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motorhome registration - state restrictions

Yahoo Message Number: 88130
I have an interesting question I am hoping perhaps someone in the group has some experience with. Our motorhome is currently registered in the state of Oregon as we own a permanent home of 20 years here and have only recently moved into motorhome travel. We love the idea of semi-full-timing but do not wish to give up maintaining a residence somewhere and have been considering Washington state for various reasons, on key reason being in order to escape OR state income tax.
HOWEVER... Washington has this rather unbelievable rule that if you own a recreational vehicle and register it in the state as a new resident, sales tax is ALWAYS due, regardless of how long you have owned it and what state it was previously registered in. I spoke with two different DMV offices to verify this. Unbelievable. So book value on the coach is around $200K and sales tax would be around $17K just to switch registration from OR to WA. Unless I can figure out some way around this, this is a deal breaker. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about how to avoid this, instead perhaps registering the coach in some other state. We would be shifting all our documentation over to WA... driver's license, voting, LLC registration, mailing address, etc. So maybe there is no way to get around this... in which case we may just remain in Oregon. But with all the 'gaming the system' that Motorhomers do with residency in South Dakota, Florida and elsewhere I was wondering if anyone had any thought on this. Hope so

Joseph Burkle

2008 Country Coach Inspire 360 Founders Edition 43' quad slide tag axle 425 HP C9 pusher http://www. Wind-seeker.com/

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88131
All my long time RV owner friends that have full timed and live now in NM, AZ, CA, OR, CO, all are official residents of South Dakota. Only a few of us that our Texans remain as Texans. We usually are home more than we travel and as our homes are paid for, our taxes frozen, and Tags for the Motorhomes are very reasonable, we see no reason to change. My SD friends all travel more than 6 months a year so as not to become residents of their seasonal states. As you don't need to own property to be an official resident of SD, with great mail forwarding, and only needing to be in the state every five years for a new drivers license, they feel the fabulous savings are worth the small effort. I don't know what they do about voting.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88134
I went through this and paid the sales tax. Bought my coach in AZ and it took about a week for someone in WA where I live to turn me in, even before I got home. WA is relentless, and I would really consider it carefully before moving here.

aaamarine

'05 CC Allure 430

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88135
I agree with aaamarine.

I live in Wa. and bought my coach in Oregon, used, for $173K, considered LLC in Montana but I know Wa. is watching closely so I paid the $16K in tax & tabs. Also, if you live anywhere near Seattle/King Co. there is also a very high RTA Tax (Light Rail).

John

05 CC Inspire
10 Ford Escape

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88137
The sales tax issue is slightly more complicated. If I understood the original post correctly, he is NOT CURRENTLY a resident of WA. In some of the other examples, the purchaser was already a WA resident. That is really quite different. If you live in state A and buy a car, boat or RV in state B, you will have to settle with your own sales tax agency when "repatriating" the vehicle. Some states will give you credit for sales tax paid in state B and some states will allow you to get a temporary plate, thereby avoiding paying any sales tax in the state where the purchase occurred.

No state will allow you to reside in their jurisdiction and maintain a boat, car or RV registered in another state...simply stated...they want the money. You may last a couple of months...or perhaps only a day if someone turns you in.

But this situation is not the situation in the original message. Most states will allow you to bring in a vehicle tagged in another state if you were not a resident of their state when you made the purchase. Most require at least 6 months between the purchase and importing the vehicle. Even so, some will also credit you with the sales tax paid in the state of your original residence. You need to ask these specific questions when determining what you will owe.

Florida doesn't charge sale tax if you weren't a resident when you bought the RV and you purchased it at least 6 months before becoming a Florida resident. In my case I bought the RV in NY and tagged it in Florida. temporary transport tag from NY, no tax in NY and full sales tax in Florida.

Make sure you ask the right question.

Complicated...always when dealing with the government.

Scott

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88139
Guess you should get Florida residence. No tax is due if you have owned it for more than 6 months prior to registering it in Florida. Seems that WA State has what amounts to a personal property tax for residents of other states. That does seem consistent with the perceived notion that they don't want immigrants, legal or not.

Scott

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88140
I use to live in CA. We sold our house and are using family address in OR. OR is our domicile state for legal purposes. We are full timing and the OR license fees to registered first time was $418.00 for the first two years. Renewals are $358.00 every two years. It would have been over $20,000.00 to register in CA with 9.5% sales tax and very high renewal fees on a yearly basics. I am more than willing to pay the state income tax as we had that in CA. Not owning property in OR helps.

I have may family members who live in WA. and everyone of them complain about the DMV fees that continue to go up.

Jock Vargo

2005 Inspire
51428

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88142
Thanks to everyone for chiming in on this so quickly. I guess I need to clarify. We are presently legitimate Oregon residents of 20+ years. I bought my present coach in AZ last year, brought it home to Oregon and registered it as an OR resident. No problems there... no deception, no tricks and since OR charges so sales tax we only paid state registration fees.
Now we are considering a move to Washington. Our reasons are many but one key issue is to stop paying OR state income tax which amounts to a pile of money each year. I have not minded paying it all these years when we lived here, I owned a business here and our kids went to school here. It is all different now... mostly retired, kids grown etc.
My main goal is to live near a good sailing lake and Portland area has no good options there. I really despise sailing in the Columbia... have done it two summers and it is hardly worth the effort. So we started traveling in our motorhome looking for good sailing venues. But still pay all this tax in a state where are not spending much time now.
One lake we have found that we particularly like is Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho and we're headed there next week. We're considering a move to Liberty Lake WA near Lake CdA. But I was floored to learn WA would charge me sales tax on my coach even though we purchased it legitimately as an Oregon resident... and will have owned it MORE than a year before we might even consider buying a house in WA.
This is a ridiculous law. I can understand them trying to snag people who live in WA and buy an RV in OR to try to avoid paying sales tax. But that is NOT our situation at all. I am simply considering a move to Washington for various personal reasons and will need to retitle my Oregon-tagged vehicles once we will no longer be living here.
Neither Florida nor Texas charge an owner any sales tax if they have owned the RV more than 6 months and were living elsewhere when they bought it. Washington is really overstepping any logical bounds here. So naturally I was considering the options for how to avoid paying $20 grand in sales tax which they have no business collecting.
I found an article about people licensing RV's in Montana to a registered LLC. That may be an option. Or... I actually already have an LLC in Texas which owns a piece of commercial real estate there. Perhaps I could reregister the MH in the name of that LLC. No matter where I wind up registering it, I would be careful NEVER to bring the Motorhome back into the state of Washington. So I would not have to worry about WA state police or neighbors turning me in. I would just need to find the best option for registering the vehicle legally so that when travelling around the US (outside the state of WA) that I would not be ticketed for illegal registration, oin the event I got stopped, or had an accident or something.
I would certainly welcome anyone else's input with these specific circumstances in mind.

Joseph Burkle

2008 Country Coach Inspire 360 Founders Edition 43' quad slide tag axle 425 HP C9 pusher http://www. Wind-seeker.com/

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88144
If you are going to Lake Coeur d'Alene go north about 45 minutes to Sandpoint, lake pend Oreille is a lot larger body of water less people great sailing. Then head over the Idaho border into Montana get yourself an LLC. And your done. The panhandle of Idaho has a lot of great small lakes for sailing. Remember The state of Washington has a excise tax when you sale property. Always seems to be some kind of trade off. Good luck.
Jim

2006 allure 430 #31317

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88145
After living, working and paying taxes in Oregon for some 50 years, we went through the same research that you did. We were nearly ready to domicile in South Dakota, but were reluctant to pay the 3% use tax on their valuation of the coach and toad. We finally decided on Florida, with the assistance of American Home Base in Pensacola. It cost under $1k to register the coach and toad, and to obtain Florida drivers licenses, including my CDL. We are happy with American Home Base. As seniors with Florida ID, state park fees are half price.

David White

06 Intrigue #11993

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88148
Since you are an Oregon resident, you should qualify as a "continuous traveler". You have to show proof that indeed you are a resident having worked there, retired, etc. Then you can have a mailing address and be licensed as a continuous traveler and maintain your residency in OR.

Don

'02 Intrigue #11427
'02 Intrigue #11427

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88152
If you are not a full time RVer, ie living in your RV and not having a residence in some state, you will not likely get away with calling your residence SD, FL, TX or wherever. If you are going to maintain a residence in WA, you will have to register your coach there or likely be caught and required to register and possibly pay a fine.

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88156
I am registered as a continuous traveler in Oregon. I still have to pay state income tax.

Bo & Kathy Lee

2000 Magna #5896 40 FT

2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Rubicon

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88161
I'm not an "expert" but from what I have researched, the key seems to be home ownership with the state. When I sold my home in Washington State, I purchased my motorhome and registered it in Montana. (No sales tax on purchase) I have since been a resident of South Dakota and registered my vehicle, license, voting, and official address as South Dakota. The MH remains in the LLC in Montana. I don't know of a "legal" way to solve your problem while being a home owner in Oregon. If you transfer registration of the MH to South Dakota they want proof the sales tax has been paid previously.

Just thinking out loud, why not transfer residency to South Dakota and transfer everything there. No State income tax and everything else is very reasonable. ((much more so than Washington). I "assume" you could be a legal resident of SD and own property in Oregon.

Roger Harper
2006 Intrigue
#11990

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88164
It is hard to find answers to these questions at a DMV.

Call the Dept of Revenue in Olympia (360) 534-1335 -- very helpful.
It may take awhile to get to the right person.

....also an independant auto license place in Ballard:

Address: 2232 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107
Phone:(206) 781-0199 .... These guys want your business and will be helpful unless they happen to be too busy at the moment you call, call back later if they are, or the next day.

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88166
I am a resident of Oregon and pay Oregon taxes. The registration fee for my coach is really quite reasonable compared to California where I lived for many years. I think it is important to understand how various states finance their budgets when considering the various taxes. Washington collects no income tax, but still has to pay its bills, which it does in part with these high taxes to register/reregister a motorhome. Most of the states that collect no income tax (the reason you see so many SD, Texas, Montana plates on motorhomes) have to come up with the financing to run their state some way...and, they all do it in different ways. Washington uses the exorbitant tax they charge when you bring in a motorhome. Texas collects taxes from the oil industry which Washington does not. Each has their own way of raising money and we simply have to choose the one we want to live with.

I've thought about a Montana LLC and an number of other ploys, but really don't want to risk the consequences of violating a particular state's law (in which I actually live). Full timing is a different story. For me, the savings of sales tax in Oregon, where I bought my last two coaches is sufficient. That is one reason I left California...tax avoidance that is lawful. Moving to Washington would save me a ton of income taxes, but would cost me some sales tax...after all, they have to pay the bills somehow. But, that payment of sales tax would certainly be less that cumulative hits of income tax. They are going to get it from you somehow...you just have to choose which tax/fee you pay.

Dave Glen

'06 Magna 6591

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88171
Well I think you are missing my point. We have no intention of full timing to the extent we do not maintain a home somewhere. Presently our permanent home is in the Portland area ... it was a great place to raise a family and run a business, but now that we are traveling a lot, I pay way too much income tax on retirement income NONE of which is earned in the state. Therefore we have been considering the move to Washington. Not as a tax dodge, necessarily, but as a place in the Pacfic NW to live near a good sailing lake in the summers, and place to come home to when we are tired of traveling in the fall/winter/early spring. Our home in Oregon now unfortunately has no good sailing nearby so we find we are wanting to be in the MH all the time and that is impractical when you own a large home somewhere.
The SD address as a PO box works great for full timers as I understand it, but we're not going to get away with that if we maintain a home in Oregon... guaranteed. And in Washington there is no need. Again we would be living in our Washington home perhaps half the year and traveling in the coach in southern locales the rest of the time. So the only serious question with living in Washington is which lake to live near for sailing (really only two good choices: Lake Washington in the Seattle area and Lake CdA in the Spokane Valley area) *and* what to do about the onerous MH transfer-in tax. But as long as the coach was purchased when a resident of another state and is never brought into the state of Washington, it seems to me it is irrelevant where you register it as long as that state is ok with it.

Joseph Burkle

2008 Country Coach Inspire 360 Founders Edition 43' quad slide tag axle 425 HP C9 pusher http://www. Wind-seeker.com/

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88173
I believe that you will be OK. The Washington tax is a "use tax" and as long as you do not bring the coach into WA, and it is tagged somewhere else, you should be fine.

Scott

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88176
Thanks for the suggestions seattletrek. Although I was pretty confident I called Ballard Auto/Vessel Licensing in Seattle and spoke with someone there just tpo be sure. When I explained we were considering selling our Oregon home and buying a home in Washington, I asked what was involved in licensing my vehicles... and she concurred that if I bring the coach into Washington to register it, I have to pay sales tax as it has been registered previously in Oregon and as an Oregon resident we don't pay sales tax. However when I asked her if I never brought the coach into the state and instead registered it to an address in a different state, whether there would be any foreseeable problem. And her reply was simply, "No, not at all... we wouldn't know anything about it." I think I can go with that

jb

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #19 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88182
Montana is very friendly for RV registration. No sales tax and low registration fees.

Dan 2006 Allure 31348

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88185
All Montana plates mean in WA is "pull over". That is the #1 signal for cheating, and WA does not recognize LLCs in MT. Another giant signal here is to have plates from different states on your coach and toad.

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88189
yep that is my conclusion as well. I even called the Ballard Auto/Vessel Licensing in Seattle as suggested by another member. When I explained we were considering selling our Oregon home and buying a home in Washington, I asked what was involved in licensing my vehicles... and she concurred that if I bring the coach into Washington to register it, I have to pay the "use" tax as it has been registered previously in Oregon and as an Oregon resident we don't pay sales tax. However when I asked her if I never brought the coach into the state and instead registered it to an address in a different state, whether there would be any foreseeable problem. And her reply was simply, "No, not at all... we wouldn't know anything about it." I think I can go with that.

Joseph Burkle

2008 Country Coach Inspire 360 Founders Edition 43' quad slide tag axle 425 HP C9 pusher http://www. Wind-seeker.com/

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #22 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88204
So people that live in Montana who drive through Washington will get stopped because they have Montana plates? That sounds like profiling, and as Ron White says, profiling is wrong! :-)

Dan 06 Intrigue 11936

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88205
I am always amazed that a person that can afford a $500,000 motor home can't afford the associated taxes.

George

'04 Inspire 51061 (for sale)

Re: motorhome registration - state restrictions

Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 88214
I am reminded of an old cowboy's saying; A fool and his money are soon parted.

Jim Hill

2008 Tribute 260