The broader answer to this question is no, registering a vehicle in Montana is not just for the super-rich. The extraordinarily high cost of living is a prime reason for the very real exodus. Share it with your network! Our Montana Registration Service is tried and true if you don't want to lift a finger. Maybe to Montana? We may earn a commission from links on this page. Im not entirely sure if you need a SD address or not to get registered. Asking for a friend. From my exploratory research using the linked calculator, most counties and cities ended up averaging about ten percent in sales tax for an automobile. Sorry, I dont know the insurance company nameI was sort of interested in the conversationbut I owned my 5th wheel outright. Others acquirea mailbox address or property at whichthey can claim Montana residency. Either way, it's a method people have used to register tens of thousands of vehicles, and that's no small feat. $35,000-$59,999: $165. I went to car week in Montery in my 458 with Montana plates and had several CHP behind me as we were in a rally from LA to car week and no issues. All rights reserved. This is where you may want to go ahead and consider an out-of-state registration for your car that is aging, particularly if you are getting to that eight-year-old mark where you can no longer pay extortion fees to get out of smog checks. So how much can the affluent benefit from a Montana car registration? News, Reviews, Photos, Videos delivered straight to your in-box. The exact name of your LLC has to be listed as the buyer. Second, Montana does not require vehicle emissions tests or annual inspections. Here is an article that discusses that. View all online services Renew Your Vehicle Registration Renew your Driver's License or ID Card In California, the land of equality, the onus is entirely on the seller rather than the buyer assuming any cost or risk whatsoever. You can see these figures and determine that they are, in fact, insane. Want more consumer news? The problem, Michigan lemon law attorney Steve Lehto explains: the state where you actually live can always catch up with you. Send it to Carl at cwc@andersonadvisors.com. Whether you want your LLC expedited and filed in 1 hour or if you are ok with our normal process and turnaround of 24 hours we will make sure to get them filed based on your individual need. Its like the Cayman Islands for car registrations. Of course, there is a difference between the supercar driving Silicon Valley technopreneur with a Lambo or Ferrari and a retirement-aged couple who wishes to spend their savings on a high-end luxury car or, as we mentioned before, a high-end RV. Some state officials insist that vehicle registrants have an actual interest in real property in the state, but the requirements for showing this are extremely minimal. In the end, I dont recommend anyone doing this. You pay no sales or use tax and then bring your car to whatever state you live in and drive the vehicle with tax-free impunity. Revenue generated from vehicle registration fees is a fairly stable and significant contributor to the state general fund, as it is the fourth largest general fund revenue source. Please follow the instructions below to enable JavaScript in your browser. The bad news is that you shouldnt act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour. DIRTLEGAL.COM IS A PRIVATELY OWNED WEBSITE AND IT IS NOT OPERATED BY ANYGOVERNMENTAGENCY. Street legal? These two fees are an absolute bargain compared to paying sales tax on these vehicles in other states. All Rights Reserved. We've got the cure. You might be passing for the first year or two, and it still might be a reasonably expensive used vehicle, and you end up flunking the smog check while you are still making payments, and you had a big tax bill laid on you when you bought it. No need to spend hours finding a lawyer, post a job and get custom quotes from experienced lawyers instantly. Unless and until it becomes outright illegal, the decision to title something like a $2.4 million Ferrari F40 in Montana falls to the individual car owner making personal ethical choices. Register and Title in NC. First, it does not charge sales tax on personal property. This part of the smog check process is somewhat painless. (California State Police have started cracking down on theresidentialdiscrepancies ofdriverspulled over for other infractions with California licenses and out-of-state plates.) I don't have a state ID or NC Driver's License. Where 10 years agothe sight of a Ford GT sporting a blue Montana plate would be rare, adriveto the popular Friday morning car gatherings at Newcombs Ranch outsideLA reveals that even relativelypedestrian 911s carryMontana plates. (Ritholtz also hosts the Masters in Businessshow on Bloomberg Radio. Its the rest of us, who have the misfortune to live in places that arent Montana, who might find this scheme tempting. Because Montana has no sale tax on an RV, your only cost is the $1,000 to set up your LLC "business.". So, my suggestion would be: Dont do it. I found myself in Salt Lake City and saw the same thing. According to a 2018 report by the Rapid City Journal, when an expatriate named Aldis Barsketis emigrated from the United States to Mexico, he noticed there was an astounding number of cars sporting South Dakota tags. Some states are taking measures to crack down on residents who set up shell corporations in other states, including suing for tax evasion. Have you done this? Dont poke the bear! Close observers would also have noticed a detail far more polarizing than the semi-lavender paint job:The Turbo came with a clean Montana title in the name of the sellers LLC, the listing said. It is particularly beneficial for anyone living in heavily taxed states, not just the super-rich. Ouch. Car owners from Mendocino, Calif., to Miami aretitling collectible cars in Montana, evenespecially, in factif they dont live there. If this alone were the determining factor, you still come out ahead titling and registering your car in South Dakota. The same logic applies to registration in other states of convenience as well. But it does not end there. Transportation Improvement Fee (TIF), which is based on your vehicle value: $0-$4,999: $27. Montana Vehicle Registration Renewal. 2 petiteminotaure 1 yr. ago Have you done this? Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Cost was somewhere between 100-150 iirc, and you have to pay yearly. Its clear why people register vehicles in Montana. 2022 Dirt Legal. Lets find out. 1; 2; First Prev 2 of 2 Go to page. This saves them A LOT of money on the initial purchase of a vehicle, be it a car, a motorbike, a boat, or even an RV. Chain of ownership document (original copies). Why? Companies help facilitate it. Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues. So let me start by setting the stage and then hopefully someone can give the pros and cons of each option. But much has changed over the past few decades. I don't like the waiting time either as it's wasting time for us. The people who have Montana license plates are like the people who put the fake handicap badges in their car, says Paul Zuckerman, an attorney in Los Angeles and avid car collector. My sister has a residence there and I actually have history with that address as it was my last official U.S. residence. This is the typical structure of the Montana scheme where somebody creates an LLC in Montana for the sole purpose of owning and registering the car in Montana and has no other connection with the state. They were listed at $2.5 million each. The same $42,258 sale price will calculate at four percent to $1,690.32 in sales tax, an immediate savings of $2,324.68, equating to nearly 58% less in debt from taxes. Montana Vehicle Registration Fees. The Drive reached out to the South Dakota Department of Revenue to see how this number has fluctuated since 2018 but did not receive a response at the time of writing. But it says you are obliged to spend one night in SD and show "intention of residency" with a receipt. https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/wiki/index, Press J to jump to the feed. Home blog Shows Coffee with Carl Should I Register My Vehicle in Montana? For example, some of these Ferrari 488 Pistas and a variety of Lamborghinis have been spotted cruising around in Mexico with South Dakota and Montana license plates recently. Check out some of our greatest hits below, explore the categories listed on the left-hand side of the page, or head to CR.org for ratings, reviews, and consumer news. Surely there couldn't be that many people from the Mount Rushmore State on vacation at the same time, right? I decided to pass on his offer. Tax Attorneys, CPAs & EAs who specialize in working with businesses and investors. It has the second-most general coastline in the Lower 48 states. Are state sales taxes and use taxes too high? Terms Of Service, The Benefits of Registering a California Car Out-of-State, registering your car or truck out of state. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. On top of this, you have to either be extorted with the smog abatement fee or have your car smog checked. What if you could avoid that, and avoid annual car inspections, just by filling out a little bit of paperwork? The Montana vehicle registration process has been generating buzz for years; it is nothing new. Despite the initial investigation taking place in 2018, the practice is very much so alive and well today. Montana offers two significant benefits. You do not need to spend a night there to get registered. As noted, this maneuver is probably illegal in your state. In addition to state sales tax on vehicles, owners must pay car registration fees according to the age of the vehicle and the length of registration desired (one or two years). There are also some areas of the state that have affordable housing, but the cost of auto registration and fees are primarily unchanged from the far costlier areas of the state. Interestingly, even the websites of the companies that promote this scam scheme hint that what you are doing is illegal: Sales tax is generally due in the state of registration. What this means for you is that, before you can do anything else, you need to pay that cheddar and fix your whip. For example, the Montana LLC program we offer is an LLC from Montana providing the required residency for registration there. Montana has the best tax rates around: zero! Include the bill of sale as well. And youre sort of poking the bear there with your local state government, as well as the IRS. MDT does handle interstate licensing and registration. A Montana LLC vehicle registration is an option some out-of-state residents choose in order to purchase a vehicle without having to pay sales tax on it. Can anyone legally register their car in Montana? When going to get your registration handled, you will have to pay fees. Not so fast, Slick. And guess what? Oh, and if you fail, you get strong-armed with another fee, and you have to get your car fixed - and dont even think about selling it in-state if it failed smog. Plus, am I committing insurance fraud saying that I reside there? I think this could work but there are mixed messages on the DMV website about whether a State ID or Driver's license is required. If you bought it from a private party or dealer, you'll need the title. You might never get in an accident. 9.14.15 4:48 PM EDT By Laura Northrup@lnorthrup, big lie country montana car registration sales tax use tax personal property tax. You can find a specific cost they intend to coerce from you by plugging in your location information at the California DMV website. Its borderline tax evasion.. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. And an insurance adjuster, scrutinizing your claim might wonder what false statements you made on your insurance application. The Montana Scheme According to Montana's Department of Motor Vehicles, you need no state driver's license to title and register your vehicle in Montana, but you must prove residency in. Its no wonder people are leaving this state in droves.! He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. Thats less time invested, less money spent, and more breathing room on your next check. Send us a note: tips@thedrive.com. Even after the $480 sales tax plus our reasonable fee of $349 (at time of writing), you are at $829, still around $400 less than just the sales tax for that car in California. You'll simply need to produce the certificate of origin from the manufacturer. Some people want to avoid paying the thousands of dollars in sales tax when they purchase an RV. Same as always. neil e dale likes this. But withtighter emissions standards enactedinConnecticuton July 22, Colorado legislators slated next month to discussrequirements to significantly lower toxic air pollutionby 2027, and a handful ofautomakers including BMW, Volkswagen, and Fordrecently backing the USEnvironmental Protection Agencysdecision to restore California's ability to set its own strict tailpipe and zero-emission vehicle standards, debate is heating up over how far to go to avoid restrictions. And as a bonus, you evade smog[regulations].. Some startan LLC in the state, which gets them a mailing address and residencystatus of sorts. Or maybe not so much concluding but admitting the unavoidable. You have a choice: Tell the insurance company the truth (I live in Michigan, drive the vehicle almost exclusively in Michigan, store it and park it in Michigan, but have Montana plates on it in the name of a sham LLC.) If you tell them the truth, will they insure the car? There are a couple problems which might crop up if you give it a try. If youve ever driven around town, and said, You know, thats a nice Ferrari. So what exactly makes California so offensive to the palate that tens of thousands are walking away from it? Thats the premise of companies that offer to help you incorporate in Montana, have your corporation own the vehicle, and pay no taxes. Montana has no sales or use tax and no vehicle inspections. There is also the misconception that only rich people can get a Montana registration or benefit from having one. But regardless of which part of the state you may reside in, there is another option to save money on registration and kick the smog check to the curb. All told, light vehicle registrations contributeroughly 4% of total revenue collections for the state, according to the primer. But what happens when you cross streams? Re: your last statement move somehwere that isnt a shithole. According to AARP, the national average state and local sales tax comes in at 7.12 percent. Depending on where youre at, it might seem like you see a disproportionate amount of Montana license plates. This will allow you to save a ton of money in sales tax, especially if you purchase a very expensive vehicle.

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