Jeff Bezos’ move to Miami will result in tax savings of approximately $600 million

An extra benefit of Jeff Bezos‘ $2 billion stock transaction last week was the absence of state taxes.

Bezos revealed on Instagram last year that he was moving to Miami and departing Seattle, where he had lived for over 30 years. He said that he moved to be nearer to his parents and to Blue Origin, the site of his rocket launches. The timing also pointed to taxes as a possible explanation.

A new 7% capital gains tax was implemented by the state of Washington in 2022 on sales of stocks or bonds valued at more than $250,000. The new levy was the first time Bezos would be subject to state taxes on his stock sales because Washington state does not have a personal income tax.

Bezos made up lost time after moving to Miami. Bezos started a pre-scheduled share-selling strategy last week with the goal of selling 50 million shares by January 31, 2025, according to a filing with the SEC. That comes to a total of over $8.7 billion at today’s prices.

Florida does not impose a capital gains tax or state income tax. He thereby avoided paying Washington state $140 million by taking advantage of the $2 billion transaction last week. He will save at least $610 million on the full selling of 50 million shares over the course of the upcoming year. And that is presuming no change in Amazon’s share price. His shares’ value as well as his tax savings will increase if they keep rising.

Stated differently, his Florida tax savings alone have covered the majority of the cost of his 417-foot yacht, Koru.

Bezos paid $147 million for two houses in Indian Creek for his new residence, and it has been rumored that he is also considering three additional properties on the island, which is home to Tom Brady and Carl Icahn. According to Miami brokers, Bezos is probably going to demolish the existing homes and construct a new one, which will probably cost more than $200 million in total.