Bought in Calif, Moving to Florida in a few days

[idigit]

Hello all! I am glad to be here! I just bought my MH DP on July 1st, 2021, from a private party in California, and since have sold my home in Calif, we intend to use the MH to travel our family to Florida... where we have a new home address in Florida, & will officially live there in Florida starting July 23rd. So, I would like to register the MH before I leave Calif, but wonder how I may end up with it registered in Florida. Or, should I try a temporary registration in the state of California, and when I arrive in Florida, then register it there? So which state will get my sales tax money? Any advice about this? Will I have to pay for the California sales tax tot he DMV, and register it in California? Even though starting in a few days I will officially live in Florida? Thanks for any help.

[Flyer 516NG]

Have your bill of sale from the private party in California with you. Wait til you get to Florida, and register it there.

[Toby Dog]

Prove to the seller than you have insured the coach and talk the seller into letting you use their tag to get it to FL. Going that far without a tag will get you stopped, possibly multiple times.
Any contact with CA DMV will cost you a bunch.

[MRUSA14]

You could register the coach in Florida using your relatives’ address, then change address once you arrive in Florida. Your Florida license tags will be sent to you in CA. By doing this, you will have no contact with and pay no taxes to CA. Look online for Florida license tag agencies. These are private companies that handle license vehicle titling and licensing for a fee. They can help you get this done quickly the right way, and their fee will be more than offset by the money you will save by not involving CA in the process. For further savings you can skip the tag agency and register in FL with the county tax collector’s office where you live. However this is likely much more time consuming and I’m not sure if they will send the tags out of state. By the way, annual license fees in FL are less than $100 per year no matter what rig you drive, although there is an impact fee charged the first time you license in the state that is sevaral times that amount.

[Rlbccb55]

Here is a link to the fl dmv
https://www.dmv.com/fl/florida/vehic...gn=organic_dmv

Check the county you will reside in for their sales tax rate. You will have to show that you have paid at least 6% for the purchase of your MH or pay the fl rate. Their is also some verbiage about insurance and drivers license requirements

https://www.flhsmv.gov/locations/marion/

[jleonard]

Wait until you get to Florida.
Go to your local tax office (that's where they do the DMV thing) and get your Florida driver's license. You'll need to establish residency to do that so if you have an address and utility bills or something like that bring them (you should find all that in the link given above).
Then after that go get the vehicle(s) registered in Florida.
Be aware however, that in Florida those employees actually smile and are very pleasant. A 180 degree change from Connecticut I can attest that. LOL
Wife and I spent a total of 15 minutes getting our driver's licenses, the first day we were here, then another 15 minutes the second day getting our vehicles registered.
In CT that would have taken 3 to 6 hours each day.
Then the 3rd day I got my conceal carry permit, another 15 minutes.
Welcome to Florida!

[Jkjavelin]

My sister-in-law lives in Colorado and bought an almost new used Class C from a private seller in Georgia last February. She picked it up, drove it to Florida and took the long way home... for about a month. She had a piece of cardboard mounted to the license plate frame with License Applied For written on it. She kept her paper work handy, but never got stopped. She got it registered back in Colorado when she got back.
JK

[Theturboman]

In California the plates stay with the vehicle, I know some states require you turn them in not in CA. If you paid cash I would just wait until you get to FL or do it online using your future address. I would just get insurance for it in FL also

[Gary RVRoamer]

Wait until you get to Florida to do the title & tag paperwork (and pay sales tax). An official will have to physically verify the VIN to do that. Get insurance on the coach and use the existing CA plate, as others have described.


Avoid the CA DMV at all costs. It will be very expensive and a huge hassle.


In Florida, stay away from motor vehicle offices in major metro areas, especially in the Miami-FTL-Palm Beach region. Use a more rural county where the staff will actually help you get the job done instead of throwing up roadblocks. The bigger city offices seem to be besieged with applicants trying to bypass or scam the legal process and the clerks get real cynical.

[Ldubs]

Congrats on the new RV!

I agree with the advice to stay away from California and it sounds like you have a very legitimate reason to do that.

BTW, I'm in No California. I pay a personal property tax to our county assessor for the boat. I'm waiting to see if they will levy one on our travel trailer. It seems to never end.

[Danny969]

Do not get CA involved. The registration and tax rates are much higher than in FL. As far as registration goes, CA charges 1% of what they feel the vehicle is worth and it's non-refundable if you don't apply for it within 30 days of your purchase and can prove it was registered in another state. As far as taxes go the FL rate is 6% vs the CA rates of 8+%. So if you register in CA, you're out that 2+% no matter what. Note that you will pay roughly $450 the first time you register in FL, but thereafter it drops to around $65. I'd see if you can keep the sellers tag for a few weeks or contact the FL tax collector's office (that's where you register and get your driver's licenses in FL) to see what they can do. I'd even take my chances before registering in CA. A few tickets costs less than the pain CA will put you through.

[R.Wold]

Haven’t read all this but DO NOT register in Ca. Sales tax alone is reason enough (I’ve paid way too much....). Just drive to your Florida’s destination and register there. You’ll be pleasantly surprised and no LE, state trooper, etc is going to give you a second look unless you are doing something obviously wrong.

But if that should happen, just have you paperwork available. When does the sticker on the plate expire? Probably good for quite a few months and even that doesn’t matter anymore since LE personnel don’t pay attention to plates unless there’s probably cause for something else. Or it’s a new guy in Rookie Overdrive (), but they are usually busy doing other stuff.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised with registration fees in Florida and their sales tax is about 1/2 of Californias. And since you won’t be residing here, Ca has no right to the taxes. And Florida does since that’s your new home.Just think of it as traveling from Fl to Ca to buy a coach, then heading home .

If you need it registered to get insurance, register it by mail in FL with your new FL address. Since you’ll be there in less than 30 days that probably isn’t an issue.

[Ljwt330]

Let's sum this up and keep it simple.

You will pay sales tax in whichever state you register the motorhome.

California plates remain with the vehicle unless they are personalized plates and the owner wishes to keep them. Driving the coach will not be an issue as it will have tags.

Call Florida DMV for specifics on registering before arrival, if possible.

Call your insurance and find out coverage during the time between sale and new registration.

[R.Wold]

Originally Posted by Ljwt330

Let's sum this up and keep it simple.

You will pay sales tax in whichever state you register the motorhome.

California plates remain with the vehicle unless they are personalized plates and the owner wishes to keep them. Driving the coach will not be an issue as it will have tags.

Call Florida DMV for specifics on registering before arrival, if possible.

Call your insurance and find out coverage during the time between sale and new registration.

Yeah that’s retry much it. Don’t complicate your life and/or throw money down the california toilet. Just drive it to FL and enjoy!