| Author | Message | ||
| Peter (209.242.148.130)
Rating: |
Due to my legal residency in both states, I have the option of registering my newly acquired 4905 conversion in either California or Arizona. The issue is cost. Transfer fees: how do they compare? Annual fees: how do they compare? | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.214.66.193) Rating: N/A |
According to the 'How to Become a Real Texan' booklet put out by the Escapees club, a person can only have one domicile which is where the vehicle should be registered. (Same place as your driver's license, voter reg., veh. insurance, health ins. etc.) Military has special priviledges in this regard, apparently. I say this not meaning sound critical of your plan, but just so you are aware, if not already, that there can be trouble or fines by trying to get the best of both worlds from two different states. Having said that. . . My bus reg. in CA is $49/yr. I don't know about transfer fees or costs in AZ. Link to CA DMV: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ BTW, the '...Texan' booklet is free and in PDF format and is a very good read for all fulltimers regardless of whether they want to establish Texas as their domicile or not. It is on the escapees.com site. http://www.escapees.com/website/edocuments/texan.pdf Scott | ||
| Lin (65.184.0.189)
Rating: N/A |
Arizona does multi-year registrations that can be done online. I think it's cheaper than California. I do not know about the legal issues. Lin | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit) (216.67.221.38)
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I paid about $39 for 2 years tags on my '76 MCI-8 in Arizona. It is registered as a motorhome. As far as I know, there is no transfer fees. If you own it and move here, then you just pay your registration and tags. Peter. | ||
| Donald Schwanke (67.210.119.117)
Rating: N/A |
I wonder if we are making a problem where there is none. Many with domiciles and drivers licenses from the North that come to Texas for the winter, have their RV registered in Texas (because of the lower cost of course). Texas welcomes the revenue and does not mind. Others have a "winter car" registered in Texas, it never leaves Texas. When I had a Kenworth, I had to have it registered in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, and Iowa at different times. Always had a Kansas CDL and drove coast to coast without a problem. Has anyone ever had a problem with driving a vehicle with plates from a state different than their drivers license? | ||
| Lin (65.184.0.189)
Rating: N/A |
I have never personally had any problems, but I could see the possibility of one if you are in California with a California drivers license driving a bus registered in Arizona. One would probably need to talk to the CHP to get some clarification. I don't think that third party states would care. | ||
| Scott Whitney (66.214.66.193) Rating: N/A |
I was just summarizing what I read in the booklet that addresses these issues. I'd guess that it would not be Texas that minds the extra revenue if one registered a vehicle there, but the 'home' state that loses the revenue might mind. It sounds even more complex if the vehicle resides in the state all the time, though. You could probably argue that one. I was thinking more of vehicles that travel all over the US as you fulltime. But it is probably less of a deal with vehicle registrations as it is with things like state taxes, etc. For example, if someone filed their income in OR to avoid state tax, registered their vehicle in TX for low cost, registered to vote in CA so it would a nice place to go for jury duty if called, had health insurance in ?? for benfits, had vehicle ins. in SD, mail box in UT, bank accounts in . . . you get the point. That would probably raise some red flags. BTW, I am researching all this because I intend to be fulltime soon, and am trying to figure out the best way. I have decided to keep my domicile in CA with all vehicle regs., auto ins, biz lic., voter reg. etc, but will probably get the Escapee's mail service in TX. Scott | ||
| jmaxwell (66.42.92.146) Rating: N/A |
If u have a CA driver's license and u get stopped in a YOUR vehicle licensed out of state u had better hope if has commercial apportioned plates or is registered to an out of state holding corporation. I'll introduce u to several people who have received hefty citations for avoiding what CA considers to be it's "just rewards". | ||
| kevin L. Paul (148.87.1.171)
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California NOW has laws on the books which require you to update your residence address on their Driver's licences if you have moved/changed domicile. Per conversation with Sheriff's deputy in the Bay area. Police State!!! and bankrupt economy. I'll be moving anyway. kevin | ||
| Don KS/TX (205.187.92.250)
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OK, so I am hardheaded. Interesting that not one person presented a ticket for this "supposed" offense, or a statue with a penalty clause. Still interesting that down here in the "barely USA" portion of the country, it is a quite common practice. My German citizen friend last month was issued a Texas drivers license, has German registration on their vehicle, seems ok to me. | ||
| Don Peter (172.175.110.56)
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This is in response to jmaxwell's comments about California's "just rewards". We retired from the San Francisco bay area in 1999 and moved to Arizona. Move took about 5 months to complete and during that time we had California drivers licenses and some vehicles had Arizona plates. I was stopped in Claremont, CA for an unsafe left turn while driving my Arizona tagged Jeep with my California license. I explained the situation to the cop and he did not write me up for a license violation. At the time, we had purchased property in AZ and were still renting a home in CA. The Jeep was a non-commercial vehicle. I was able to show Arizona registration and insurance. -- Don | ||
| Peter Broadribb (Madbrit) (216.67.215.44)
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Arizona requires you to update your drivers license details too. Is this another "Police State" then? At least we can carry loaded guns without permits....... LOL. I have seen dual registrations with California and Arizona. I don't know if this is still being done. This was for people who lived basically 6 months in each State. If you are resident in Arizona for more than 30 days, you are required to transfer all your vehicles and your drivers license to your new address. However, if you are a "snowbird" and are living on an RV park, etc. that is not considered being in residence. Residence would probably be considered where you pay your taxes. Peter. | ||
| RJ Long (Rjlong) (24.127.8.58)
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Kevin - Those CA laws you're referring to are not new at all. It was in the DMV handbook when I got my license 30+ years ago! Same as the laws that say you're supposed to notify the DMV w/in 10 days of buying or selling a vehicle. . . nothing new. FWIW, RJ PD4106-2784 Fresno CA | ||
| Don KS/TX (205.187.92.77)
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To the best of my knowledge, ALL states have always required you to report a change in address, even if you moved across the street. I am not sure what you are supposed to do if you have no address. Just who says bus people have to have an address anyway? | ||
| Don Hughes (209.36.53.212)
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It sounds to me like we should all just stay out of California and spend our money elsewhere. | ||
| FAST FRED (63.208.80.60) Rating: N/A |
There is a difference between your Domicile ( Where you feel you live & intend to return to to live ) and a residence , where you happen to be for a while. EG in the military I was a New Yorker ,( my domicile) but based all over the world , a residence. Pick a Domicile state that has NO income tax , , good conciled weapons carry laws , and low registration fees. Texas or FL are usually first choices. The FMCA mail fowarding service is excellent , and is a reason for joining . In a decade of travels they have never screwed up!! FAST FRED | ||
| Doug (206.71.111.164)
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Hey Guys - The issue usually winds up being taxes. In Missouri, they will tag you for personal property tax if you have a vehicle registered here and don't file personal property taxes. I got to experience that. Then they want you to pay personal property tax on vehicles registered in another state. The law (which I read) says that you are a resident in MO if you register a vehicle - and they then can tax you for everything. This will NOT be the state I retire in. | ||
| Frank Allen (205.188.209.11)
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I didnt think Texas was cheap to register, anybody know how much it all costs?? thanks Frank Allen | ||
| Peter (Sdibaja) (209.242.148.130)
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Out of convenience I registered my 4905 in California, the transfer tax was something on the order of $150 (based on my stated value) and the annual will be about $50. Personal property taxes can become an issue here in California. I have never been assessed for an RV, but the County Assessor does make sweeps of marinas and I never miss getting nailed for my boats. There is a date that they use that I forget (March 15 +/-). Of the boat is in the County on that date, that County gets to collect the personal property tax for it. I plan to make sure that the 4905 is in Mexico on that date and keep it out of the system. (a County will not “release” unless it is on another County’s tax rolls. When I kept my boat in Mexico for 3 years I had to continue to pay County of San Diego taxes) California charges something on the order of 1% of the “assessed value”. | ||
| Don KS/TX (63.15.244.49)
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Another thing to consider is the costs in addition to the registration costs. Being a Kansas and Texas snowbird, I have found that insurance in the Rio Grande Valley area is prohibitive, the rate increases by $600 a year on my toad alone! (Explained to me by the insurance company as because of the high number of uninsured Mexican drivers, who can come across the border and bend up our cars) Insurance on the bus would be cut in half if I simply tagged it in Nevada rather than Kansas. Most insurance companies insure not on where the bus IS, but what state the tag is from. | ||
| Curtis (66.68.232.58)
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Don, not to get off the subject, but where in the RGV are you? I'm in God forsaken San Benito( S-an Ben-i-to)! I have about 2 more years here and I'm only coming back for visits (maybe). Last year my homeowners went up, the auto insurance went up! Now gas is on the rise! Cheap living in the South, Yea, Right! Drop me an email off list. Cheers Curtis |
