Community Forums

TheWanderers · 05-14-2013, 02:10 PM

Greetings to all. I have been "lurking" on this site for months, but just went legit. My family of 3 (beautiful wife, an 11-yr. old daughter plus a medium-sized Aussie named Romeo - ok family of 4) are about to BUY our first RV! We rented about 1 year ago and just fell in love with the experience. But we didn't like the rental - a 26-ft. C class. We want to get a 34-36 ft. A class, with bunks because my daughter fell in love with those at a recent RV show.
I have MANY questions but, main one right now is - can I take advantage of any solid "tax avoidance" steps? We HAVE an LLC for business but don't want to purchase it thru that, for personal reasons. Doubt the Montana LLC thing is wise, these days? Sounds like states are wise to it now? We're in CA. and while the registration isn't that bad, the sales tax on a 60-90k unit will be brutal!
I'm also open to other advice on buying, but I don't want to confuse this string...thanks for any advice!!

denochs · 05-14-2013, 02:31 PM

Welcome to iRV2.

If you have property in another state that has lower sales tax, that is about the only thing I can think of to reduce the tax. I agree, the Montana LLC thing might be risky. Consider property tax too. Not sure about CA, but FL does not have an annual property tax on RVs. So, we pay a registration renewal each year that is under $100. That saves us over $1000 a year because we have property in FL.

Dave

**JohnRR** · 05-14-2013, 02:32 PM

I'd be very careful with any legal advice you may receive on any message board.

Go Dawgs · 05-14-2013, 03:14 PM

Go to a tax attorney for any legal advise before taking advise from any site.

rgvtexan · 05-14-2013, 04:14 PM

Bought on E-Bay from CA wholesale dealer, Picked up in S Lake Tahoe NV. Paid the Reg and Taxes in WA.

Medico · 05-14-2013, 04:44 PM

Welcome and glad to meet you!

I have read recently that some Montana LLCs are have problems getting financed. This is worth looking at as well.

Just know that any sales tax you pay this year will be deductible on your Federal return next year. (The sales tax deductions were extended for 2012 and 2013)

vsheetz · 05-14-2013, 04:55 PM

I am in CA as well. Went though this last year. Even owning property in OR (no sales tax) was now blocked. Yes, each state is getting wiser and working with the others to tighten the rules. We finally just bit the billet and paid CA the money.

Bruce C · 05-14-2013, 06:16 PM

from NH.

MSHappyCampers · 05-15-2013, 08:34 AM

Hi folks! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined us!

I can't answer your tax question as it probably varies from state to state. Here in MS we can claim any interest paid on an RV because it's counted as a "second home".

BTW, I would suggest you post questions over in the appropriate areas of the forum for best results. Not many folks hang out here in the Welcome area.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

wnytaxman · 05-15-2013, 08:44 AM

Welcome to the Forum!

As has been stated before your sales tax on your RV will be deductible along with your interest paid on your rig, as long as you don't already take a deduction for second home interest. Those are the breaks that are pretty much automatic. Depending on what your business is, you may be able to take some of the other expenses, including depreciation, on your rig if you have a solid business purpose that you can document. Remember the burden of proof in tax matters is always on the taxpayer.

If you are looking to avoid the sales tax be very, very careful. You will need to find out the specific rules for California residency requirements and see if there is any way you can qualify for "residency" of your rig in another state. Unless you are full timing, which it sounds like you are not, it is very risky and tricky to qualify your unit as being in another state while you continue to live in CA.

wyorancher · 05-15-2013, 10:04 AM

When our residence was in CA we also owned farm land in WY. We bought a 5ver in WA. Since we had land in WY we tried to register it in WY. They refused because we lived on the land. I did not want to go back to CA because after I took delivery we traveled from WA to WY. We camped on our land all summer since we had full hookups. They still would not let us register it in WY. In September just before 911 we zipped off to CA for the winter and to register the 5ver which was now still not registered. 6 months had past. When we got to CA we stopped at the nearest DMV to the state line. They were hopping mad that we had not registered the RV. BUT, we went over the 6 months and we did not have to pay the sales tax. If we had been stopped along the way I am sure it would have been a big fine. We were not trying to avoid the tax we were in the process of moving to WY and were uninformed. I would not try that method again.

Bama Fan · 05-15-2013, 08:14 PM

Welcome to the forum. Can't help with tax questions but I agree with others about getting advise from somewhere other than a forum about the issue. Taxes on rv's vary greatly from state to state. Glad to have you here.