Buying out of state, who collects sales taxes

[timjet]

I am a Florida resident. I have a FL drivers license and have a house in FL where I live most of the year. I also own an RV lot in Michigan. I pay property taxes on that lot. That lot is part of a large RV community and Michigan treats the lots and owners of those lots as a condo association. The RV community is open 6 months a year. Out of season all RV’s must be removed.


I plan on purchasing a 5th wheel to place on that lot. I will store the 5th wheel during the off season at a local storage facility. I do not have a truck to tow the 5th wheel so I will hire a transport service to tow the 5th wheel from the storage facility to my lot at the beginning of the season and then again back to storage at the end of the season. I will likely live in the 5th wheel for 3-4 months each year.


I have no idea what state I will buy the 5th wheel. Ideally the closer to my Michigan lot the better to save on transportation costs. So my questions are:
Who do I pay sales tax on the purchase of the 5th wheel, Michigan, Florida or the state I purchased it in?
And what state do I register it in? Ideally FL would probably be cheaper.

[Skip426]

Yours is an interesting question ; and the answer may vary by state of purchase .

I can only give you the info from my purchase in MT 12 years ago and registration in Canada ( BC ).
No taxes were paid at point of sale ; a temporary registration permit was issued , all taxes involved were paid at time/place of registration .

JMHO: The place to ask your question would be FL; MOT office. To see if an RV that will probably never be in state can be registered there.

[dons2346]

You will pay taxes to the state in which you register it

[Gary RVRoamer]

You surely will pay sales tax in the state where you title & register the 5W. You may also pay sales tax where you bought it, though most states won't double-tax if you are moving the vehicle to another state. It appears you could choose to title the 5W in either Florida or Michigan, but it's probably wisest to use whichever state you title your other vehicles in. Florida?



State tax rules vary by state. Generally, if you already paid sales tax elsewhere, the state where you title the RV will allow you to credit that toward what you would owe them. However, that's not universal and something you have to investigate wherever you purchase it.

[DavidEM]

Any vehicle that stays in a state full time like yours should be registered in that state. So buy it from wherever and don't have the dealer register it or pay sales taxes to that state, just get a bill of sale and a temporary tag to get it to Michigan. Once you get to Michigan take your bill of sale to the registration office, pay the sales tax and register it in Michigan.

David

[Isaac-1]

I bought my current coach out of state (Live in Louisiana,and bought in Florida), at the time Louisiana had an agreement with Florida so that sales tax paid in Florida would be forwarded to Louisiana, however at the time there were some regional states that did not have such agreements which would if done legally result in double paying of the sales tax, ie pay Florida when you bought it and pay other state when you register it. I forget which regional state did not have an agreement,but I think it was either Alabama or one of the Carolinas.


So as mentioned above it really depends on the states in question, my wife has bought her last 2 cars in Texas, then paid Louisiana tax on them at the Louisiana rate when registering (we are less than 20 miles from the Texas state line)

[Crasher]

We have a home in AZ and one in WI. Two vehicles in AZ registered in AZ plus one in AZ registered in WI. Three in WI registered in WI. I was told that if a vehicle resides in a state for six months plus a day, it needed to be registered in that state. Sales tax is due in the state it is registered in. In the case of a motorhome we purchased in AZ in 1999, we had to travel to CA, do the paperwork there and write the check there. They gave us a 30 day permit to drive and register it in WI with a lower sales tax. From what I have learned, The OP should register the 5th Wheel in MI, but doubtful it will matter once it's parked unless he puts it back on the road.

[RVFunlovers]

When I have my choice I try to do what will be the easiest and cheapest.
If Florida does not need to see the 5W and they cost less then that is easy.

If Michigan cost less I would go that route. I think either state will want your sales tax and vehicle tax. Florida would never know if you go Michigan. Michigan would never know if you go Florida. The Michigan parks are filled with Florida plates.

Your vehicle will be moved twice a year. If any plate will work look for the best rate that you will be legal in. If you ask the states they will both likely say register here.

Good Luck and enjoy the 5W.

[Cat320]

Do your research, you should only pay tax on the RV once...maybe where you bought, maybe where you keep it...but not both.

[Country Road]

Originally Posted by Cat320

Do your research, you should only pay tax on the RV once...maybe where you bought, maybe where you keep it...but not both.

So true on the taxes but you do have to get it licensed every year and probably inspected if the state requires it.

[Isaac-1]

Originally Posted by Cat320

Do your research, you should only pay tax on the RV once...maybe where you bought, maybe where you keep it...but not both.

Should has never meant much when it comes to the tax code

[darrellr]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

Any vehicle that stays in a state full time like yours should be registered in that state. So buy it from wherever and don't have the dealer register it or pay sales taxes to that state, just get a bill of sale and a temporary tag to get it to Michigan. Once you get to Michigan take your bill of sale to the registration office, pay the sales tax and register it in Michigan.

David

While I agree with the sentiment, last time we bought an RV out of state, we had to pay the sales tax of the state we would register it in to the dealer at close. I fought that to the end, but ended up caving. It cost me delays in titling and registering, a $25 late fee, and an extra trip to the DMV. And when they mailed it, they did not include the office suite, so I had to travel the building to figure out where it had been delivered to. It was such a mess. It was such a mess, so if you can, just pay yourself where you register it.

[timjet]

Originally Posted by RVFunlovers

When I have my choice I try to do what will be the easiest and cheapest.
If Florida does not need to see the 5W and they cost less then that is easy.

If Michigan cost less I would go that route. I think either state will want your sales tax and vehicle tax. Florida would never know if you go Michigan. Michigan would never know if you go Florida. The Michigan parks are filled with Florida plates.

Your vehicle will be moved twice a year. If any plate will work look for the best rate that you will be legal in. If you ask the states they will both likely say register here.

Good Luck and enjoy the 5W.

I think I will go this route. The sales tax in FL and MI are roughly the same so there is no advantage to either, but yearly registration is cheaper in FL.

[txcpl]

Isaac-1 is correct. Check with your state to find out which states honor the taxes paid out of state.