Convincing Nevada that you have your “legal residence” in NV is nice, but what matters is convincing a court (should it come to that), should California disagree.
There are lots (millions?) of U.S. citizens that have homes in more than one state, and picking which one is your “principal” residence should be done with care. At a minimum, I would expect your drivers license to match, and also where you register to vote. As far as I know, you can only have one active, valid drivers license, and you have to surrender any others as a condition.
Having said this, I understand that most (all?) states that have an income tax have laws (upheld by federal courts) that entitle them to collect income tax from you based on all wages earned while you are present in their state. For example, if you are visiting for a sales meeting, or a deposition, or the like. They love to pick on high wage earners like sports starts and media personalities (Google Rush Limbaugh and New York state taxes).
But, I am talking about retirement, when our income will be derived solely from a combination of already taxed savings plus taxible pension plan distributions (CB Plan, IRA, 401K, 403(b), 457). for whatever reasons, the federal courts spanked California for trying to come after Nevada residents for taxes on 401k distributions, even though the plan was funded from tax-free earnings made in California. Doesn’t seem much different than the “you owe us cause that’s where you earned it” laws, but ….
