VIRGINIA Taxes on new Class A -- How does it work?

[Sweetbriar]

Originally Posted by Mac_in_VA

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This is what I needed to know. It seems that we have some crazy tax laws here in Virginia and I needed someone that lives here to help me decipher.

Where would I go to figure out the county tax regulations? Where do I check? I know the sales tax is unavoidable. But, if it would save me $5K to $7K a year to store it in Prince William's . . . . I can do that.

Do a Google search using "(country name) VA Personal Property Tax Rates" or "Vehicle Registration Fees". The current rate for Prince William is $0.00001 of value while Fairfax is $4.57 per $100 of assessed value. If you can't find what you need call the country tax office or treasurer's office.

[TXiceman]

Also look at the yearly tax or fee to license in Virginia. We ran across an RVer a couple of years back that was going to buy property in Virginia until he saw what his yearly taxes and fees on the RV would be. Decided he would live in Tennessee. Taxes and fees were much lower.

Ken

[Charles L]

I purchased my RV in Florida. Not sure if I paid sales tax in Florida. I would need to go back and look at the papers. The only thing I paid in Virginia was dmv fee and personal property tax when I registered the rv. They do get you every year for PPT in Virginia. Depends on where in Virginia you live as to the actual PPT charged.

[Mac_in_VA]

I know! I am not trying to avoid taxes or do anything shady. We just want to understand what the heck we have to pay and to whom. VA is crazy about taxes. We pay sales taxes and personal property tax. And, I think (not sure) a country tax too. It's CRAZY!

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by Mac_in_VA

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! This is what I needed to know. It seems that we have some crazy tax laws here in Virginia and I needed someone that lives here to help me decipher.

Where would I go to figure out the county tax regulations? Where do I check? I know the sales tax is unavoidable. But, if it would save me $5K to $7K a year to store it in Prince William's . . . . I can do that.

I suggest you call the tax assessor, county clerk, or whatever agency collects taxes in the county you will principally garage/store the RV.

[awol50]

When i bought my new class A in oregon, i didnt pay any sales tax to the dealer.
Got a temp tag to drive home to washington state. Went to vehicle licensing and registered vehicle, paid sales tax, license tabs and got tabs/plates.
Don't worry. States are extremely efficient and thorough to make sure they dont forget you and your money.
Spending money? Worse than my dw with my cc in a jewelry store.

[ArtJoyce]

Does VA have personal property tax?

If I was buying a MH in TX. I would call the VA DMV to understand the documents I needed and which one required to be notarized. Also what percent of sale tax I would pay when transferring the title. Last but not least I would want to understand if I needed to get temp plates. Don't forget to line insurance I would not drive it unless I had insurance.

Last figure out the personal property tax.

[dfuelman]

Originally Posted by Mac_in_VA

I know! I am not trying to avoid taxes or do anything shady. We just want to understand what the heck we have to pay and to whom. VA is crazy about taxes. We pay sales taxes and personal property tax. And, I think (not sure) a country tax too. It's CRAZY!

Call the Treasurer's office in the county where you want to store the RV. Many county's in Va. will wave the personal property tax in order to get the other business related to RV's

For instance, the City of Hampton does not charge PP Tax on watercraft. This is to encourage boaters to use the Marina's in Hampton to store their boats. They make money off the boat owners when they go out to dinner, have the boat's serviced, buy supplies etc. They still make money in the long run.

Sales tax is collected by DMV through Title fees and registration fees when you purchase the RV.

Hope this helps.

[pavepaws]

Virginia Taxes – Sales Tax as you know, must be paid but is determined by the state, county and possibly the city you live in. As several members have posted, don’t forget Personal Property Tax (PPT) in VA…for a $200,000 Motorhome, in Fairfax County expect to pay around $6600.00 the first year. For the state of Virginia, you pay PPT based on the location where you “garage” the Motorhome. Then will pay about 10% less the following year. And so it goes, year after year. I formerly lived in Fairfax County and paid PPT through the nose (and other orifices) for many years. If your residential area (Homeowners Association, etc) prohibits parking or storing RV's...then you cannot "garage" it on your property. You may garage it at a storage facility in Prince William (PW) County...sign a lease for storage and pay in full and also ahead of schedule. Then you can garage it in PW county and your PPT will be around $25 annually. If you drive it for a trip, (vacation, maintenance, mandatory inspection, etc) maintain the slot by keeping a vehicle or two in the same spot. Doing this will prevent someone else from taking your spot. If you do so, inform a member of the storage facility. Better yet, move permanently to PW or Stafford County. You WILL save thousands of $ on personal property tax. HOWEVER, before buying AND before registering, visit each taxing county website or go there physically for direct printed information. AAAAnd talk with the RV Dealer, salespeople about this. They do NOT want to lose a sale. You are not evading taxes… but MUST make an educated decision. If the Motorhome is registered in Virginia… the annual safety inspection certificate is required to renew the license plate. That means, even if it has been stationary, you must drive it to an RV dealer for the inspection. Also, every two years – the equivalent of a smog inspection is required, again for tag renewal. Based upon the information provided by myself and others on this site - - - we wish you well on your decisions.

[awol50]

Originally Posted by pavepaws

Virginia Taxes – Sales Tax as you know, must be paid but is determined by the state, county and possibly the city you live in. As several members have posted, don’t forget Personal Property Tax (PPT) in VA…for a $200,000 Motorhome, in Fairfax County expect to pay around $6600.00 the first year. For the state of Virginia, you pay PPT based on the location where you “garage” the Motorhome. Then will pay about 10% less the following year. And so it goes, year after year. I formerly lived in Fairfax County and paid PPT through the nose (and other orifices) for many years. If your residential area (Homeowners Association, etc) prohibits parking or storing RV's...then you cannot "garage" it on your property. You may garage it at a storage facility in Prince William (PW) County...sign a lease for storage and pay in full and also ahead of schedule. Then you can garage it in PW county and your PPT will be around $25 annually. If you drive it for a trip, (vacation, maintenance, mandatory inspection, etc) maintain the slot by keeping a vehicle or two in the same spot. Doing this will prevent someone else from taking your spot. If you do so, inform a member of the storage facility. Better yet, move permanently to PW or Stafford County. You WILL save thousands of $ on personal property tax. HOWEVER, before buying AND before registering, visit each taxing county website or go there physically for direct printed information. AAAAnd talk with the RV Dealer, salespeople about this. They do NOT want to lose a sale. You are not evading taxes… but MUST make an educated decision. If the Motorhome is registered in Virginia… the annual safety inspection certificate is required to renew the license plate. That means, even if it has been stationary, you must drive it to an RV dealer for the inspection. Also, every two years – the equivalent of a smog inspection is required, again for tag renewal. Based upon the information provided by myself and others on this site - - - we wish you well on your decisions.

I would leave virginia before i would be robbed like that.

[Mac_in_VA]

Originally Posted by pavepaws

Virginia Taxes – Sales Tax as you know, must be paid but is determined by the state, county and possibly the city you live in. As several members have posted, don’t forget Personal Property Tax (PPT) in VA…for a $200,000 Motorhome, in Fairfax County expect to pay around $6600.00 the first year. For the state of Virginia, you pay PPT based on the location where you “garage” the Motorhome. Then will pay about 10% less the following year. And so it goes, year after year. I formerly lived in Fairfax County and paid PPT through the nose (and other orifices) for many years. If your residential area (Homeowners Association, etc) prohibits parking or storing RV's...then you cannot "garage" it on your property. You may garage it at a storage facility in Prince William (PW) County...sign a lease for storage and pay in full and also ahead of schedule. Then you can garage it in PW county and your PPT will be around $25 annually. If you drive it for a trip, (vacation, maintenance, mandatory inspection, etc) maintain the slot by keeping a vehicle or two in the same spot. Doing this will prevent someone else from taking your spot. If you do so, inform a member of the storage facility. Better yet, move permanently to PW or Stafford County. You WILL save thousands of $ on personal property tax. HOWEVER, before buying AND before registering, visit each taxing county website or go there physically for direct printed information. AAAAnd talk with the RV Dealer, salespeople about this. They do NOT want to lose a sale. You are not evading taxes… but MUST make an educated decision. If the Motorhome is registered in Virginia… the annual safety inspection certificate is required to renew the license plate. That means, even if it has been stationary, you must drive it to an RV dealer for the inspection. Also, every two years – the equivalent of a smog inspection is required, again for tag renewal. Based upon the information provided by myself and others on this site - - - we wish you well on your decisions.

Oh my gosh! This is EXACTLY what I needed to know.

I had no idea. I had a bit of a clue that this would not be an easy or cheap proposition as I am in lovely Fairfax. But, those are numbers that definitely have to be worked into the numbers. Thank you so much for sharing this info.

[Sweetbriar]

Keep in mind -

1. Many, if not most, storage lots that have the space for a 30+ foot RV will assigned you a parking spot rather than first come first serve random parking. I would not recommend storing anywhere without an assigned space considering the size of the average RV.

2. You don't need a safety inspection to register or renew the registration but you should have the coach inspected before installing VA license plates. Missing or expired inspection stickers on a vehicle with VA plates will catch the eye of your local LEO who will help incentivize you to correct the error.

3. Emission inspections are not required everywhere in the state and the requirement is base on where you garage the vehicle and not the address you registered just like the personal property tax. Additionally there are exemptions for some vehicles. In particular - Gasoline powered vehicles with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds and diesel powered vehicles with GVWR of more than 8,501 lbs.

Don't over complicate this. There are legal ways avoid some of the cost of ownership particularly based on where you garage the coach.

What you can expect to pay at the DMV -
One time VA sales tax (4.15% of sale price) if the seller did not or could not collect the tax at the time of the sale.
One time VA titling fee of about $15 for an out of state titled vehicle.
Vehicle registration fee of about $45 (you will also pay this yearly).
There could be other small costs (admin fees, vanity plates and such) but the sales tax will be the biggest bite at the DMV.

Sometime later you will receive a notice from the city/country where you declared you store the RV of the property tax assessment. Garage in Fairfax ($4.57 per $100 of assessed value) or Stafford ($5.49) and you'll get soaked each year. Loudoun ($2.75) is a little better while Fauquier ($1.50) is pretty much average for most areas of the commonwealth. Prince William ($.0001) is the outlier for the area.

Your first property tax bill will be prorated based on when you registered at the DMV. The assessment is normally based on NADA valuations. From what I've been assessed over the years I suspect the wholesale value is used rather than retail. The online value anyone can look up is retail.

[NomadRider]

Lots of folks talking about how horrible the tax situation is in Virginia and how they'd never live in a place with personal property taxes - "they're crazy!"

Well, at first blush, yes, personal property taxes are crazy. In my county PPT for my coach are astronomical - something like $3000 per year. But, compared to where I used to live (in MD) the income taxes are much lower. So are the real estate taxes. So are the sales taxes.

The fact is, that it costs X dollars to provide services for the citizens - be they roads, teachers, police, whatever. Those costs are relative to location and what the people of that region expect from their government.
Overall, when viewed in comparison to all of her neighboring states (and DC), Virginia's tax burden per capita is lower. Not the lowest in the country by any stretch, but in the bottom half.

People complain about personal property taxes because they're very aware of them - it's something that they need to write a check for every year. Neighboring states collect even higher taxes from the paycheck or at the store or through the mortgage holder - all "invisible" to the payer since it's lumped in with another expense or deduction.

Be wary of comments such as "must get a smog test or safety inspection" before you can renew your tags because those requirements can be very regional. Proximity to a major city is what triggers smog testing, it is not a blanket, state-wide mandate. Fauquier county, for example, has no smog testing requirements. My previously owned coach, purchased out of state and registered in August has not had a Virginia safety inspection performed and I'm not inclined to have one done any time soon since I'll be leaving the state.

As for where to store - Prince William county is the most economical in the region as far as minimizing the PPT, you still pay it but it ends up being about $25 per year or so. Prince William County Fairgrounds is probably the cheapest place, they charge $210 per quarter but they have a several month wait list to get in. Unfortunately, they have no covered storage or power for battery maintenance. Spaces there are hit or miss, you may end up with a nice firm gravel spot or you may have grass.

[USMCRET]

NomadRider brings up some good points. In terms of the overall tax burden on residents, VA isn’t that bad, currently ranking 38 out of 50 on Wallethub.com. But when going from paying PPT of $1K/yr to purchasing a new motorhome and seeing PPT go to >$12K/yr, it hits you between the eyes with a sledgehammer.