Temporary Import of Class A to Canada

You won’t find much on the CBSA website either, they don’t like people doing this. It is however perfectly legal and done all the time.

The problem will be using terms like ‘import’ or ‘importation’ that means permanence, what you want is a temporary visit to Canada with a a vehicle that is positively returning to the US.

You are NOT IMPORTING a vehicle, you are driving it into Canada temporarily.

As with most things the CBSA officers have a wide degree of latitude on what they feel is admissible and what is not and you need to be properly prepared when you hit the border. You need to have documentation showing that you own and maintain the vehicle in the United States and that you are not attempting to import it and evade paying the taxes.

This of course is a very silly idea and I’ve pointed it out numerous time to CBSA agents who bring this idea up. No Province or Territory will accept an imported vehicle for registration without a Form 1 issued by Canada Customs. If I ‘smuggle’ a vehicle over the border as a ‘visitor’i don’t get a Form 1 and can’t register it here. So what’s the issue?

The one thing you need to bear in mind if you were purchasing a new vehicle however is that you will not pay the taxes in the state where you buy the vehicle and in Canada also. There are arrangements between states and countries where if you buy a motorhome in Florida but register it in Canada the US side will not charge you any sales tax as they consider it being sold into Canada tax free.

As a Canadian it is perfectly legal for you to own items of personal property outside of Canada. The Canadian government can’t put restrictions on your personal property UNTIL it crosses the border. Importing them means paying the taxes and possibly duty on them, bringing them in and back out as ‘luggage’ (personal property temporarily in Canada) is different. There is no tax or duty if it’s NOT “imported”.

This is why as a Canadian citizen you cannot bring someone else’s personal property into Canada without their written permission or them accompanying you, it is not YOUR ‘luggage’ it’s theirs.

If you want to register a vehicle in Florida, you may incur residency issues with Florida. You cannot title and license a vehicle in the United States unless you are a resident of the state in which it is titled and registered. As a Canadian citizen, you would have to become a legal resident alien of the United States, and then you would have to pay United Sates income tax. I think your 15% HST tax would be cheaper if, and that is a big if, you could even become a resident alien of the United States.

DownTheAvenue wrote:
If you want to register a vehicle in Florida, you may incur residency issues with Florida. You cannot title and license a vehicle in the United States unless you are a resident of the state in which it is titled and registered. As a Canadian citizen, you would have to become a legal resident alien of the United States, and then you would have to pay United Sates income tax. I think your 15% HST tax would be cheaper if, and that is a big if, you could even become a resident alien of the United States.

You do not have to be a resident in Arizona to register a vehicle in Arizona. I am legally a New York resident and have
1 car
1 motor home
1 Fifth wheel
and
1 ATV licensed in Arizona using my NY address as my mailing address and the RV park address as the local address

DownTheAvenue wrote:
If you want to register a vehicle in Florida, you may incur residency issues with Florida. You cannot title and license a vehicle in the United States unless you are a resident of the state in which it is titled and registered. As a Canadian citizen, you would have to become a legal resident alien of the United States, and then you would have to pay United Sates income tax. I think your 15% HST tax would be cheaper if, and that is a big if, you could even become a resident alien of the United States.

you do not have to be a resident just need a us address in the state your registering in
As to the OP question you can not do what you what legally and I personally thinks its pretty risky; If it was allowed iam sure we would see it a lot: I have never seen this tried ever and doubt
very very few have tried and been successful

You said "Temporary" import.

This suggests you will be returning it (And possibly you) to the USA perhaps every winter (After Florida is a great way to "Winterize" a motor home).

This may make a big difference....

However I'm not an attorney.. And I don't deal in international laws or rules in any case for the most part.. So I'm not in a position to offer more than the statement "This may make a big difference" and even that is qualified by the word "May" in the middle.

Gone south: Be cautious in accepting info on this subject from me or anyone else. It is a grey area. Jaxdad has of course given you bad information. You MAY be able to bring the unit to Canada BUT not to use it. You can bring it home to do repairs or load it for travel. Cannot legally go camping. Otherwise everyone would be doing this to avoid taxes. Why do you want to bring it to Canada? Many states will not accept your Canadian registration to avoid sales tax. Indiana collects on every unit sold even if it is going to a nearby state. Arizona collects sales tax from dealers on any unit sold. Dealers used to drive your purchase to NM or CA but that has been stopped as well. This subject has been discussed in Snowbird forums. Mostly by Ontario residents who winter in Florida. No matter what you do make sure you write your question in a letter form to CRA and Customs. If you get a positive answer that letter is a ruling! Your vehicle has to be registered somewhere so some jurisdiction will collect tax. Unlesss you want to go the Montana LLC route. Some expats use South Dakota. Low taxes. As was stated many states collect an annual tax! HST will look cheap in comparison. I do have experience in most of the actions I mentioned.

Moisheh

When you are in Florida I'd check with their DMV to get the proper info. unlike here.

Part of the problem is that you will be dealing with different agencies. To import anything there are rules form the CBA and also from CRA. One might have stricter rules. Then you have 2 countries to worry about. Personally I would not pursue this. You could end up in deeper problems than paying HST. Either leave the unit in the USA ( many BC residents do this) or import the MH. I might also add that if you register in the USA insurance is a little harder to get. It is available but with a foreign driver's license they often charge a premium. US insurance companies do a credit check on their clients. Bad credit gets you higher rates. Being Canadian they cannot get a credit check due to not having a US SIN.

Moisheh

moisheh wrote:
Part of the problem is that you will be dealing with different agencies. To import anything there are rules form the CBA and also from CRA. One might have stricter rules. Then you have 2 countries to worry about. Personally I would not pursue this. You could end up in deeper problems than paying HST. Either leave the unit in the USA ( many BC residents do this) or import the MH. I might also add that if you register in the USA insurance is a little harder to get. It is available but with a foreign driver's license they often charge a premium. US insurance companies do a credit check on their clients. Bad credit gets you higher rates. Being Canadian they cannot get a credit check due to not having a US SIN.

Moisheh

totally agree; its not worth the hassle and I personally don't believe its legal either as we both have said everyone would be doing it if it could be done; I have bought two MH and a car from US and never had to pay US state sales tax; There are ways of getting sales tax if applicable deferred

gutfelt: Did you buy from a dealer or an owner? Big difference.

Moisheh