Hey everyone - very similar post to the latest one in this forum by mine is more tax related. My wife and I are Canadian citizens but we want to purchase an RV in the US and leave it down there for the winters. We will be going to Palm Springs/Indio area for 6 months each year. We would never bring it back to Canada ... just leave it in storage during the summer months.Here is the key thing - I want to try to avoid paying as much sales tax on the RV purchase as possible. Would that mean purchasing from a dealer in Arizona and having them deliver it to me in CA (out of state purchase would be tax exempt I was told). Would CA then allow me to plate it or would I have to pay CA sales taxes when registering it? Should I get it shipped to another state nearby with lower taxes and register it there to pay the least amount? If so, which state?The RV we are looking at is 78K + 12% tax here in Canada = $87K CAD. The same rig is $52KUSD x 1.3exchange = $67K CAD before taxes. So at the minimum its an $11K savings - significantly more if there is a way to pay less sales tax.Thanks for any help you can give! I have searched everywhere and so happy to have found this forum :) Hoping someone can help me out!

Whatever you do make sure you have all the facts.If you get it wrong and the tax man gets a whiff of some shady deal you will pay much more than what you ‘saved’

You cannot register in CA without paying sales tax (or proving you did in another state). Same with NV. Oregon has no sales tax but I don't know how expensive 1st time registration is. You'd have to have a street address there to do that. Sure looks like you are exposing yourself to some serious fines by playing that game.

The other option not mentioned is Arizona. Some of the You Tubers have mentioned using Az for titling and registration without fully changing domicile there. Bob Wells, @ cheap rv living is one, from his domicile series. But do your due diligence there as well, He isn't an attorney.

I would check Escapees and see what they offer

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daveblack99
Explorer
Jun 12, 2018
time2roll wrote:
Because if you want to put Calif. tags on the RV the lookback period is one year to determine if you will pay sales tax on the purchase. That was the question right?

CA does not allow you to just buy out of state to avoid the sales tax.

***Link Removed***

There are four states with no sales tax: Delaware, Montana, Oregon, and New Hampshire. A fifth, Alaska, has no state-level sales tax but allows municipalities to impose the retail-level tax. As a result, the average sales tax rate in Alaska is 1.69% (GOOGLE)

I am not trying to AVOID the sales tax - I just wanted to know the cheapest way to go about it. Even 7.25% in CA is much better than 12% where I am :)
time2roll
Nomad
Jun 12, 2018
OK I misread what you said... Many in the US go to great lengths to avoid taxes.
daveblack99
Explorer
Jun 12, 2018
Yeah its a sad day when I am ecstatic about paying 7% sales tax lol.
bighatnohorse
Explorer II
Jun 13, 2018
You might try calling Mesa RV and/or Camping World in Arizona and talk to someone in sales with your question.
They are the experts.

I was RV shopping at the Camping World RV sales and they attempted to explain to me how I could save money by doing what you are questioning.

I ended up purchasing a truck camper which does not require registration in Arizona (it's considered "cargo", not a vehicle there). That's another story, better left alone.

At any rate, they do have a "scheme" which is lawfully compliant and can save some money according to them.
pawatt
Explorer
Jun 13, 2018
I agree that buying a used Park Model would be your best deal if you plan on leaving it in one place you can probably get something really nice for one fourth of the cost of that new RV. You'll have more room. You can have a shed. You may be able to landscape your lot to your desires with permission. The savings would be far far more then shopping around for a low sales tax.
cruiserjs
Explorer
Jun 14, 2018
Oh boy - folks are confusing with the "CA" abbreviation - Canada or California?? It makes a difference. Need all to know what you are talking about?? Me included.

Now my input - look at buying a park model in an AZ park - from a private individual - no tax.
moonstone
Explorer
Jun 19, 2018
Agree that a park model might be best if you don't intend to move it from place to place.
Years ago my in-laws got tired of driving their MH back & forth from north of Toronto to Florida. They found a nice, reasonable, used 30ft travel trailer (not park model) then found a campground with storage. They never plated the trailer since it never moved off the campground property.
As far as I know there were never any tax implications with either country, both when they bought it and, over a decade later, when they sold it.
cruiserjs
Explorer
Jun 20, 2018
kerrlakeRoo wrote:
The other option not mentioned is Arizona. Some of the You Tubers have mentioned using Az for titling and registration without fully changing domicile there.
Bob Wells, @ cheap rv living is one, from his domicile series.
But do your due diligence there as well, He isn't an attorney.

OK - in AZ, if you buy from a private individual you do NOT owe/pay sales tax. Here in our park there are always RVs (motor hoes, 5th wheels) for sale. I know this from personal experience by buying our last MH privately and subsequently registering it in AZ.

PM me for location and info.

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