Register RV in another state

We started fulltiming in Tally because DH was working there. DH got his DL first, then we bought a 5er. Sales tax is only 6% on vehicles and we saved even more every year for tag renewal.

Leon County is great for transferring tags to new vehicles. Online I can renew his DL, vehicle tags every year (every other year for 5er).

People choose a state for domicile for a particular reason. Florida, Texas, South Dakota fall into that category because they don't have a state income tax, and don't put up major barriers to people who domicile somewhere but don't reside anywhere in particular. These states are not necessarily the ones with lowest registration fees.

People who have a permanent residence and domicile will sometimes register a vehicle out of state for one of two reasons:

1. Avoid paying sales tax on a vehicle purchase. Montana is popular for this reason. But it does not mean registration fees are low, they may be paying hundreds per year registration and corporation fees, to have avoided a $10,000 or $100,000 bite on sales tax, i.e. it is something that works best when the purchase is very expensive, and your home state sales tax exposure is very high. It may also be legal to do this in Montana, but illegal in your home state.

2. For lower annual registration fees, or to duck personal property taxes. Most of the time, there is an up front cost, so you need a big annual savings. I know that truckers in Kansas sometimes register their vehicles in Oklahoma to save on annual fees and taxes, but to do that requires payment of our 3.5% excise tax one time, so that it is several years to payout.

If you live in Florida, you are already in one of the lowest cost states for vehicle registration fees (and also no income tax). Your county might be getting you on personal property tax, but I think if you shop around, you won't find any big savings on vehicle registration.

Keep in mind that, depending on the laws of the state where you reside, you may never be able to bring your RV home! Or, you may have to wait 6 months or a year before you can bring it home.
The trick, of course, is to KNOW and FOLLOW the rules in YOUR state, AND in the state where you wish to register your RV. If you do that, you won't have any problems.
Good luck.

golfoh1 wrote:
I am wondering about registering the RV in another state where it is less expensive.
I heard you can register in Texas, Fla., Montana for example. Can someone give any input on doing this?

Like some one stated on here...Fla is a great state to register an RV in...SD fee was at one time $450.00 a yr to register an RV...Fla only $74.00.....Chuck

golfoh1 wrote:
I am wondering about registering the RV in another state where it is less expensive.
I heard you can register in Texas, Fla., Montana for example. Can someone give any input on doing this?

We are set up in South Dakota as we are full timers with no brick home. I''de be very careful about registering in another state just to save a few bucks on taxes. That is a Felony as someone else pointed out. Not worth it to me.

Who's popping the popcorn this time?......:B:B....Dennis


You register your vehicles in your resident state, that is, where you vote, pay income taxes, live, bank etc. Registering your vehicles out of state to avoid paying taxes is tax evasion, a felony in all states.

That said, most people who full time look for a State that has low taxes, no State income taxes and no annual safety/smog checks. South Dakota is one of those States. When full timing, you transfer all your "stuff" there and declare that State to be your State of Residency. We vote there, have DL there, bank there, all mail goes there, etc etc...google RV tax evasion and you'll get a bunch of hits where States are going after the tax cheaters. Minnesota, I believe just prosecuted some 22 people for just that and collected around 3/4 million dollars in penalties......just sayin....Dennis

Do you want to leave your RV in another state? Lots of people by cars and leave at a second home/park model that they have in another state. Then you would register the car where it is garaged. That's the key, where will be RV be garaged. If it will be where you live, then it needs to be registered there. Be aware that a lot of states are being very aggressive about residents who register their RVs out of state, often having a reward program for neighbors who call in information to tip lines.

Barb

best to get your info straight from the state's website, thus I won't tell you about South Dakota's non-resident process but rather give you the link so you can read the facts straight from the source.

South Dakota non-resident

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Get a local lawyer who understands what you want and your state laws. You could be liable for tax evasion.