Sales tax question

[gwturner]

We currently live in Oregon (where there is no sales tax). Our long term plan is to purchase an RV and travel a bit, before finally settling in Arizona (as snowbirds). We would keep the RV and travel during the hot season in Arizona.

My question is: if I purchase my RV in Oregon (while still an Oregon resident), and then relocate to Arizona, will Arizona charge me any sort of "back" sales tax on my RV? I know that it seems like a dumb question (maybe), but somewhere in the back of my mind, I seem to recall that there was at least one state which would do that if you purchased a car within 'X' months of becoming a resident of that state. I'm wondering if the same is true now for an RV, and if it is, how many months do I need to wait before transferring my residency to Arizona?

[coupevilleDF]

I can't speak to Arizona, but Washington will charge sales tax on the transfer within a certain time after purchase. I think it's 6 months.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Hopefully some AZ folks can answer that!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[ThePowells]

Welcome to the forum!

[FatChance]

Arizona prices the annual tags based on a percentage of the base MSRP of the coach and reduces the amount owed by 10% per year after that. When I registered our 2004 MADP in Arizona last year (coming from Colorado), I was charged no sales tax but the license plates were about $490 for the year. This year they will be about $440 and that will keep decreasing by 10% per year. They get you one way or another.

[twogypsies]

Are you selling the Oregon home? If not, why not just keep the Oregon registration? For best up-to-date answers contact each state for their ruling/charges.

[Ljwt330]

Originally Posted by FatChance

Arizona prices the annual tags based on a percentage of the base MSRP of the coach and reduces the amount owed by 10% per year after that. When I registered our 2004 MADP in Arizona last year (coming from Colorado), I was charged no sales tax but the license plates were about $490 for the year. This year they will be about $440 and that will keep decreasing by 10% per year. They get you one way or another.

Out of curiosity, I went to the AZ DMV site where it states the VLT (vehicle license tax) will be calculated on 60% of the MSRP of the vehicle and you are assessed $2.89 for every $100 dollars of that amount.


So, if you bought your 2004 MH for, say, $85K several years ago and then moved to AZ, would they base the VLT on the MSRP of, say $250K when it was new?


That doesn't seem right, but is that the case? If so, the example I gave would lead to a tax of $4335, reduced by 16% at each renewal.


Don't know what you paid for your MADP, but if your fees were $490, the original calculation (60% of MSRP) must have been based on what you paid, used, or the MSRP estimate from NADA for used vehicles. Is that correct?



Did I miss something?
https://www.dmv.org/az-arizona/car-registration.php

[TonyMac]

Here in Utah, they charge sales tax with the TITLE, not with the registration. Altho' these two transactions normally occur at the same time, title and sales tax is a one time charge at 6.25%. YIKES!!! But it is one time, my annual tags are about $900. I doube anyone charges sales tax annually, but they may use some other type of tax.

[vsheetz]

You can specify a differung mail address vs physical address with the OR DMV...

[FatChance]

I paid $73.5k for our 2004 coach two years ago. They base the fee on the base MSRP when new, in our case about $295k, not whatever you paid for it. As mentioned, they come up with what the registration fee would have been when new based on a percentage of the 60% of the MSRP, then it is discounted for each year since then by a percentage per year of age since new, whether you bought new or used. So our coach would have been about $5k? for the first year when it was new, but you do not have to pay sales tax.

That is how the Coconino County agent explained it to me. I do not know if the percentage of the 60% of MSRP rate or the annual deduction varies by county, but that is possible. I hope that your research shows what the agent told me was wrong.

It is an expensive place to register a new(er) coach, but you do not pay a sales tax. They get you for many years. Death and taxes...

[Mr_D]

Last time I checked WA considered an RV to be a luxury and there was no reduction for previous time out of state. We paid just over $25,000 sales/use tax on the Magna we bought used in 2015. Luckily, if you're already a WA resident, they use the difference between your trade and the new rig.
But the yearly tags are less than $130 and the CR-V us about $65.

[gwturner]

We will be selling our home ... and between the income tax, property tax and inheritance tax in Oregon, keeping our residency here isn't practical

[Ljwt330]

Originally Posted by FatChance

I paid $73.5k for our 2004 coach two years ago. They base the fee on the base MSRP when new, in our case about $295k, not whatever you paid for it. As mentioned, they come up with what the registration fee would have been when new based on a percentage of the 60% of the MSRP, then it is discounted for each year since then by a percentage per year of age since new, whether you bought new or used. So our coach would have been about $5k? for the first year when it was new, but you do not have to pay sales tax.

That is how the Coconino County agent explained it to me. I do not know if the percentage of the 60% of MSRP rate or the annual deduction varies by county, but that is possible. I hope that your research shows what the agent told me was wrong.

It is an expensive place to register a new(er) coach, but you do not pay a sales tax. They get you for many years. Death and taxes...

Thanks for the reply. I think I understand now, AZ uses the MSRP of a new coach for the calculation, but reduce it by 16.25% for every year it has aged, whether you owned it or not. By the time you registered, it was a 12 year old coach, the tax was down to $490.

The OP can use this to see what he's facing in AZ. No sales tax, but the VLT is assessed each year! Also, from what I read here, most new coaches sell ~25-30% below MSRP so the AZ tax on a used coach is based on a much higher amount.

[momdoc]

Is there a relative in Oregon that you can use as an address and leave it registered there?