British couple buying an RV in the US
Hello. We are a British couple with long stay US visas. We want to buy a RV to travel round the US and Canada (and possibly down to S America) for a couple of years. We are experienced campervanners a...
Forum Discussion
US taxes are not as simple as VAT tax in the UK.
For the purchase of a vehicle, there may be sales tax, excise tax, and personal property taxes. Those are all administered by the state the vehicle is sold in but are usually differed to the registering state though reciprocal agreements. But not all states have reciprocal agreements will all other states. So research both selling and registering state requirements.
In New Mexico, there is no sales tax on vehicle sales. There is an excise tax of 4% charged on the amount of the sale. New Mexico will base the excise tax on the market value of the vehicle if no bill of sale is used as in the case of gifting. Personal property tax was described above. New Mexico doesn't have personal property taxes yet.
If reciprocal agreements are in place, you'll get a temporary registration for a fee from the state of sale to legally drive the state of registration. The states that I've dealt with required the vehicle to be present in the state of registration at the time of registration. Only dealers can get away with registering a vehicle by mail.
As the used RV market is hot right now and vehicles are few and far between, consider using national classifieds like RVtrader.com or craiglist search apps to locate a vehicle and then research the state requirements once one is located.
For the purchase of a vehicle, there may be sales tax, excise tax, and personal property taxes. Those are all administered by the state the vehicle is sold in but are usually differed to the registering state though reciprocal agreements. But not all states have reciprocal agreements will all other states. So research both selling and registering state requirements.
In New Mexico, there is no sales tax on vehicle sales. There is an excise tax of 4% charged on the amount of the sale. New Mexico will base the excise tax on the market value of the vehicle if no bill of sale is used as in the case of gifting. Personal property tax was described above. New Mexico doesn't have personal property taxes yet.
If reciprocal agreements are in place, you'll get a temporary registration for a fee from the state of sale to legally drive the state of registration. The states that I've dealt with required the vehicle to be present in the state of registration at the time of registration. Only dealers can get away with registering a vehicle by mail.
As the used RV market is hot right now and vehicles are few and far between, consider using national classifieds like RVtrader.com or craiglist search apps to locate a vehicle and then research the state requirements once one is located.
