Newbie needs info on Registering a RV to be used as Full Time Residence.

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Mickey

New member
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Posts
2
Location
Ft. Worth, Tx by way of (French) Louisiana
:)  I read, several years ago before I was seriously interested in Full Timing, that there was one State in which RV Registration was EXTREMELY inexpensive and did not require homeowner or homestead taxes be paid, even if being used as a residence.

Does anyone know which state that was and if this is still true today?

Thanks, Mickey
 
There are many factors that go into selecting a domicile for fulltiming, vehicle registration is just one of them.  Texas has low registration fees, as well as many other advantages, but there are other states that can be a good choice depending on the individuals situation.

I recommend you review the articles in the forum library on full timing found here then come back with any other questions you may have.
 
Florida is one, but there are others. Generally you will not pay any real estate-related taxes on any RV because it is considered a vehicle rather than a mobile home, even though it may be parked much of the time.  But in some states vehicle taxes are high, either an initial one time fee (sales/use tax) or an annual high fee based on market value (personal property tax or vehicle registration fee).
 
Mickey,

Many RV's are registered in South Dakota. You cannot believe any rig with a South Dakota tag as being a real resident. :) Quite a few here on the forum do that. Other states, as mentioned are TX and FL. Oregon used to be the best but they have really cracked down on non-residents because of neighboring states having such high fees. I'd say SD & TX are the easiest.
 
Registration of a motor home in Texas is about $325/year, and no personal property taxes on it.? Sales tax is 6.25% on the purchase price less trade-in.? If the MH has been registered elsewhere and taxes paid, a new resident fee is nominal, $25 or so.

Texas has no income tax.? Property taxes are confiscatory, but RVs aren't included.

Texas has an exemption for Purple Heart recipients, former Prisoners of War, Pearl Harbor Survivors, and Medal of Honor winners.? No registration fees.? Now that Motor Home gets new plates every year for $3.

Escapees RV Club's mail forwarding service gives you a Livingston, Texas address.? Livingston is in a county with low auto insurance rates (avoid Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth addresses if you want low insurance.? The difference between Harris County--Houston (where my house is), and Waller County (where the MH is) was about $500/year on my Dutch Star.
 
I just registered in Pennsylvania, and it was less than an equivalent sized pickup truck.? 45.00 for the motor home, 81.00 for the same GVW straight truck.  Full time or part time doesn't matter with registration, but it does with my insurance premium.
 
South Dakota is now our legal residence. We were in Illinois when our toad plates came due so Alternative Resources helped us obtain titles and plates for both vehicles without us being there in person. Titles and plates were about $240.00 for the two vehicles. No sales tax due because we had paid more than the 3% collected in SD in Washington when we purchased the m/h and car. No safety or emissions test are required for the vehicles.

We then had 90 days to appear in person in SD for drivers licenses. DL's require only a quick vision test if you have a valid out-of-state license, $8.00 for 5 years. The DL application ask for a residence address OR a mailing address in SD. No special license or test is required for large RV's.

Registering to vote required spending the night at a local campground in Minnehaha Count and filling out forms that Alternative notarised and filed for us. Our voting cards were forwarded to us from the campground and absentee ballots were mailed to our Alternative Resources address in Sioux Falls.
 
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