Community Forums

alank · 10-12-2019, 06:08 PM

When you retire, don’t choose your place of residence based on the tax structure of one item like your motorhome, unless your motorhome is the only thing you have
All states need money and they get from different types of taxes. I live in Arkansas now and the every day sales tax on consumer goods is double what I paid when I lived in Iowa.
My tags (registration) on my coach is about $32 /yr., problem is that I have to have proof of insurance in hand (that’s thousands), proof of payment of personal property tax in hand (that’s thousands, and more than tax on my house), proof you have assessed the motorhome for next years tax role in hand, then I can get my $32 tag for the year.
You’ll need to consider how each states tax structure will affect you and what you’re going to have, to select a state for residence. I don’t think that will be any small task.
Good Luck

2Nailz · 10-18-2019, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

It has nothing to do with private vs commercial - the bulk of your fee is a state tax on the value of your personal property. It happens to be a motorhome, but the tax rate would be the same if it was some other type of vehicle in that size/weight class. Yes, it falls in the same rate class as a commercial truck , but so do a lot of other big and expensive vehicles. It's big $$ simply because motorhomes are expensive, but will decrease as the value of the vehicle declines over time. This is a problem for RV owners in any state that has a personal property tax on vehicles, e.g. SC, NC, VA, and many others.

Every state has to get its tax revenue somehow, and AL has choice personal and real estate property taxes. From what I read, the total tax load in AL is relatively low, but you happen to own something that gets hit hard.

Raise the issue with your state representative and ask about the possibility of a tax limit for privately owned vehicles. I wouldn't expect much sympathy, though. The general attitude is that you own a luxury vehicle, so deserve to pay luxury taxes. Your alternative is to move to GA or FL, neither of which has a personal property tax on vehicles.

Gary and everyone who responded, Thank you for your responses.

The "tag fee" is not based on the value of personal property. It is based on weight and/or catagory, i.e. Truck, Bus, Standard, Farm, Motorhome, etc. The fee for my motorhome, classified as R6 33,001 - 42,000 is $502. The fee for a Truck classified as X4 33,001 - 42,000 is $520. Not much savings for me as someone who does not earn money for my motorhome and does not spend as much time on the road as a commercial truck. Also the "tag fee" for Buses ranges from $13 - $210 based on number of passengers, non-commercial or private church/school/hospital.

So I feel the "tag fee" for a motorhome in AL is excessive. My issue. Gary I appreciate the advice to contact the state rep, and will do so. I do agree however that once a politician gets their hand on tax money they rarely, if ever, return it to the citizens.

AD Valorem Tax on the other hand is based on the value of the vehicle and is included in the cost of a tag every year. I do not have an issue with paying taxes on something I have purchased, excessive taxation aside. The AD Valorem Tax for my motorhome is $2295. The state, county, city, and schools each get a portion of this tax. It is a property tax.

I also paid sales tax on this motorhome at 4.5%. Again I do not have an issue with paying taxes on something I have purchased, excessive taxation aside. I did run into a problem at the DMV when paying the sales tax. The DMV wanted to assess the tax based on the list price of the motorhome. I had a polite come apart at this. I argued that I should only have to pay sales tax on the amount that I paid, not list. Given the amount of money that I had to fork over to get a tag (tag fee, AD Valorem Tax, Sales Tax) the DMV agreed to only charge the sales tax on the purchase price and not the list price.

All of this I hope helps someone who may be considering the purchase of a motorhome, or getting a motorhome tag, in Alabama. It is difficult to decipher how the state determines AD Valorem. I also failed to determine the correct "tag fee" because I searched for RV Tag when I should have searched for motorhome tag. Trailers (Travel, 5th Wheel, Utility) are in another "tag fee" category with a significantly lower tag fee.

I also appreciate the feedback to this post. At some point we hope to retire and when we do we will evaluate where we live based on tax burden and quality life.

Thanks again.

marjoa · 10-18-2019, 01:01 PM

Given the amount of money that I had to fork over to get a tag (tag fee, AD Valorem Tax, Sales Tax) the DMV agreed to only charge the sales tax on the purchase price and not the list price.

Well that was nice of them wasn't it?

OUCH! Man...they're are so many states that do this kinda stuff, IMO it's authorized and legal robbery.

My brother in Maine has a 2 year old stripped down new chevy pick up. It's a bottom of the line pick up. He just got his annual tax bill for $600. That's $600/yr. for just taxes on a pick up and that doesn't even include his tags.

Doing homework on where you buy, where to register, your domicile and all that stuff really matters before a person makes a big RV or Toad purchase and especially if you're going FT.

We are in Texas and there is no annual taxes or property taxes of any kind, and it cost us $37/yr. for our annual tag renewal along with a annual $8 inspection fee. Our sales tax rate on the initial purchase was 6.25%.

Fiesta48 · 10-18-2019, 01:11 PM

No on $37. Our DP is $360 in TX.

cjd10 · 10-18-2019, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhudson

SC is tough with the personal property tax on vehicles. The only good thing is when a vehicle is 15 years old it is valued at $50. No matter what the actual value is you are taxed on $50. $35 tag fee and 6% of $50! Come on January 01 2020. Our 05 hits the magic number!

Don't get too excited. SC just changed the tag renewal fee from flat rate to weight based. Cost me almost $90 for new tags on my Siverado. I'm afraid to see what the MH is going to be next month.

marjoa · 10-18-2019, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiesta48

No on $37. Our DP is $360 in TX.

Yes on $37. Our is gas.

Milford 47 · 10-19-2019, 11:44 AM

In MO it is based on value, KS is based on weight.

mhudson · 10-19-2019, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjd10

Don't get too excited. SC just changed the tag renewal fee from flat rate to weight based. Cost me almost $90 for new tags on my Siverado. I'm afraid to see what the MH is going to be next month.

Thankfully the MH is classed a RV. It is the same cost as a passenger car. It's now $40 flat rate. (over age 65 its $35 or $36) I know the feeling on the pickup. My work truck went to $107.

gm77979 · 11-01-2019, 08:42 PM

We moved from TX (where we were paying about $550. for rv registration) to TN and pay $28. for the same rv.

45' Mountain Aire.

2Nailz · 11-02-2019, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gm77979

We moved from TX (where we were paying about $550. for rv registration) to TN and pay $28. for the same rv.

45' Mountain Aire.

Tennessee is high on our list of states to retire to. Now if only they had a college football team

Ivylog · 11-03-2019, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2Nailz

Tennessee is high on our list of states to retire to. Now if only they had a college football team

GA has 2 worth watching (one with a big win yesterday). If old enough (62) many pay no GA Income tax... first $75K of income for a couple increasing to $130K at 65. When you delete that much Income Tax, GA becomes in the top 4 of the best places to retire, BUT you will have to pay a 6.7% tax on any motor vehicle you buy or bring into GA.

My tag costs $28 plus $100 (26K+ heavy vehicle tax)=$128.