Property tax on motorhomes

[Old_Crow]

"As Gary says, though they're legal, you can still get in trouble using them since a typical use is to attempt to avoid sales/property tax. The state of Colorado, for one (there are many others), has long been wise to this and many folks have found legal trouble for tax avoidance."

Trouble starts when you're stopped for a minor violation in Colorado with Montana plates and a Colorado driver's license!

I often wonder what will happen if I'm ever stopped in the company truck I drive during the summer. Arizona tags, Arkansas driver's license, operating in California.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

denis 4x4 I thought the same thing back when my first motor home was tagged in So. Dakota.
However, shortly after getting used to having the out-of-state plates, I realized first off other than an accident most people who get stopped in any type of vehicle are for speeding, running a stop sign, reckless driving of some nature, etc. Most if not all of those are eliminated driving my rig because I drive much slower usually under the speed limit and I certainly drive more carefully and aware of my surroundings. Also, I believe most police officers have more pressings issues on their plates than where someone's RV is registered.

Crossing the border at the Peace Bridge going into Canada you are much more scrutinized by Border Patrol Agents than the everyday cop. Once I was asked why I had different plates than residence and all I said is I have dual residences.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If I'm there for 6 months I owe CT property tax???

That seems like a ridiculous overreach to me.

Probably, but it's up to the local tax collector as to whether and how he collects taxes. For seasonal sites I'm pretty sure the answer would always be yes. For daily/weekly/monthly rental sites, the tax collector may not even look, assuming everybody is a transient rather than a "resident". But if he does check the records or takes photos at various times (they do that) and sees that your rig was there continuously, the yes you would owe the vehicle property tax of $25/1000 of valuation.

Overreach? Do you mean property tax on RVs in general, or just those "visiting" for more than 6 months? CT taxes motorhomes and motor vehicles if they reside in the state, $25/$1000 of valuation. The state in which the RV is licensed is not deemed relvant. They have to have some yardstick, so they arbitrarily set 6 months as the dividing line between an RV visitor and an RV that is resident in CT. I don't like paying taxes anymore than anybody else, but their rule seems a rational one given their tax structure.

 

[Knobs]

...
Overreach? Do you mean property tax on RVs visiting...

This.

Visiting is not residence. Visiting is visiting. My residence for tax purposes did not change. I pay the taxes on my RV in my state of residence, and that is a real residence, not one for tax purposes. (I'd be an idiot to use MN as a residence for tax purposes.)

The local Sheriff of Nottingham (err... Connecticut) be damned.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Visiting is not residence. Visiting is visiting. My residence for tax purposes did not change. I pay the taxes on my RV in my state of residence, and that is a real residence, not one for tax purposes. (I'd be an idiot to use MN as a residence for tax purposes.)

What about people who have more than one home, e.g. snowbirds or similar? Do they pay taxes in only one place? Or are residents who rent rather than own property exempt? At some point, a stay is no longer temporary and the state law doesn't know of your intent to leave at some point. Or whether your care for sister will be extend from months to years. So they pick an arbitrary point where a "visit" changes to "temporary resident".

By the way, I knew of one RV summer resident in CT who took his motorhome on a two week plus journey across the state line every year (a vacation in Maine) and made sure he had documentation that he could show the tax guy to prove he was not staying long term in CT. I guess it worked.

 

[Knobs]

What about people who have more than one home, e.g. snowbirds or similar? Do they pay taxes in only one place? Or are residents who rent rather than own property exempt? At some point, a stay is no longer temporary and the state law doesn't know of your intent to leave at some point. Or whether your care for sister will be extend from months to years. So they pick an arbitrary point where a "visit" changes to "temporary resident".

By the way, I knew of one RV summer resident in CT who took his motorhome on a two week plus journey across the state line every year (a vacation in Maine) and made sure he had documentation that he could show the tax guy to prove he was not staying long term in CT. I guess it worked.

I'm not talking about any kind of tax avoidance scheme.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'm not talking about any kind of tax avoidance scheme.

Right, but the point is the state makes some arbitrary rules to limit the tax avoidance schemes and sometimes a legitimate situation such as you cited gets caught in the same net. In your scenario, you could appeal to the county tax collector for a hardship exception of some sort, but it would be entirely up to his/her discretion.