Tom:
Sorry I misunderstood your rule. I had thought if we had permission to post elsewhere we could do so. I don't blame you though, for being ultra conservative on this. I will try to get the link as it is a most informative message. My problem is I don't go on the web for Newmar, I just get their digests.
John in Detroit .... I did exactly what you are asking about. When we decided to purchase our latest motorhome, we also decided, since we would be full timing, it would be advantageous to move to Montana and be official residents there and have our domicile there.
However, Jeff Cousins is correct ... you need to look at both the state you are moving from and the state you are moving to. The Montana attorney believed we would be fine if we got a Montana driver license, a small piece of property to live on (it can be rented or purchased) and then register the new motorhome with Montana as a resident. However our Maryland attorney advised us that even if we did that, we had to prove to the Maryland authorities that we did not spend more than 6 months in a calendar year in Maryland, even with a Montana driver license. We are OK there as we spend less than 2 months in Maryland.
However each state is different thus it is important to get good advice in both the to and from states when you move.
As for taxes, it is a huge advantage to live in Montana because of the sales tax savings IF ... you do not earn so much income that you would have to pay income tax in Montana. When we compare income tax to sales tax it breaks out in our favor. But an active wage earner might find that the sales tax advantage of Montana is overcome by the fairly stiff income tax.
Also retail prices in general in Montana are higher than the U.S. average. This is not hard on us as we are only in Montana in the summer, do a lot of mail and Internet ordering, and travel to many places where prices are cheaper.
All of this takes a bit of research to work it all out., and there are no pat answers. Only you can figure out what is best for your family.
We enjoy the fact that when we Internet order from other states, most of the retailers will not charge us tax if we have a Montana billing address. This is not true in every case, as again it is a complex area, but 90% of what we order over the Internet and through the mails comes tax free to us regardless of the state of origin.
Like Ron Ruward, we are glad we are Montana residents and I would not be very comfortable with a Montana LLC if I still lived in Maryland, even though Maryland was not on the hot list of states listed in my original post. I see a trend that as more and more people catch on to the Montana LLC loophole, the states will become more interested in finding ways to stop it.
Woody mentioned "use" tax. A state that has a "use" tax does not necessarily prevent a Montana LLC. My former state of Maryland is a perfect example. They do not have sales tax on vehicles but a use tax. For all practical purposes in Maryland, it is treated exactly as a sales tax, and they will not charge it if you paid a sales tax in another state when you move to Maryland. Also if you paid a use tax in Maryland. Also if you paid the use tax in Maryland ... Every state I have researched including South Dakota will honor it as if it was a sales tax if you move there.
