts a weeknight television show on Fox News. His separate weekday radio program is nationally syndicated on the iHeart Radio network.
Hannity has followed other Palm Beach snowbirds who have filed a Florida declaration of domicile form, including former President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump. They relinquished their New York residency and designated the Mar-a-Lago Club as their primary residence in 2019 when it was still nicknamed the Southern White House.
Florida does not require people to file a declaration of domicile to establish residency in the state, said Palm Beach real estate attorney Guy Rabideau of the Rabideau Klein law firm.
Instead, Florida homeowners can establish residency and qualify for the benefits of a homestead exemption — which brings with it property-tax benefits — by simply doing three things, Rabideau said. They must acquire a Florida driver’s license, register to vote in Florida and register their vehicle license plates with their county.
But a formal declaration of domicile can be used by Florida residents to help prove their new residency to officials in their former states, Rabideau added. It’s especially important for residents who move to Florida from states that levy their own income tax, which the Sunshine State does not do, Rabideau said.
States that levy state income taxes often require people who have established Florida as their permanent home to prove that they spend more than half of the year in the Sunshine State. States may require other proof to demonstrate that a new Florida resident has indeed relinquished the previous domicile and left the former state’s tax obligations behind them.
Such losses for states with their own income tax can be substantial when wealthy people move to Florida. That scenario that has become common since the coronavirus pandemic hit in early 2020 and more people have viewed the Sunshine State as a haven for their health and their taxes.
Hannity does not have his Palm Beach townhouse homesteaded as his primary home in the latest Palm Beach County property-tax rolls.
Hannity’s declaration states that he is a “bona fide resident” of Florida and includes his townhouse’s address.
“I hereby declare that my above-described residence and abode in the State of Florida constitutes my predominant and principal home, and I intend to continue it permanently as such,” says the declaration signed by Hannity.
The document lists his former home as his estate in Oyster Bay on New York’s Long Island.
A spokeswoman for New York City-based Fox News Media this month told USA TODAY that Hannity would return to New York on occasion for live audience programs.