RV purchase and domicile

[Bob & Cindy]

We have our truck and 5th wheel on order here in Washington state.

The house is on the market, and soon as it sells, we will begin full timing. We need to be in Texas in October to work at Amazon till the end of December, then the month of January we are volunteering at Care center.

We have our mailing address in Livingston.

 

My question: What is the best way to pay sales tax on truck and trailer? Pay 10% here in WA. or can I pay 6.5% in Texas?

What might be the best way to register vehicles?

 

Thanks, Bob

[Velos]

If you have a mailing address in Livingston I think you could register in Texas now? Not sure how the new vehicle inspection rules would affect you. We have been Texans since 2000 and registered originally over the phone.

 

We have been able to renew over the Internet certifying we are out of the state and will get inspected as soon as we return.

 

http://www.dmv.org/tx-texas/car-registration.php#New-to-Texas

 

How to Register a Vehicle in Texas:

• Visit your local Texas tax office.
• Complete an Application for Texas Certificate of Title (Form 130-U).
• Provide proof of ID, car insurance, vehicle inspection, and ownership.
• Pay the $50.75 vehicle registration fee (standard).

 

Here is the info for the county tax collector. It is nice to get a human being when you call for information. They have always been very helpful and could assist you with your tax question.

 

http://www.co.polk.tx.us/default.aspx?Polk_County/County.Assessor.Collector

County Tax Assessor-Collector

 

Leslie Jones Burks

 

416 N. Washington

Livingston, TX 77351

 

Phone: 936-327-6801

Fax: 936-327-6885

[Kirk W]

The catch is, how long will the two be in Washington state? Legally, if you are still living in Washington you are supposed to register it and insure it there, but you could save some money by figuring out a way to use Livingston. Texas will not care if you wish to register before you move and they will accept your money, but Washington code enforcement people might notice and question you about your TX plates. A great deal of this goes to how long you will actually be in Washington. Will you be staying there until the house sells? How long are houses taking to sell in your area? How aggressive are the code enforcement folks on the licensing issue there?

 

If you are not concerned by the added cost of the sales taxes it would be simpler to just register it in Washington, but if the house should sell in a month or less, then it would be a waste of money. Just no easy answers.

[JRP]

Timing is everything. If you take delivery of the new truck & RV while you still live fulltime in Wa state, then you are probably required to register & pay Wa state tax. Your domicile state doesn't change until you move out of your current domicile state. if you were packed & ready to leave in a few weeks, the risk of getting caught would be minimal. But it sounds like you could be sitting there in your current primary residence for the next 4 months, which increases your risk of getting accused of tax fraud. How likely is it that one of your neighbors may call the authorities when they see that new rig sitting in your Wa home's driveway for 3 or 4 months with TX plates? (some states will even pay them a reward); or can you hit the road as soon as the new rig is delivered, regardless of when the house sells? ; or can you keep the new rig out of state until you're ready to leave?

 

What you might get away with is open for discussion, what you can do to minimize getting caught is open for discussion, but what is required by law is pretty clear. You're either a Wa state resident or a Tx state resident, there is no overlap where you get to choose one or the other depending on which best suits you. You can still own the Wa home while you change your domicile by moving out of state, but you can't remain living in the Wa home while claiming you "moved" to Tx just by setting up a mailing address. Yes, Texas will gladly accept you, your registration and your sales tax donation; but its Wa state you need to worry about.

[horizon36]

I don't know if this applies, but what if you took delivery of the truck and RV in Texas and registered them there and then drove back to WA. I know that a decade or so ago people in CA would buy an RV and take delivery just over the border in NV. At that time the RV had to be kept out of state for 90 days in order to avoid sales tax. What are the rules in WA?

[LindaH]

I don't know if this applies, but what if you took delivery of the truck and RV in Texas and registered them there and then drove back to WA. I know that a decade or so ago people in CA would buy an RV and take delivery just over the border in NV. At that time the RV had to be kept out of state for 90 days in order to avoid sales tax. What are the rules in WA?

 

As far as I am aware, Washington has no similar rule such as that in California (we are Washington State residents).

 

Jim2 has outlined the situation pretty well, so go back and re-read what he has written.

[Twotoes]

You may legally have a residence in more than one state but you can only have one domicile. You can registure your vehicle(s) in TX, get TX drivers liscense, TX insurance, registure to vote in TX making TX your domicile. You have shown intent to change domicile by putting up your house for sale and making TX your home state. You don't have to sell your house first but you must get set up in TX as your domicile before you purchase/take delivery of the truck and 5th wheel. You could even rent out the house if it doesn't sell and still have a TX domicile.

[Kirk W]

You can registure your vehicle(s) in TX, get TX drivers liscense, TX insurance, registure to vote in TX making TX your domicile. You have shown intent to change domicile by putting up your house for sale and making TX your home state. You don't have to sell your house first but you must get set up in TX as your domicile before you purchase/take delivery of the truck and 5th wheel. You could even rent out the house if it doesn't sell and still have a TX domicile.

While you are correct that selling your house in WA is not the key to defining your domicile, neither is registering your vehicles as those are just a few of the things which a court would consider if you were to take such an issue to court. You do have to get an address in TX in order to do any of those things and an Escapee address will work. The question of sales tax payment and registration of vehicles is an issue of state law and if you and your vehicles are in WA then you must comply with the laws of WA of face legal consequences. TX will happily accept the money for sales taxes and registration fees on your vehicles but they will do nothing at all to defend you from the legal issues which WA may apply if you are in WA jurisdiction. This suggestion would work if you physically move the RV and truck to Texas or at least out of WA while on a temporary registration before you put on the TX plates.