Sales Tax / Registration Question

You pay tax to the state you register in.

If you register in Ohio and then move to Florida you will pay tax in Ohio, and then pay transfer fees and import fees to Florida.

It sounds crazy but my cousin had to pay some environmental impact (import) fee on all vehicles when they moved to Florida.

Just moved to Florida from VA last November. I registered my motor home, Jeep, and Prius in about 15 minutes. There is an import fee on each vehicle (about $250 each) plus reg and title fees. My total fees including two drivers' licenses about $1100.00.

It is ALL done at county clerk's office in the county where you have your address. I did it in Green Cove Springs then bought in Satellite Beach about 3 months later so had to change all addresses for about another $80. No DMV lines like some states. Brevard County has a bunch of clerk's offices.

If your tax in Ohio are less than in FL then you pay the difference. If more you do NOT get a refund from FL.

You need two forms of ID to get a DL in Florida. Look up what is required on the internet. THEY ARE PARTICULAR AND MANY FORMS OF ID ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

Every state is different. If you can get a long term non-resident temporary tag from the dealer, that would be ideal. When we were Motorhome shopping, we looked in both Florida and Georgia (where we live). The dealer in Florida told us they would charge us the FL state sales tax of 4% and that most likely when we register in GA, we would have to pay the extra 3% to equal our County sales tax.

In GA (and FL I believe), the state charges one tax rate and the County/City can add up to 4% more (may be higher in FL). At the time we were shopping the sales tax in my county was an additional 3%.

We ultimately bought our motorhome in NJ. The Dealer in NJ told us that if we buy cash they wouldn't charge us sales tax since we lived in GA. We would pay the sales tax when we register in GA. Since we financed, we were charged sales tax and they gave us a check for the amount of the tax to hand over to the state of GA. When we registered in GA we had to pay an additional $20 or so because in NJ they don't pay sales tax on titling fees, but in GA we do.

Moral of the story, like I said, every state is different. It's a complicated situation with 3 different states, if you can avoid Ohio, that would be ideal. I would talk to the dealer and see if they can give you a long term non-resident temporary tag so you can avoid registering in Ohio. If you register it in OH, most likely you won't be able to get the title before you leave for FL and most often DMV items can't be forwarded.

-Michael

Having the trailer delivered to Ohio or Florida is the only way to avoid paying sales tax to Indiana. The other states will charge you more if their tax rate is higher. Otherwise you will pay no more sales tax.

I've titled and registered vehicles and toys in many states without having a DL for that state yet. It's not a big deal. Register it wherever it is most advantageous to you tax wise.

Grit dog is wrong regarding Florida. You must show a Florida d/l. I just went thru it. Things have changed since 9/11 in most states.

oldchief7155 wrote:
Grit dog is wrong regarding Florida. You must show a Florida d/l. I just went thru it. Things have changed since 9/11 in most states.

I stand corrected then. Have not lived in FL, but NM, CO, WA and AK do not require in in state drivers license.
To the OP, still check out which state is most advantageous tax wise and what the tax implications are when you move to FL.

No state income tax, veh registration is about $50-80 per vehicle, no personal property tax. Real estate tax seems to be about 2% of assessed value and reappraised annually. Sales tax is 6%.

A in all Florida seems to be cheaper than Virginia by a good bit.

Get the Florida D/L first. It's very easy to do. Request a Class E D/L to allow driving any type RV including heavy Class A RVs. Then register vehicles in Florida. Be aware that there is a one time fee for each plate of $225 in Florida, plus the annual registration fee of well less than $100 per vehicle. Also you must have Florida insurance in place at the time you register.

Sales tax, as already stated, in Florida is 6%. If you paid at least 6% where you purchase the RV, or if more than 6 months has lapsed since the purchase, Florida will not charge any more. If less than 6 months and you paid less than 6% be prepared to pay the difference to Florida.

Also register to vote in Florida and file a Change of Domicile form with the county you are registering in. These Change forms cost $10 each person to file with the county clerk.

By following these rules and declaring your domicile as Florida, when you do purchase property, the second year of taxes can qualify for the Homestead exception. For example the first year my real estate tax will be approx. $1100. Next year it will be less than $500. Plus since I am disabled, I can also file for a disabled exception to lower this even further. Need a form from your doctor (supplied at the tax office). By the way the DMV and Tax Office are combined so both can be handled in the same office.

State of Florida DMV site. Look over this site carefully. There is a link to ID Requirements.

We changed our domicile from NY to Florida in early January this year. We also initially used a mail forwarding service in Green Cove Springs (St. Brendan's Isle) as our official mailing address. Yes you have to show residence in Florida to get a D/L. They had all the forms we needed on their web site. We have since bought a lot in Silver Springs, Fl. and found our insurance cost was less than in Green Cove Springs. We also found it was less expensive for us to split our insurance for the coach and auto to separate insurance companies. Previously in NY they were both insured under the same company.

By the way, oldchief7155 is spot on with his comments as well. He must have changed his domicile recently as well!

As long as your temporary/transit tags will be valid long enough, wait until you get to Florida to register/pay. If they expire before that time, you will need to make other arrangements.