Taxes

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chef john

Active member
Joined
Aug 26, 2006
Posts
41
First let me start by saying Happy New Year to all! I hope the new year brings everyone peace and prosperity.

About a week or two ago I received our 2007 tax bill for our 5er we bought in October of 2006. I was a little shocked. Our taxes on the RV are well above the taxes we pay on our house. I will be honest and say that I do not completely understand how a RV is classified when it comes to taxes. I want to say it is considered a second home, and thus such the high tax rate. I went and talked to my county auditor and he told me that motorhomes are taxed at 6.5% and Trailers are at 10%. I have no idea what he is talking about. I know that taxes are different state to state and even county to county but any light that someone can shed on this for me would greatly be appreciated.

Here are some details to my situation....
I live in South Carolina
I have a 2,200 sq foot house on 8.5 acres
My property tax for 2007 is $475.00........yes $475.00
I have a 2005 Starcraft 30' 5er that I bought for $22,000
My tax on the 5er is $675.00

Thanks to all,
Chef John
 
Hi Chef John,

I sure can't answer your question but it does seem way out of whack!!! I would definitlely question it even if you don't win.

Have you ever thought about buying a lot in Florida and register there? If you have a relative living there it would be even better. Our property tax in Titusville is quite high to my thinking but there is no tax on the RV!
 
$475.00 ON YOUR HOUSE ???  Dont move to Texas !!  I wont even presume to know anything about the taxes where you live but in Texas we dont pay property tax on the RV just a yearly registration and inspection fee, but they do make us pay through the nose for our homes. The interest off my property/school taxes alone would pay for your property taxes  :eek: :eek: :eek: :'( :'(

Another great reason to get rid of this house !!!!!! ;D ;D ;D


ps; Happy New Year to you and yours also  ;D ;D
 
Montana is a state by itself on taxes also.  They license & Tax the RV's (trailers or MoHo's) by the foot, each year.  Our 1800 sq ft house, 3 car garage, and bus barn are appraised less than our coach is worth.  The coach is less than $400 a year, and the real property tax on the house complex is $1500 annually!  :-\  But we have no sales tax either!  :)  That's why you see a lot of RV's with Montana plates!
 
Well, don't feel too bad. I live in Idaho, which is known for low taxes. For 3 years, I have paid for the "RV" sticker that went on the back end of a 1991 Allegro. It was around $30.00. Last year we bought our 2005 Damon Challenger, just in time to get credit for the Allegro "RV" sticker. This year, I just paid for the sticker for the Challenger, in its own right, for the first time. About what you paid for your house taxes. It was a bit of a shock! Obviously, they go by the value. I probably should have known that, but I didn't. The motor vehicle license was less than $50.00. That I could handle with out a lot of emotion.

I am curious as to what the total of licenses, fees, permits - etc, total for RVs, aroung the country. Good thread!

Ray D

And, by the way, Happy New Year to all of you!
 
Good Lord Can I move to one of your states.   In Illinois, 25 miles from St Louis, Mo our house Taxes ran just under $5000 a year and this year where going to make a jump of $800.  No Taxes on Vehicles of any sort.  Yeah it was a big house on a lake but outside any city limits, 150 feet Outside, no sewers, septic only of which we had 3 septics. Also ony 150 feet from a state highway.  Auto License $85, MH license $280, trailer liscense $48 to $260.  Of course big truck, Semis,  Where much much higher  Starting at $2300 and their trailers at about $1200 and up. However Insurance is a whole different ball game.   AZ insurance for our MH $2800 and in ILL $586 for same coverage with same company.  Figure.  No wonder we have to check prices on everything we do.  I don't cheat the Government but I sure don't want to give them anything if I don't have to.   JMHO
 
My motorhome insurance is just under $700 per year. The toad cost almost a thousand! (Worth about a tenth of the value of the motorhome!) Don't know why the motorhome is so cheap to insure.

Ray D
 
Ray D said:
My motorhome insurance is just under $700 per year. The toad cost almost a thousand! (Worth about a tenth of the value of the motorhome!) Don't know why the motorhome is so cheap to insure.

Ray D

Ray,

Check the fine print very carefully!!!
 
Jim said, "Check the fine print very carefully!!!"

That's what I thought. It's my regular Insurance Company I've had for thirty years. It's replacement value, supposedly. So far, had one claim, right out of the box. Backed over my own brand new fence!

No argument. $600 for the mangled fence. $1500 for the repair on the motorhome. I paid deductible for the motorhome. They will be even with me in another year.

Boy, I felt stupid when I ran over that fence! Never felt a thing!

Ray D
 
chef john said:
First let me start by saying Happy New Year to all! I hope the new year brings everyone peace and prosperity.

About a week or two ago I received our 2007 tax bill for our 5er we bought in October of 2006. I was a little shocked. Our taxes on the RV are well above the taxes we pay on our house. I will be honest and say that I do not completely understand how a RV is classified when it comes to taxes. I want to say it is considered a second home, and thus such the high tax rate. I went and talked to my county auditor and he told me that motorhomes are taxed at 6.5% and Trailers are at 10%. I have no idea what he is talking about. I know that taxes are different state to state and even county to county but any light that someone can shed on this for me would greatly be appreciated.

Here are some details to my situation....
I live in South Carolina
I have a 2,200 sq foot house on 8.5 acres
My property tax for 2007 is $475.00........yes $475.00
I have a 2005 Starcraft 30' 5er that I bought for $22,000
My tax on the 5er is $675.00

Thanks to all,
Chef John


OK, as a SC resident I think I can help. Your primary home is taxed at a 6.5% rate but gets several deductions from fair market value.  First $100,000 from school taxes and $50,000 for homestead if your 65 or older. (Note - property tax starting in 2008 will totally remove school taxes - sales tax is being increased by 1% to replace it.)  Trailers and motorhomes must pay personal property tax and are assessed at fair market value (Blue Book) at 10.5% but cars and trucks at 6.5%. There is a provision for using motorhome as second home and thus 6.5% rate but no deductions; if you don't own your home then motorhomes  are taxed at 10.5% rate.  All assessments are then multiplied by tax millage for county to get actual dollar amount. Note- a lot of monkeying with tax rates has been going on in SC for some time - for example the car rate has been reducing .5% per year until it reaches 6% in 2007 and the elimination of school taxes in 2008 are but two of examples.
 
Ray,

Backing into your own fence isn't good but since it was new we'll assume you forgot it was there. ;D

Insurance policies are written for lawyers and sometimes it's hard to understand just what they say. I just hope mine will cover anything if it happens. We've got full timers insurance so it's a little more than a normal policy.

 
Your RV is taxed as a vehicle (personal property), not as a home. See Blueblood's explanation for the details. It is expensive to own an RV in South Carolina! Ditto for an expensive luxury car.
 
Naw, I knew it was there. Was used to parking the 28' Allegro. Piece o' cake! The 36' Challenger, actually 37' long and a few inches wider, has a much longer rear overhang. Overhang got me. It was the third time I parked it, after buying it, and I attempted to park it alone. The street is only 37' wide. I take all of it, and the sidewalks, too, when parking! That time, I also needed the fence.

Ray D
 
As others have said "Your millage may vary" in this case means that tax programs are different from state to state and in some cases from county to county!!!  (I think Nevada has county by county tax rates for vehicles, which includes Motor Homes)  I priced registering my rig in nevada..> And when I got back up off the floor decided I'm not likley to move to vegas as my retirement base!! 

Michigan you just pay registeration, but it's a tax (Based on the value, not the weight, of the rig)
 
With a MH and 2 Lincolns  I'll not be registering in South Carolina
 
Massa... Taxachusetts house property taxes $4348. (Valuation $302500)  On an 8 year old Pleasure Way (class B) $137 (Valuation $5500)
Art
 
Colorado $572.23 'ownership tax' on $48,700 valuation, paid as part of vehicle registration. Doesn't hurt as bad as paying the sales tax on the coach the year we bought it.
 
John in Detroit was on the money as far as Nevada is concerned. Everything is based on MSRP. So if you bought a 2006 "left over" and the MSRP was $250,000.00 (250K) but since it was the last one on the lot you only paid $180,000.00 (180K) guess what?  Your sales tax and registration is based on the $250K, not what you actually paid for the vehicle.

$250K minus $180K = SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS value you paid taxes and fees extra.

I'll let that statement speak for itself.

Nevada has moved into 2nd place (after NJ) for most taxed state.
 
Thanks for all the great replies. I was wondering about registering in a different state. How is that done? I guess I would have to buy property in that state. Is there a cheap way to do this to bring down my taxes?
 
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