Vehicle Registration & Taxes

[ViperStud]

Search didn't give me what I'm looking for. I'm about to PCS and own two cars both currently registered in different states. My current state (SC) treats cars as property and taxes them every year (which you don't pay if you're an out of state resident) so you pay only a small sales tax. When do we have to register cars in the new state we move to and do you end up having to pay some kind of sales tax (back taxes) when you do that? Or can we just leave cars registered wherever as long as we are AD. I care particularly since I'm about to buy a trailer to PCS (the dity rates are WAY up folks) and I'm trying to figure out if I should avoid paying sales tax on the trailer and not register it anywhere or if it will bite me in the ass later. My particular situation is moving from SC to AZ but any info in general would help.

[TacAirCoug]

Search didn't give me what I'm looking for. I'm about to PCS and own two cars both currently registered in different states. My current state (SC) treats cars as property and taxes them every year (which you don't pay if you're an out of state resident) so you pay only a small sales tax. When do we have to register cars in the new state we move to and do you end up having to pay some kind of sales tax (back taxes) when you do that? Or can we just leave cars registered wherever as long as we are AD. I care particularly since I'm about to buy a trailer to PCS (the dity rates are WAY up folks) and I'm trying to figure out if I should avoid paying sales tax on the trailer and not register it anywhere or if it will bite me in the ass later. My particular situation is moving from SC to AZ but any info in general would help.

As long as you're on active duty, you can keep your cars registered elsewhere whenever you move to a new state. When I registered in a new state, all I did was show them proof that sales tax had already been paid on my truck (my original registration from when I bought it in Little Rock) and they didn't charge me again. I've moved twice (TX and CA) and haven't paid any additional tax since the original purchase. Trailers should work the same way. If the Union of Soviet Socialist Californians doesn't tax you twice, I would bet AZ won't either.

[Vertigo]

You should be good sales tax wise- property tax varies by state to state but once you pay sales tax you should never have to pay it again.

[Guest afwife52508]

This may not be the best place to ask this, but the thread popped up when I searched.

Here's the setup for my DH and I's dilemma.

1)DH has CA as HOR and car license/title/registration are CA as well.

2) A month before we got married, we bought a car for me in CO. (I was still living there finishing school) Title and Registration are CO, as well as my license at that point.

3)We git married and moved to CAFB for UPT. I got a MS driver's license due to my name change and the fact I needed one with my married name for work. (We went on the honeymoon during PCS and went straight there from CO..so getting a new CO license was not an option.)

Now the dilemma.

All his car "stuff" is CA, my car is CO, and my drivers license is MS.

Do we need to change my car to CA plates to make it legal so that we don't have to change our plates when we move from base to base? Or are we okay keeping them CO? (I'm not sure on CA and CO's policies on renewing plates online. My parents live in CO so it's not a problem to have mail sent to them. His parent's live in CA so the same goes for them.)

And should I change my license to CA? I really don't know if that's possible though, due to residency requirements.

Hopefully someone has an idea (Finance Guy?)....because we sure don't! :)

[hindsight2020]

I don't think it matters. You can take advantage of his CA address and do your car registration thru the state of CA. Or you can continue to renew your tags and registration in the new state as you move. I think it would probably be more convenient to get the car registered in CA and as you move through states you don't have to deal with the car registration hassles for new states, to include excise tax waiver forms for every new state etc. In essence y'all are taking advantage of hubby's HOR and keeping everything CA.

Regarding driver's licenses, again it doesn't matter. Keep your license as it is, or change it to CA using your husband's HOR address if you want, again it's more of a convenience factor than burden of proof for state tax purposes. I have my car registered in state A where we live, have a license from state B and my HOR state is state C; for AD there is no residency jeopardy attached to having licenses and car registrations in states other than the service member's HOR. Now, for the civilian spouse if you are employed in state X, you will obviously pay taxes on income earned on that state (if they have state tax). But as it pertains to licenses and car registrations, it's a mere matter of convenience for the civi spouse, so proceed as it suits ya. Good luck.

[Butters]

This may not be the best place to ask this, but the thread popped up when I searched.

Here's the setup for my DH and I's dilemma.

1)DH has CA as HOR and car license/title/registration are CA as well.

2) A month before we got married, we bought a car for me in CO. (I was still living there finishing school) Title and Registration are CO, as well as my license at that point.

3)We git married and moved to CAFB for UPT. I got a MS driver's license due to my name change and the fact I needed one with my married name for work. (We went on the honeymoon during PCS and went straight there from CO..so getting a new CO license was not an option.)

Now the dilemma.

All his car "stuff" is CA, my car is CO, and my drivers license is MS.

Do we need to change my car to CA plates to make it legal so that we don't have to change our plates when we move from base to base? Or are we okay keeping them CO? (I'm not sure on CA and CO's policies on renewing plates online. My parents live in CO so it's not a problem to have mail sent to them. His parent's live in CA so the same goes for them.)

And should I change my license to CA? I really don't know if that's possible though, due to residency requirements.

Hopefully someone has an idea (Finance Guy?)....because we sure don't! :)

A little lost, but I think I can help.

What is a DH?

Why did you need you married name for work?

Now for the questions I can answer.

I never hurts to have a DL in the state you currently live in.

Every State wants you to have Plates in their State for Tax purposes, but if you are Active Duty they can't do anything about it.

You can't get a CA DL if you don't live in CA. (Unless you husband can still use his HOR address, meaning someone you know lives there). However, it is not easy to get a license in CA when you live in MS, unless you have lots of time and frequent flyer miles.

The only problem you may run into is if you go to Alabama and get stopped by the cops. It is technically illegal to be driving a car with plates from one state, in another state, with at DL from a third state. However once you show them your dependent military ID they will not worry about it.

My wife and I live in WA, (well actually I live in Korea for next 8 months) We have cars with CA, MD, FL and WA Plates. She has a WA DL, I have a FL DL. It doesn't matter as long as you are active duty military.

[Toro]

All his car "stuff" is CA, my car is CO, and my drivers license is MS.

Do we need to change my car to CA plates to make it legal so that we don't have to change our plates when we move from base to base? Or are we okay keeping them CO? (I'm not sure on CA and CO's policies on renewing plates online. My parents live in CO so it's not a problem to have mail sent to them. His parent's live in CA so the same goes for them.)

And should I change my license to CA? I really don't know if that's possible though, due to residency requirements.

In some states, you may need to change something. I can't remember if it was MS or NC, but your registration, license plates, and drivers license could not be from three different states. In other words, if you have a MS license you have to change either your plates or registration to MS. Realize that once you have this set, you won't have to change anything as you move - the license and registration can be renewed via mail or e-mail.

[Guest homewith4]

Military spouses are not always afforded the same flexibility as the active duty.

Some states require you to be a resident of that state in order to have a job, and you must pay state income tax there, in the early 1990s, while we were stationed at Willy, I had to change my driver's license to Arizona to be employed. I filed an Arizona tax return and my husband filed one in Ohio (legal residence at that time). When we moved to MacDill, we both changed our legal residence to Florida for tax benefits (no state income tax, just intangible personal property tax).

Some establishments will not let you write a check when the driver's license/check address don't match (early 2000s in Sumter, SC for example). Not often an issue in the age of debit cards. Also, in South Carolina, the car registration tax exemption only applies to active duty, not the spouse, when we moved there, we put both vehicles solely in his name instead of joint ownership. If the cars were jointly owned we would have to pay 1/2 of the tax (my half was not exempt).

We have moved our residences/driver's license all around each time we move. IMO, it's less complex to do it all local and not through the mail. We also register to vote in each local area-the absentee ballot system is a pain to work with, compared to walking into a voting booth.

Ditto on keeping proof of paying sales tax when the vehicle was originally purchased, it has exempted us paying sales tax when we've moved.

Edited August 29, 2008 by homewith4

[Guest justawife]

Also remember you can not have three different states, CO plates and a CA DL living in MS is illegal. Two must match, CA plates and DL while living in MS if fine. A DL from MS and plates from CA while living MS is OK. But while driving through another state can be a problem if you are pulled over for something. The easiest thing to do is to keep the cars in the AD members name only and keep the cars plate in their legal resident state. This way you never have to pay half of the $750 yearly tax on cars like the have here in VA.

[Guest KM]

Also remember you can not have three different states, CO plates and a CA DL living in MS is illegal.

Really? I have plates from state A, a driver's license from state B, a work address in state C, a concealed carry permit in state D, and I live in state E, and that has never been a problem (unfortunately due to my lead foot, this situation has been discovered by more than one law enforcement official). I'm not recommending that situation as a good one to get yourself into, but I really wouldn't worry too much about it. If someone calls you on it, just say that you thought you were exempt from state requirements because of the military. They'll probably just tell you to go get a DL/new car tag/etc. asap.

There are some jobs which require you to have a driver's license in that state for insurance purposes. You can sometimes get around it by just getting a state ID card.

[M2]

Just to toss in a few quick thoughts, but having just registered a motorcycle that has been NMCM for the past for years; Texas does charge a $90 "tranfer tax" (or something along those lines). Also, if I am not mistaken, Texas law requires that your vehicle registration and drivers license be from the same state. So you can't get a Texas driver's license and keep your car registered in Florida, for example...

And concealed carry licenses can be obtained from some states without even being a resident, so that's not a factor.

Cheers! M2

[HossHarris]

Regardless of where you decide to register your vehicles, I've found it best to put the Title in the name of the Active Duty Military person ONLY. It makes life a lot easier since the spouse may or may not enjoy the same benefits (depending on the state). As long as you don't get divorced it will work out fine.

[MilitaryToFinance]

Also remember you can not have three different states, CO plates and a CA DL living in MS is illegal. Two must match, CA plates and DL while living in MS if fine. A DL from MS and plates from CA while living MS is OK. But while driving through another state can be a problem if you are pulled over for something.

You're the second person to say this and do either of you have any documents to prove this? I find it impossible to believe or every time you rent a car at an airport you would be breaking the law. Rental car agencies have cars from all over the country. Two weeks ago I rented a car in Denver, CO with plates from somewhere in the south east(I think it was AL) and my DL is from Ohio. Do you really think that every rental car agency would be illegally renting cars to people?

[Guest homewith4]

Not that a base paper article is 100% accurate...Having more than on state is not listed as "illegal", but could cause problems, fully addressed in the complete article. this is an excerpt from: https://www.hill.af.mil/library/factsheets/...eet.asp?id=6413

Implication is if you are inconsistent and have differing states in your life, there COULD be tax/legal issues. However unlikely...

Being assigned in a state pursuant to military orders, even if it's for for five or ten or fifty years, is not sufficient by itself to establish a new SLR(State of Legal Residence). Being stationed somewhere is nothing more than mere physical presence, and mere physical presence is not enough. However, if you have the mental intent to make the state where you are stationed your SLR, then you have met the requirements.

If you're overseas and want to change your SLR, you have to go back to the U.S., establish physical presence in a new state and have the appropriate mental intent while you are physically present there.

If you change your SLR, there are certain actions you should take.

a. You must be consistent. If you are a legal resident of State A, then you shouldn't keep your driver's license from State B or vote in State C. Inconsistency is probably the single biggest mistake that people make in this area.

b. You should adjust your state income tax withholding by filing DD Form 2058 with your local military finance office.

c. There is no need to publish a notice or file any documents with the state Attorney General's Office or anything like that.

d. If both the old and new states have an income tax, and if you moved on any day other than January 1, then you will have to file part-year returns in both states. For the first state, you report the income you had before moving to the new state. For the new state, you report the income earned after becoming a resident of the new state.

[M2]

You're the second person to say this and do either of you have any documents to prove this? I find it impossible to believe or every time you rent a car at an airport you would be breaking the law. Rental car agencies have cars from all over the country. Two weeks ago I rented a car in Denver, CO with plates from somewhere in the south east(I think it was AL) and my DL is from Ohio. Do you really think that every rental car agency would be illegally renting cars to people?

For one, there is a big difference between renting a car and owning it! You only have to have a valid drivers license to rent a car (some agencies have age restrictions as well); and insurance is available if you're not already covered.

But if you own a car, each state has different laws. As I stated, in Texas it only matters that your license and plates have to be issued from the same state. So my Florida DL and tags were OK, but I couldn't own a car with Texas tags and drive with my Florida drivers license. Renting one was not a problem.

As mentioned in the International Drivers License thread, I go to Germany and rent cars with my Texas drivers license all the time. Trust me, if it were against the law, the Germans would be busting you for it!

Cheers! M2

[Guest Toner]

Along these same lines, I was curious about the safety inspection. If I keep my car registered in Texas, and keep Texas plates when I move...do I just get a vehicle inspection wherever I am? Just curious how that works exactly. When you move someplace requiring an emmissions test, do you have to get that? And has anyone had any problems with things like this when they move?

[stract]

you don't have to maintain a TX emissions test, but you do have to get one for the state you're in if that state requires it. I haven't run across many states that require an emissions test (CO was really the only one, now that I think about it and then it was only required to register my car on base).

[HookEmAll]

Here's a good question to go with this topic... Let's say you're deployed and decide to buy a car from the BMW military sales program. You have to pay an import tax, but do you have to pay sales tax on it as well when you register it? Anyone actually done this?

[M2]

Here's a good question to go with this topic... Let's say you're deployed and decide to buy a car from the BMW military sales program. You have to pay an import tax, but do you have to pay sales tax on it as well when you register it? Anyone actually done this?

Yes, and be prepared to be as many states will not take the bill of sale for the vehicle but the actual book value to determine the tax rate! Your best bet is to buy the "tax free" (a misnomer, like "FreeCreditReport.com") when you first get overseas, then when you ship it home and register it, it is three years old and has decreased somewhat in value for tax purposes.

Sorry to pee in your Wheaties, but that’s the gouge.

Cheers! M2

[ChkHandleDn]

Here's our situation:

My wife and I are residents of TX and both our cars are registered in TX. We also have TX DLs. She moved to SC to live w/ her parents for six months while I'm going through training. We are planning on buying her a new car and registering here in SC while she's here. We are also PCSing to McGuire in July.

I've called all three state DMVs and now I'm more confused than ever.

First off, can we transfer her TX plates over to the car we buy in SC? If so, how much more will we pay? SC has a sales tax cap of $300 for vehicles. So it seemed like a better gig, but I'm hearing I'll still have to re-register in NJ. Second, SC's DMV says if we move to NJ and have NJ insurance we have to turn in our SC plates back to them or pay a $400 fine--thus forcing us to register in NJ. Third, NJ says we have to register the cars in NJ regardless if we're military. The cost for her car alone is: $40 for title tranfer from the lien holder, plus $59 up front for four years so $236 (if the car weighs less than 3500lbs, $84 if more), AND 7% sales tax less the $300 we paid in SC. So as you see that's close to $2000 for her car alone. WTF?? Am I missing something?

Also, how does all of this work with insurance too? I have to carry insurance for the state I'm living in correct? So if I want to keep the cars registered in TX, don't I have to have TX insurance?

I thought we could keep DLs and registrations in one state alone w/out paying for new shit every time we PCS. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Edited January 5, 2009 by lagguer

[Herk Driver]

I thought we could keep DLs and registrations in one state alone w/out paying for new shit every time we PCS. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You can. Go talk to your legal folks and get their chop on this first.

-----------------

Anyone who has recently registered a vehicle in LR (not previously registered in AR), PM me. I have a few questions about what paperwork you needed to have.

Edited January 5, 2009 by Herk Driver

[XL0901]

Here's our situation:

My wife and I are residents of TX and both our cars are registered in TX. We also have TX DLs. She moved to SC to live w/ her parents for six months while I'm going through training. We are planning on buying her a new car and registering here in SC while she's here. We are also PCSing to McGuire in July.

I've called all three state DMVs and now I'm more confused than ever.

First off, can we transfer her TX plates over to the car we buy in SC? If so, how much more will we pay? SC has a sales tax cap of $300 for vehicles. So it seemed like a better gig, but I'm hearing I'll still have to re-register in NJ. Second, SC's DMV says if we move to NJ and have NJ insurance we have to turn in our SC plates back to them or pay a $400 fine--thus forcing us to register in NJ. Third, NJ says we have to register the cars in NJ regardless if we're military. The cost for her car alone is: $40 for title tranfer from the lien holder, plus $59 up front for four years so $236 (if the car weighs less than 3500lbs, $84 if more), AND 7% sales tax less the $300 we paid in SC. So as you see that's close to $2000 for her car alone. WTF?? Am I missing something?

Also, how does all of this work with insurance too? I have to carry insurance for the state I'm living in correct? So if I want to keep the cars registered in TX, don't I have to have TX insurance?

I thought we could keep DLs and registrations in one state alone w/out paying for new shit every time we PCS. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

First...I recommend you stop being such a ..., seriously though.

The real first...If you don't like paying state income tax, then don't dump your TX residency. Not sure if SC or NJ and "Good Deal" states but I think not, besides in the military you can be a resident of a state you don't currently reside in.

Second...In my experience, when it comes to insurance, they don't care where your vehicle is registered, only where you park it. If you have Wyoming plates but park in a dark lot in South Central LA...they are going to want to know so they can jack up your rates for the increased liability. (Ok not really but different states have different requirements)

Third...You can buy a car in one state and register it in another. Not sure how or if there are fees but it can be done...ask DG.

Hope it helps. Def talk to Jag though

[ViperStud]

Here's our situation:

My wife and I are residents of TX and both our cars are registered in TX. We also have TX DLs. She moved to SC to live w/ her parents for six months while I'm going through training. We are planning on buying her a new car and registering here in SC while she's here. We are also PCSing to McGuire in July.

I've called all three state DMVs and now I'm more confused than ever.

First off, can we transfer her TX plates over to the car we buy in SC? If so, how much more will we pay? SC has a sales tax cap of $300 for vehicles. So it seemed like a better gig, but I'm hearing I'll still have to re-register in NJ. Second, SC's DMV says if we move to NJ and have NJ insurance we have to turn in our SC plates back to them or pay a $400 fine--thus forcing us to register in NJ. Third, NJ says we have to register the cars in NJ regardless if we're military. The cost for her car alone is: $40 for title tranfer from the lien holder, plus $59 up front for four years so $236 (if the car weighs less than 3500lbs, $84 if more), AND 7% sales tax less the $300 we paid in SC. So as you see that's close to $2000 for her car alone. WTF?? Am I missing something?

Also, how does all of this work with insurance too? I have to carry insurance for the state I'm living in correct? So if I want to keep the cars registered in TX, don't I have to have TX insurance?

I thought we could keep DLs and registrations in one state alone w/out paying for new shit every time we PCS. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

First off all keep your TX residency (no state income tax) and drivers license, hands down. I did (moved to AZ, then SC, then AZ again since TX).

Keep any cars you have now registered in TX. I renew the registration through the mail every year and haven't had even a hint of a problem. Also, as long as you keep it registered in TX you don't have to get it inspected again until you physically have it in TX. I will keep it registered in TX until it falls apart and I send it off a cliff.

I waited to buy my truck until I got to SC ($300 tax cap rocks), registered that there and have since moved to AZ and registered the truck here. I paid no additional tax. There is an exemption for military, as there is for you in NJ https://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/VehiclesExempt.htm . Seriously dude it took me a minute to find that. Don't call the DMV. Like TSA they are bottom feeders making minimum wage, so you get better info by doing the research yourself and looking online. DMVs are fortunately an agency that has every minute detail you could need for any state posted online.

The only kinda tricky part in all of this is that most states require that 2 of the 3 (license, registration, insurance) be in the same state. For me that means car with TX registration & license, truck with AZ registration & insurance. Insurance is always based on where you physically are, so the more cars you have the trickier it gets. If your wiff is not military, KEEP ALL CARS IN YOUR NAME. That way you will always be exempt of sales tax differences when you move and need to register a car somewhere.

Look online man all the info you need is at your fingertips.

Edited January 7, 2009 by ViperStud

[ChkHandleDn]

Thanks for the info guys! I talked to someone from the TX DMV yesterday and she helped shed some more light. She basically said the same thing you said, but she mentioned that if I buy the car in SC and pay the $300, I would still have to pay the 6.25% TX sales tax or SC tax whichever's higher. However since you mentioned the military exemption to this extra tax, I'm going to look into that more. She did mention something about how military members try to get out of paying the 6.25%, but cannot because of their HOR's being in TX. Anyway, thanks again for the info!

[ViperStud]

Thanks for the info guys! I talked to someone from the TX DMV yesterday and she helped shed some more light. She basically said the same thing you said, but she mentioned that if I buy the car in SC and pay the $300, I would still have to pay the 6.25% TX sales tax or SC tax whichever's higher. However since you mentioned the military exemption to this extra tax, I'm going to look into that more. She did mention something about how military members try to get out of paying the 6.25%, but cannot because of their HOR's being in TX. Anyway, thanks again for the info!

I bought a brand new truck in SC and paid not a penny more than $300 in taxes and it's been registered in SC and AZ. Both states charge a property tax on vehicles each year when you renew your registration, but since I am military and an out of state resident it's waived by showing them a copy of my LES saying I'm a TX resident.

Seriously dude quit calling people and look it up, in writing, online. It's easier and more accurate that way. State DMV sites are pretty in-depth.

Edited January 7, 2009 by ViperStud