Other State Registration

[eric1514]

Sorry if this has been covered but I need some info on registering a new RV in a state other than that in which I live.

Specifically, the dealer in NM from whom I bought my RV says I can save some money by registering my coach there instead of in Idaho where I live. Right off the bat I would save in sales tax. It's 3% in NM but 6% in ID. My insurance company doesn't seem to care. They just want to know where it will be 51% of the time which is at home in ID.

Are there pitfalls to doing this that I'm not considering? What happens if I get stopped by the cops and I show him a NM registration with an ID address? Will they even care?

TIA,
Eric

[Cummins12V98]

wbwood wrote:
Whether you call it avoidance or evasion, I don't think it really matters. If you don't agree with the taxes your state collects, then move to a place with lower taxes or no taxes at all. You are living where you are for a reason. Obviously you like it. I know one thing, if you "avoid" paying your home state the taxes on something you bought in another state, then don't be surprised when you receive a tax bill from your home state. I know on the NC state tax paperwork that we file every year, there is a question where it asks if you bought anything out of state. States are really cracking down on getting what is theirs.

What the OP mentioned is shady in my book.

So you have NEVER bought anything on line that you did not pay taxes on for your home state?????

[Cummins12V98]

huntram wrote:
Tax evasion is illegal. Tax avoidance is not just legal but encouraged. We own a house and rent it out in California so we DO pay income taxes on that... Now that our HOME is on wheels and we live wherever we are parked for the night we can be from wherever we want to be from. We legally avoid taxes by having a 'domicile' in South Dakota as well as drivers licenses, registrations, and we vote in South Dakota (a state with no income tax).
There is no state income tax on our pensions in South Dakota.
If we ever decide to make our house our home again we will make California our residence again and pay income taxes there again and pay the ridiculously high registration prices on our vehicles.
Remember AVOIDANCE not EVASION!
Brian

Exactly! Same here. We still own a home but are full time RVers. We don't live in our home and have not since 2011. We have a address in SD and paid 3% on our truck and the rate went up to 4% later on our RV. Our state would have been nearly 10% on the truck and .086% on the RV. We have SD drivers licenses and our Domicile is now SD.

Our insurance company does not care where we register our vehicles. I have been stopped by the State patrol for expired tabs on my 98 that I keep registered for when I am there to drive and showed him registration and SD drivers license. No problem.

Not evasion it's shopping for the best deal!

[huntram]

wbwood wrote:
Tax avoidance...tax evasion....

Lets just call it tax noncompliance.....

Actually that is not correct. If you've ever taken any business classes the curriculum teaches specifically the difference between the two.
Evasion is non-compliance and is a crime!
Avoidance is what the crooked politicians write the tax code for so we can be in compliance and stay within the law!
In the courses I took in college it actually said in the syllabus it is patriotic to avoid taxes!

Brian

[Dtank]

2oldman wrote:
If you really want to cheat your state out of taxes, why not just go all the way and create a MT LLC? At least that will be sorta legal.

Your best bet right now is to make sure you never get stopped. You're probably more likely to get reported by a neighbor than getting stopped.

NO!

Way more pitfalls to the MT LLC - as the MT plates are a red flag for LOTS of LEOs in LOTS of states....especially if you don't have a MT DL.

Of course - if you're never stopped for some reason, you're home (no pun) free!

And, if you *do* have a MT DL, why bother with a LLC?..:h

Also, the LLC may/will be treated as a commercial entity in (on entering) some states.
Another can of worms - and commercial hoops to jump thru!..:(

*************************************************************

OP - bite the bullet - pay the tax in your home state!
It could be worse - you could be in CA with almost 10% sales tax..:R

On edit: Everyone knows (or should know) dealers, and/or salespersons are honest as the day is long....right?..:@

Considering that sterling reputation, ask him/her if he/she is willing to cover any future legal expenses due to the sage advice provided...:R

.

[toedtoes]

That's been the brunt of this discussion. The OP states that the dealer told him he could do it with his ID address. According to the MVD, you can TITLE the RV with a non-NM address, but you have to be a resident (and show proof) in order to REGISTER the vehicle.

The OP has argued that it can be done but has provided nothing to back that claim up except for saying the dealer told him they could register it for him with the ID address.

All this is moot for the OP (but I think it's important for folks coming across this post in the future) because he has decided that he will register the RV in Idaho.

[wbwood]

Tax avoidance...tax evasion....

Lets just call it tax noncompliance.....

[wbwood]

toedtoes wrote:
wbwood - he wasn't going to use a NM address. He stated that the dealership told him they would use his ID address for the NM registration.

I know, but as you stated they require two forms of NM residency... how are you going to do that without a NM residence (address)?

[toedtoes]

wbwood - he wasn't going to use a NM address. He stated that the dealership told him they would use his ID address for the NM registration.

[wbwood]

I still don't understand what address he was going to use in New Mexico to register the motorhome. As mentioned, you have to prove NM residency...with what? how? I know around here, a utility bill in your name to a local address is one proof.

[toedtoes]

If the OP was never going to bring the RV into Idaho, it would be different. However, he stated that he will have the RV in Idaho for at least 51% of the time (suggesting that the rest of the time, he would be traveling in it).

In addition, New Mexico's MVD states that 2 forms of "proof of NM residency" are required in order to register a vehicle in New Mexico. California DMV does not indicate any such requirement. The obvious reason for that is because New Mexico does not allow non-residents to register their vehicles (military personnel being an identified exception), while California will happily take your fees regardless of where you're from.

[kakampers]

mowermech wrote:
"If an Idaho resident buys a vehicle outside of the state, use tax is due (with credit given for taxes paid to another state) on the fair market value at the time it enters Idaho."

What if the vehicle never enters Idaho?
As I previously stated, YES, you CAN register a newly purchased vehicle in another state, but you may have to keep it out of your home state forever!
I have done it twice, buying vehicles from CA dealers. Since the dealer is the DMV registration agent for the state, the dealer title clerk MUST collect the sales tax, and register the vehicle to the new owner. They did that, and the paperwork was made out in my name, with my Montana address! Yes, as soon as I got home, I had to transfer the title to Montana and get the proper Montana registration. BUT, if I had never brought either of those vehicles home, I could have driven them with the CA plates for the full time I owned them!
Private party purchases in CA are entirely different. the seller hands the buyer the paperwork, and the buyer takes care of registering and paying the tax. If the final transfer is done in another state (where there is not tax), no tax is paid. I have done that twice in CA, too. One of th0ose was a Nevada car, but the sale took place in CA and the title transfer was done in MT.

This you can do legally...he wants to take it home to Idaho...that's where it becomes Illegal....

[mowermech]

"If an Idaho resident buys a vehicle outside of the state, use tax is due (with credit given for taxes paid to another state) on the fair market value at the time it enters Idaho."

What if the vehicle never enters Idaho?
As I previously stated, YES, you CAN register a newly purchased vehicle in another state, but you may have to keep it out of your home state forever!
I have done it twice, buying vehicles from CA dealers. Since the dealer is the DMV registration agent for the state, the dealer title clerk MUST collect the sales tax, and register the vehicle to the new owner. They did that, and the paperwork was made out in my name, with my Montana address! Yes, as soon as I got home, I had to transfer the title to Montana and get the proper Montana registration. BUT, if I had never brought either of those vehicles home, I could have driven them with the CA plates for the full time I owned them!
Private party purchases in CA are entirely different. the seller hands the buyer the paperwork, and the buyer takes care of registering and paying the tax. If the final transfer is done in another state (where there is not tax), no tax is paid. I have done that twice in CA, too. One of th0ose was a Nevada car, but the sale took place in CA and the title transfer was done in MT.

[The_Texan]

rondeb wrote:


Idaho registration (plates) are so cheap that why would you want to register it anywhere else.

You need to continue your research, instead of stopping with the title and registration of a vehicle in Idaho. Believe me, it is NOT "cheap" to register a new RV in Idaho

Motor home “registration fees” are based on vehicle age as listed above. Motor homes are also required to register as a recreational vehicle (RV). RV fees start at $8.50 for the first $1,000 of market value, plus $5.00 for each additional $1,000 of market value. The market value used to calculate RV fees for motorhomes is unique and uses a valuation factor based on the type of motorhome chassis. This approach excludes the value of the motor home chassis from the recreational portion of the vehicle.

Motor Home/Van Type Class RV Valuation Factor
Mini Motor Home (MMH) C 50%
Motor Home (MH) A 60%
(MH) Front Engine Diesel A 45%
(MH) Rear Engine Diesel A 58%
Van Conversions B 25%
Travel Trailer TT 100%

[rondeb]

The below is listed on the Idaho Residence Instructions for Sales Tax on purchases of vehicles, boats etc.

Sales tax is due when you buy a motor vehicle to use in Idaho. For Idaho sales and use tax purposes, a motor vehicle is defined as a car, bus, truck, motor home, or on-highway motorcycle that's required to be registered for use on public roads. Vehicles such as snowmobiles, boats, ATVs, UTVs, and motorcycles intended for off-road use aren't considered motor vehicles and not all exemptions from sales and use tax apply.

If an Idaho resident buys a vehicle outside of the state, use tax is due (with credit given for taxes paid to another state) on the fair market value at the time it enters Idaho.

A sale means any transfer of title to tangible personal property, either through monetary payment, barter, or exchange of goods or services. The sale occurs when a title passes from a seller to a buyer. Unless otherwise agreed, a motor vehicle title passes to the buyer when the seller delivers the goods, even if a title document is delivered at a different time or place.

It is clear that you must pay the Idaho sales tax rate on anything vehicle purchased outside of Idaho. If you pay Sales tax on the vehicle where you purchase it, you have to pay the difference if Idaho is more.

Idaho registration (plates) are so cheap that why would you want to register it anywhere else.

We live in the State of Washington and purchased a motorhome in California. We did not want to pay California our taxes, so we had a driver drive the motorhome to Nevada where we parked until we could send all paperwork to the State of Washington with the fees to register it plus the Sales Tax rate for Washington. They overnighted the plates and registration back to us in Nevada. We could have registered it in Nevada, but when we entered Washington, we would have had to register it within 30 days here and would have been required to pay the sales tax on it then.

You can not legally do what the dealer told you to do.