Community Forums

wildtoad · 11-21-2011, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy11

I look at it like this. What if you wanted to buy a vacation house...and in your home state, taxes would prohibit you from affording it. You get to shopping around and find that you can afford your dream vacation home 4 states over because their property taxes are very low. Is that really tax evasion?

Is an RV really that much different? An RV is like the vacation home except it is not limited by physical location. You can choose your state of license based on the costs involved.

What if Montana offered no Property tax on vacation homes. Would you be a tax dodger for buying there instead of in your home state?

Jimmy

The problem of course with your idea is that your vacation home does in fact stay in Montana, you pay Montana taxes on the things you buy when you vacation there. If Montana chooses not to have property tax then so much the better. However, you are not setting up a bogus entity (llc) in Montana simply to avoid taxes to the state where you are storing your vacation home (RV) in this example Minnesota. In the case of the RV one may never ever actually go to Montana.

Many folks get really angry about corporations/banks/etc that use this same technique to avoid paying fed taxes. I guess some think it's bad if corporations do it, but Ok if joe public does.

Just an opinion...

wa8yxm · 11-21-2011, 04:16 PM

I do admit to being a biased poster.. After all the check I'll get later this week is from the state of Michigan (I'm retried state worker, and I do mean WORKer).

But I've been posting for ages that the Montana LLC can turn out to be way more expensive then you think... You said they collected over 230,000 on 22 cases, that's over 10,000 per average, Me I paid 6,000 when it was new (Michigan) look at all that money I saved. (Actually I paid LESS than that, got a discount).

What bothers me and I will do something about it in a couple years is the 400 they soak me for registration every year.

Automobilist · 11-21-2011, 04:35 PM

A motorhome has to actually be somewhere. If one buys a coach IN Montana, stores it IN Montana, and goes TO Montana to use it, I deem that legitimate. I'm always amazed (or amused) by folks who blow big bucks for a brand new, very rapidly depreciating coach, and do the MT LLC thing to "save" a few dollars.

Romeo · 11-21-2011, 04:54 PM

I wonder about the rental cars that are rented here locally with Florida plates. I don't remember which national company it is/was but every single car on their lot had Florida plates. So if it's parked here, rented from here and returned here, why don't they have Washington plates?

Shouldn't I be able to establish a Montana LLC, purchase a motorhome and lease it to me here in Washington... and park it here just as the auto rental company does?

puttin · 11-21-2011, 05:05 PM

Jimmy11,

Maybe if you take the wheels and axles off your mh, they would allow you to keep it wherever you want...

vegascouple · 11-21-2011, 05:19 PM

I'm not attempting to turn this political. This is just something I don't understand.

Why is it OK for our largest and most profitable corporations like Oil companies, Microsoft, Haliburton, ect ect. to take income made in this country out of the country to avoid paying income taxes avoiding paying billions in income taxes? When it's not OK for the average guy to license a motor home out of state to avoid paying a few thousand dollars in state taxes?

bucks2 · 11-21-2011, 05:31 PM

I keep seeing how people are only saving a "few" dollars by licensing in Montana. I looked at it when I bought my coach and it was just shy of $19,000 difference between licensing in WA state and Montana. In addition I am privledged to pay almost a thousand dollars per year for WA state plates. The majority of the annual fee is the Regional Transit Authority tax for building light rail which I'll never use. (currently planned to be complete in my area, if money allows, by 2030)

While I chose to pay the tax, I can easily see people trying another way.

HD4Mark · 11-21-2011, 05:44 PM

How does U-haul get away with plates from all over. I have never seen one from my home state (NY) though.

ga traveler · 11-21-2011, 05:52 PM

I understand why some people try to get around the taxes. In 2007 I bought a Pace Arrow from a dealer in Fla. I paid the sales tax on the contract. When I returned to Georgia, I received a tax bill from Georgia. I complained to the tax office saying I had already paid Fla. and did not buy it in Ga. They said the state had no reciprocal tax agreement with Fla. and I would have to pay again. Now please tell me how this is fair.

wildtoad · 11-21-2011, 06:05 PM

Rental companies must have the ability to rent out of state units lest there would be no one-way rentals. It would be unrealistic to rent a u-haul in Florida to move to Kansas and then have to return the unit to Florida. Thus it is quite common to go to your local rental car/uhaul and rent a unit that is registered in another state. I suspect that the states get tax revenue when the cars are rented in their states, so it works out. This being in place it may be true that they can take advantage of this ability and register many of there units in a lower cost state.

Few individuals have a valid reason other than tax avoidance to need a vehicle to be registered in one state but housed and used in another.

sdennislee · 11-21-2011, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy11

I look at it like this. What if you wanted to buy a vacation house...and in your home state, taxes would prohibit you from affording it. You get to shopping around and find that you can afford your dream vacation home 4 states over because their property taxes are very low. Is that really tax evasion?

Is an RV really that much different? An RV is like the vacation home except it is not limited by physical location. You can choose your state of license based on the costs involved.

What if Montana offered no Property tax on vacation homes. Would you be a tax dodger for buying there instead of in your home state?

Jimmy

Yes, the reason for forming the LLC is to avoid taxes without the intention of operating any form of business. If you buy a vacation home as an individual and pay the taxes all is good, if you buy the vacation home as an LLC setup for the sole purpose of dodging taxes then thats illegal and you should be made to pay. If you owe pay it.

wa8yxm · 11-21-2011, 06:45 PM

The way U-Haul and Alamo Rental and Hertz and all the others get away with "plates from all over" is just that.. You are as likely to see a Michigan plate in Utah as the other way around.. And all the vehicles have a "Home base" so not tax laws are violated.

If you Buy a MH in Montana, Park/garage it in Montana, and only use it in Montana you have not violated any tax laws and you will never have a problem.

But if you establish a LLC just for the purpose of buying a Motor Home which you use in your HOME state... THEN you are a tax cheat and.. More power to the Infernal tax folks in your state.

On the other hand.. If *I* formed an LLC in Montana for the purpose of buying say 100 motor homes and then long term leased them out to you... I'm not sure of the tax laws (Since I'm not an attorney, don't even play on on TV)

HD4Mark · 11-22-2011, 04:41 AM

The reason I mentioned U-haul is that I have never seen a New York tag on one. That may be just a coincidence, U-haul doesn't register anything there due to the high cost or since there is no work and high taxes their vehicles only leave to never return

I don't recall seeing any while traveling in other states though.

The thing is if your are a business or an individual, if you can get away with not shelling out some dough, you will try it if you think you can get away with it. The trick is to weigh the risk. With the recent developments with LLCs the risk is beginning to outweigh the savings. We bought our rig previously owned in NY and paid the tax even though sales tax had been paid on it before more than once. That is the way it goes.

puttin · 11-22-2011, 05:25 AM

Here is something that is fair but rarely taken advantage of: If you sell your vehicle before the due date on the registration- you are entitled to the balance. I had to pay the DMV almost six months of reg. fees once when I bought a mh from someone. Then, when I sold it- I asked for the same thing and was refused...now how was that fair?