I am going to be intentionally vague as I am only looking for feedback from those who have legally gone through this process or have looked into it for themselves. Seems very straightforward as long as your motives are legit (ours are). Any tips or advise?

Buying out of state?Keep it out of CA for 12 months and prove it with documentation for those 12 months....OK

California is intentionally vague in some areas but very specific in others....Excerpt:For purchases or binding purchase contracts entered into prior to October 2, 2004, and on or after July 1, 2007,through September 30, 2008, use tax is generally due if a vehicle or vessel was purchased outside California, andbrought into this state within 90 days of purchase, not including any time of shipment to California, or time ofstorage for shipment to California. Use tax will not apply if the vehicle, or vessel was used, stored, or both used andstored outside of California one-half or more of the time during the six-month period immediately following itsentry into this state.For purchases beginning October 2, 2004, through June 30, 2007, and on or after October 1, 2008, a vehicle orvessel purchased outside of California and brought into California within 12 months from the date of its purchase ispresumed to have been purchased for use in California and subject to tax if that vehicle or vessel is:Purchased by a California resident as defined in section 516 of the California Vehicle Code, orIn the case of a vehicle, subject to California vehicle registration during the first 12 months of ownership, orIn the case of a vessel, subject to property tax in California during the first 12 months of ownership, orUsed or stored in California for more than one-half of the time during the first 12 months of ownership.Effective January 1, 2010, a California resident is defined to include a closely held corporation or limited liabilitycompany if 50 percent or more of the shares or membership interests are held by shareholders or members who areresidents of California as defined in section 516 of the Vehicle Code.In our case, we gave up our California residency prior to buying our coach in Arizona. We then took possession of it in New Mexico and registered it in South Dakota, our resident State. I was retiring in July and we left the State in September so as to California, no use tax was due nor were any registration fees. If you are still a resident of California, the above would only apply if the vehicle was out of the State for 6 months and a day. If taking delivery out of state, it must be taken to the out of state location by the seller or a seller's agent ONLY. You cannot hire someone to take it out of state for you as California will deem you control it and the use tax would apply. I had the Arizona dealer deliver it to me in New Mexico and had a notarized statement from NM so stating.If you decide to keep it out of California there are a bunch of receipts and documentation necessary to prove it did not enter California. They are vague as to what records you will need. One thing they are specific about, though, is those records must be kept for EIGHT YEARS.My answer may or may not clear up whatever it is you're trying to accomplish. That said, I do know that as of 2008 California has a separate task force assigned to assist the CDMV in collecting taxes and such. They investigate many cases looking for slip ups. The C.H.E.A.T.E.R. system also funnels cases through this task force. They quietly investigate Montana LLCs and the like. The rules are there but I would make doggone sure all my I's were dotted and T's crossed. Finally, "motive" honorable or otherwise has nothing to do with it. Follow the rules and you should be ok unless someone in Sac gets a wild hair, slip up and you could be toasted......just sayin.....Dennis

The enforcement probably costs more than what the DMV recovers ... when you count sages, enforcement costs, retirement, medical ... vacation paid.I often wonder why the states that have these kinds of problems don't lower the tax rates, collect all of it, and quit spending money on folks that obey the law (technically obey the law) ... If these states (Such as California, and Mass is another one) would charge a reasonable tax - people wouldn't get so upset it, nor would they spend additional money to abide by laws in other states.MASS for example, charges an annual tax nearly equal to the sales tax (The first year, it then becomes EVERY years after, but declines as vehicle ages)SO, someone that pays sales tax is quickly sent a bill for nearly the same amount ... so, a sales tax of $2500 becomes $5000 overnight - what these states need to do instead is streamline the DMV / RMV so it functions as an agency rather than a police force.

Thanks for the response Executive. We are residents of CA, located out of CA, buying an out of state rig, from an out of state seller, and taking possession out of state. We do not plan on bringing the rig back into state during the next 365 days.The only hiccup now is trying to get an out of state law enforcement official to verify vin on a CA dmv form.

Out of curiosity, how do you plan on driving it around since you won't be registering it for 12 months? Most temp tags only last 30-90 days.

Anyone from CA ever use BOE Pub 52 Rules? | Good Sam Community

31 Replies

tsetsaf
Explorer III
May 16, 2014
CA Traveler wrote:
Well I hope it doesn't take them 7 years to figure it out like it took them 7 years to incorrectly decide that I needed to register the MH in CA.

Good grief. At this point there have been no damages as a result of their blatant ignorance but should I get cited by a leo things will get interesting.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
May 15, 2014
Well I hope it doesn't take them 7 years to figure it out like it took them 7 years to incorrectly decide that I needed to register the MH in CA.
tsetsaf
Explorer III
May 15, 2014
We did receive the written document and have submitted to the DMV for registration. Now I am dealing with the wonderful bureaucrats at the DMV who do not even know the new laws regarding length of trailers.
ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Mar 17, 2014
tsetsaf wrote:
We have received the approval (at least a verbal approval over the phone will wait for the documents to confirm). Thanks for the help everyone.

Good for you -
also see you got rid of the cra.....err... - "crummy" tires.

Amazing thread title "transformation", LOL!

.
tsetsaf
Explorer III
Mar 14, 2014
We have received the approval (at least a verbal approval over the phone will wait for the documents to confirm). Thanks for the help everyone.
tsetsaf
Explorer III
Mar 03, 2014
ol Bombero-JC wrote:
.
.
Maybe the thread starter "tsetsaf" will return to let the posters know if their input was beneficial, as he indicates -Feb 20- on the *Fifth Wheel* forum, he has purchased a 2014 5th wheel..:@..:h

"New Trailer, Crappy Tires" - Link..;)

~

I have been updating the status on a regular basis Bomber :)... We took delivery of the new fiver in Mesa AZ earlier than planned (Feb 26). Next day I received a call from the original Bureaucrat asking me to submit additional paperwork so he could "get this off his desk". I reminded him that it was still on his desk because of delays on his end not mine. Anyways I submitted all the requested documentation including:

BOE 448
BOE 447
Supplemental Statement of Vehicle Location
Photo of Fiver in Site in Mesa
First night's receipt for location in Mesa
Signed Title
(all where notarized in Mesa AZ)

Also included highlighted excerpts right out of their Pub 52 that describe our exact situation and a section from their FAQ that has an exact example of what we are doing.

Thanks to the others on the tips regarding paperwork. We already have a habit of scanning and digitally recording everything. Will make specific duplicates related to the location of the fiver.
ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
.
.
Maybe the thread starter "tsetsaf" will return to let the posters know if their input was beneficial, as he indicates -Feb 20- on the *Fifth Wheel* forum, he has purchased a 2014 5th wheel..:@..:h

"New Trailer, Crappy Tires" - Link..;)

~
Community Alumni
Feb 21, 2014
Yes on the PUB 52 rules in 2004

I did an out of state purchase and at the time there were two tests. One was the 90 day rule or test, basically 90 days out of state with exceptions and the second was if the RV was brought into the state for any cause prior to the 90 days it, the RV, would need to go back out of state for more than 1/2 time in the following 6 months.

I met the second test after a BOE investigator discovered that I had brought the RV into the state for warranty work prior to 90 days. (note this was not a sneaky move on my part as it was planned and there was a paper trail) That request from BOE came after 5 years in 2009. He requested all the paper work and logs that I had and he said he would send me a letter if he needed anything else, so far no word from them. I did have all the records in a travel log everything and every paper.

Prior to the purchase I called the BOE and asked for the investigator that investigates the out of state purchases. I called and talked to three different investigators and all their answers were the same to my questions unlike the person that actually answered the phone as there answers were all over the place. I also got their names and badge numbers and used them in my reply back to the BOE in 2009 as BOE officers that I reached out to for assistance. The BOE folks that I talked to were very informative and professional in their answers and I felt comfortable with all but the last one. I also made copies of all the receipts, and stored them on the computer, as I got them and was glad I did as the originals had faded out and most are unreadable.

My RV was registered in CA and I paid the CA registration fees later it was registered in SD and since then those fees and taxes go to SD.

All and all it was a big savings on the money.

Just as a side note the out of state purchase also applies to planes and boats too and I think that the boats are a bigger deal than the RVs
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Feb 21, 2014
falconman wrote:
You better follow up and make sure it's been updated or the next notice you might get will be they took your state tax refund. It happened to me yeers ago when the new owner never re registered it.
Thanks I'll follow up. Not a CA resident but do own property in CA so don't want a lien on the property.
dons2346
Explorer
Feb 21, 2014
CA Traveler wrote:
I submitted multiple receipts per page with over 100 numbered pages for our 3 month verification. Receipts included MH/car fuel, CGs and groceries. A index showed our locations and page number for the receipts.

After submitting the information they suggested I could pay the use tax and if I qualified I'd get a refund. I declined.

They did the same thing to me. Some people balk at a little intimidation and pay up.

Not me, I ignored the letter as they already had proof of my exemption.

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Anyone from CA ever use BOE Pub 52 Rules?

31 Replies

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