Registering RV in South Dakota?

[donkro]

A neighbor with a Class C has been telling me how he has registered and plated his RV, and now has a Drivers License, from the state of South Dakota (We are in Illinois). Apparently there are tax advantages? Anyone else heard of this, done it? Recommend it? How does it affect insurance?

[ependydad]

Many full timers use South Dakota as their state of domicile due to lax residency requirements. There is no state income tax there (same as Texas, Florida, and 4 others that elude me right now).

I’m not sure how it works if you’re living in a house or even if you’re fulltime stationary in an RV in another state.

[TheWolfPaq82]

On occasion I see locals with Montana plates. Highly illegal and there is a hefty fine if you're caught. Old co-worker had his vehicles registered in MT. and his neighbor turned him in. He was using a P.O. box for a LLC he set up.
Nebraska.

[Bama Rambler]

There are several websites dedicated to full-timing. You should probably search a few of those to get an idea of what you can and should do, and what's required.

One thing that's almost universal is if you own and reside in a stick & bricks in a state you're not going to be able to register in another state and not register in the residing state.

[CHICKDOE]

if full timing with no intention of returning to a stick and stones house it is quite viable. south dakota is very accommodating. there are several mail forwarding services in the state that can handle it for you. there are also insurance companies that can handle the insurance for you. mail, registration, and insurance can all be handled via the internet. to get a drivers license you must show proof that you spent one night in the state (ie a motel or campground receipt). the registration fees are quite low compared to other states. you are taking a risk if you do this while actually residing in another state as that states requires you to register there and get a drivers license there.

[kenkaiser]

Check out all the requirements on myhomeaddressinc.com. Been with My Home Address for 4 years and they are great.

KK

[Joan]

We are FT and have SD as our domicile. We handle everything through our mail service, DakotaPost, except driving license renewal. Have to have a new picture so we have to be there. We did set it up about 12 months before we started FT but I agree with what others have said, if you intend to live in another state, don't try to dodge the taxes. SD is working to tighten their residency laws.

[jkoenig24]

You may own property and houses in many different states/locations. You can have ONLY one domicile. Your actions indicate your intent. Where are you registered to vote? What state did you execute you Will in? Where do you bank? If you're still working, what state do you primarily work in? You should be seeing a trend here.

DOMICILE is the key. If you are DOMICILED in IN then, to register & insure your RV in SD and obtain a SD Driver' License to simply lower some costs, would be illegal. If however, you actually want to change your domicile to SD (with all that entails) then you're OK. You would be wise to consult a legal authority re domicile. Do it wrong and, it can bite you in the butt.

[Big Bill]

So Dakota has lower sales tax but higher tags and insurance rate escapes was to have a seminar on that

[Supersprink]

My daughter and her boyfriend registered their rv in SD. They were full timers at the time. Insurance is very inexpensive. Got drivers licenses and all. Only overnight stay is required. Go here for directions and questions answered. Americas-Mailbox Home - mail forwarding - Americas-Mailbox

[mzbrandi]

Originally Posted by Supersprink

My daughter and her boyfriend registered their rv in SD. They were full timers at the time. Insurance is very inexpensive. Got drivers licenses and all. Only overnight stay is required. Go here for directions and questions answered. Americas-Mailbox Home - mail forwarding - Americas-Mailbox

X2

[Halfmast]

I did something similar but in Florida. I rented out my house in Ga and began FTing. I used a Florida Mail Forwarder, changed credit cards, bank statements over to the Fla address. I got a Fla driver's licence, tags on truck and trailer and registered to vote.

More recently, I sold my house then used a lawyer to set up a Montana LLC. New truck is titled to the LLC & has Montana tags and insurance, fifth wheel on order will be the same. Montana has no state sales tax. Still have Fla address and d/l. I am insured as a Full Timer. My vehicles are not "garaged" in any particular state.

The caveat - I couldn't take the truck and will not be able to take the new fifth wheel into Fla (my domicile) for the first six months of ownership for risk of double the sales tax obligation as a fine.

As others have mentioned, if you have a sticks and bricks somewhere as a residence, you cannot legally register in the typical F/T states - SD, Fla and Tx.

Here's the pros and cons on the Montana LLC...

What About Using A Montana LLC To Avoid Sales Tax?

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by jkoenig24

You may own property and houses in many different states/locations. You can have ONLY one domicile. Your actions indicate your intent. Where are you registered to vote? What state did you execute you Will in? Where do you bank? If you're still working, what state do you primarily work in? You should be seeing a trend here.

DOMICILE is the key. If you are DOMICILED in IN then, to register & insure your RV in SD and obtain a SD Driver' License to simply lower some costs, would be illegal. If however, you actually want to change your domicile to SD (with all that entails) then you're OK. You would be wise to consult a legal authority re domicile. Do it wrong and, it can bite you in the butt.

Not exactly accurate. We have residence in Florida and another sticks and bricks in Wisconsin. When we bought our MH, we sought to register the MH in Wisconsin. We went to the WI DMV and explained our situation. We were advised that it was legal to register a vehicle in Wisconsin and have a Florida driver's license. The key stipulation was as to where the MH would be based and stored when not in use. For us, that was Wisconsin. Of the 3 vehicles, we have two registered in Wisconsin with Wisconsin auto insurance and one registered in Florida with with Florida insurance, all with Florida driver's license.

The same goes for the boats. In Wisconsin, we buy a non-resident fishing license even though the boat is registered in Wisconsin and we have a home there. We don't need a fishing license in FL because of the Fl DL. We have always passed muster when being checked by the conservation people.

I have kept abreast of the Montana registrations and it would not be fun to get charged with tax fraud in our retirement. However, we do not FT and that is a whole other story.

[pdqparalegal1]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

On occasion I see locals with Montana plates. Highly illegal and there is a hefty fine if you're caught. Old co-worker had his vehicles registered in MT. and his neighbor turned him in. He was using a P.O. box for a LLC he set up.
Nebraska.

I hate noisey neighbors!!

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by pdqparalegal1

I hate noisey neighbors!!

My neighbors are pretty quiet.

[Nancyc7]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

On occasion I see locals with Montana plates. Highly illegal and there is a hefty fine if you're caught. Old co-worker had his vehicles registered in MT. and his neighbor turned him in. He was using a P.O. box for a LLC he set up.

Nebraska.

Dang busybody neighbor. What’s wrong with people.

We are going to retire and go full time in the next few months. I finally worked out health insurance after intense research and now we need to figure out our domicile information, and get rid of lots of stuff, and sell our house.

Lots of work to go have fun.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Nancyc7

Dang busybody neighbor. What’s wrong with people.

We are going to retire and go full time in the next few months. I finally worked out health insurance after intense research and now we need to figure out our domicile information, and get rid of lots of stuff, and sell our house.

Lots of work to go have fun.

Isn’t your health insurance (costs and what is available) directly tied to your domicile?

[CampingGator]

We don't need a fishing license in FL because of the Fl DL. We have always passed muster when being checked by the conservation people.

How do you get away without a Florida fishing license? You must be over 65. Just having a Florida drivers license is not enough. Don’t confuse visitors to the state who are not over 65. You have to have a salt water license for gulf or ocean and freshwater license for fresh water. Residents and non residents may obtain a Florida fishing license.

[Nancyc7]

We'll be on Medicare momentarily. Medicare is nation wide. You can get a Plan F which is also not restricted to locality. Maybe Plan G is not restricted either. And you have to have a Plan D for prescriptions.
But I am retiring from the VA so I am eligible to carry on with federal health care benefits. You can use this anywhere in the US IF the provider takes Medicare, and for us, United Healthcare. I called around a little and it doesn't seem like it will be too hard for this.

I thought it was kinda lousy and expensive until I started looking at everything else available. Also with the federal plan you don't have to have Plan D. And you can always change next year during open season.

You're too young for all this Medicare business anyway. I am curious what full time people your age do.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Nancyc7

We'll be on Medicare momentarily. Medicare is nation wide. You can get a Plan F which is also not restricted to locality. Maybe Plan G is not restricted either. And you have to have a Plan D for prescriptions.
But I am retiring from the VA so I am eligible to carry on with federal health care benefits. You can use this anywhere in the US IF the provider takes Medicare, and for us, United Healthcare. I called around a little and it doesn't seem like it will be too hard for this.

I thought it was kinda lousy and expensive until I started looking at everything else available. Also with the federal plan you don't have to have Plan D. And you can always change next year during open season.

You're too young for all this Medicare business anyway. I am curious what full time people your age do.

Sounds like you have an excellent handle on this.

My age- I have a fulltime/benefits providing job. I work a normal 9-5 just like anyone else.

But, for friends- a lot either carry major medical and pay out of pocket as they go OR there are quite a few using the Christian Care Ministries system. It's not insurance per say, but supposedly a way of sharing expenses. I only read about it as I tried to help a friend navigate a hospital stay for her daughter. Once she said they were self-pay, the hospital wanted a $5k deposit for the multi-night stay.