EMan508 said:
I've been doing research on picking my domicile state. South Dakota sounds good with a 3% one time excise tax and easy full-timing requirements for the license etc.
I was wondering if people from various states would be willing to share what their expenses are for titling/registration for an RV? A while back I read a posting that made me think SD was a lot lower in costs. The SD gov just sent me this for a 22,000lb, 2004 RV:
"At this time, the annual license fee would be $300 ($25 per month). Effective July 1, 2013, the fee will raise to $330 annually.
South Dakota licenses on a staggered registration system, so depending on when you are registering, your fees could vary from 3-18 months (license for no less than 3 months nor more than 18 months). Staggered registration is based on the first letter of the applicant?s last name.
Other fees include: annual $1 solid waste and annual $1 highway patrol fee; $5 title fee and $5 lien notation fee, if applicable; some counties assess an annual county wheel tax (usually $4/wheel); and a 3% motor vehicle excise tax, unless you have previously paid a similar and equal amount of tax to another state."
The sales/excise tax is now 4%, unless you paid tax in your previous state, no matter if the percentage was higher or lower. The only five states which do not have state sales tax are MT, AK, OR, DE, and NH. However, NH, OR, and MT have local taxes imposed by some municipalities. If your car is from one of these five states, you will have to pay the SD sales tax, however unfair that is (why should you be penalized if your state was tax free??).
Wheel taxes, if the county has them, are $2, $2.50, $3, or $4 per wheel. These funds are used to maintain county roads.
There is also a $5 mailing fee for plates and a $1 mailing fee for registration stickers (without plates) or for temp plates which they issue first before the state can send you special or disabled plates. Regular plates are sent by the county, but special or disabled plates are sent by the state. Note: you technically have to be a resident to get disabled plates or placards unless a county does not know better.
The 3-18 month staggering occurs only during your first year of registration and is for
YOUR CONVENIENCE. So, for example, if you register your new car two months before your designated registration date (based on your last name), rather than make you come in again in two months, they will do just a 14-month registration for that year. Thereafter, it will be the normal 12-month registration.