Registering a car in AZ, using vacation home address?

[Rivertoys]

I did some searches, as I'm pretty sure this topic has probably been covered, but I didn't find anything...

I was considering registering my Jeep to my Az place. We kept it there for a few months in the winter. When it's in CA, it's parked in a garage. When we bought in Az the realtor said we would be able to register the Jeep there (she did similar for years before they moved out to AZ full time). I found this at AAA.com, regarding registration for non-residents.....

Arizona

A resident is defined as a person that remains in the state for an aggregate period of 7 months or more during a calendar year; a person that engages in work other than seasonal or temporary work; a person that places children in public school without paying non-resident tuition; a person that declares residency in the state for purposes of state rates of tuition or licensing fees; or a company that maintains a main office in the state.

It is illegal for a person to operate a motor vehicle unless it has been properly registered for the current year in the state or county in which the person is a resident.

I read that as I can't legally do it..... am I wrong?

Here is the link I quoted AAA from: http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/registration-for-non-residents/

 

[Rivertoys]

One more thing... I assume it's cheaper to register there, and perhaps insurance would be less. Those are the main reasons. I am only starting to research everything though.

(Plus I would feel more like a had one foot out of CA :skull )

 

[Kachina26]

You can register it as a non resident. But, if you get pulled over in CA, you'll get nailed for not having it registered here plus penalties for the time they decide you haven't had it registered.

 

[Rivertoys]

You can register it as a non resident. But, if you get pulled over in CA, you'll get nailed for not having it registered here plus penalties for the time they decide you haven't had it registered.

OK, and that's even if you have an AZ ID?

 

[pronstar]

You have an AZ address, piece of cake.
I don't have an AZ address, and it was still super easy to register my toys, Rhino and toy hauler there.

 

[Ziggy]

One more thing... I assume it's cheaper to register there, and perhaps insurance would be less. Those are the main reasons. I am only starting to research everything though.

(Plus I would feel more like a had one foot out of CA :skull )

I was about to do it last year and they wanted to tax and fee the license(weird formula they had:rolleyes) me on the original MSRP amount(5yr old vehicle)...bit of a unusual title issue on that one.
Insurance was the same and probably more actually. If I tried it now then the registration would likely be less than they tried to get me for lat year.

 

[YoPengo]

I registered, insured and kept my Jeep at our Havasu House. I have an AZ Id so it was cheap and easy.

You can register it as a non resident. But, if you get pulled over in CA, you'll get nailed for not having it registered here plus penalties for the time they decide you haven't had it registered.

This is true.

OK, and that's even if you have an AZ ID?

Yes, even with an AZ ID. If you plan to operate it in California... The risk is too high. IMO

 

[Joker]

Arizona reg is the way to go. I was somehow spotted by CHP towing a ca registered boat trailer with AZ plates on my truck and received a nice letter from them. You don't want to get one of the letters so keep everything in order.

 

[CampbellCarl]

It works for you because you 'live' in Arizona and 'vacation' in CA Monday thru Friday.......

 

[Joker]

It works for you because you 'live' in Arizona and 'vacation' in CA Monday thru Friday.......

:thumbup:

 

[VoodooMedMan]

California will get you. It isn't an issue with Az. No saying you vacation in Ca M-F doesn't work. Look at it as where your Driver License is then that is where your vehicles need to be registered.

Only two ways you have to fix it.
1. Get rid of Ca DL and get an Az one
2. If you register Jeep in Az then NEVER bring it into Ca as it only takes one CHP to spot it and you are toast.
3. I lied there is a third option. Go start an LLC or something and transfer title of the vehicles over. Then in won't matter. You are just an employee of the company.

Registration may be a little cheaper but insurance is supposedly more. Cost of living is cheaper in Arizona overall but registering and insuring vehicles is not one of the areas of big savings.

 

[Racey]

Like everyone above stated CA is a Nazi state on these issues, so get an AZ DL and Reg and you are fine. My sister did this for years NV license, NV plates, never a problem even working in CA for those years she was there 'part time'.

The other option is to put it in an LLC, and this a good insulator for liability as well, putting all of your owned assets in one, and seperating them from your personal liability. What you need to look into is how the car insurance works for you in that respect, you certainly don't want to be paying commercial rate car insurance though an LLC.

 

[BoatCop]

This is one of those situations where you would have to prove that you're NOT a CA resident, if stopped by CHP with out of state plates. Mainly because it's so easy to prove that you ARE a CA resident.

Voter Registration
Drivers License
Other vehicles
State Income tax
Kids in school at in-state rates
Any license or certifications (business, contractor's, fishing, hunting, nursing, etc) as a CA resident

You can't be a legal resident of two different states. You have to claim one or the other.

This also goes for boat registration or hunt/fish license in AZ as a "resident". I've been following some of the penalties for fraud in obtaining hunting or fishing licenses. After all the court cases are over the AZGFD Commission can revoke your licenses for up to 10 years and claim restitution for any wildlife taken illegally. That ranges from around $50 bucks for sportfish or dove and up to $8,000 for a Trophy deer or elk. For boats, if you're convicted for fraudulently registering your boat as a resident, it's a lifetime revocation of boat registration for ANY watercraft you own or may buy later.

People try to save a few bucks by fraudulently claiming residency in a state they don't actually reside in, but if (when) they're caught it usually ends up costing way more than they save, along with all the hassles that go with it.

 

[gqchris]

For boats, if you're convicted for fraudulently registering your boat as a resident, it's a lifetime revocation of boat registration for ANY watercraft you own or may buy later.

People try to save a few bucks by fraudulently claiming residency in a state they don't actually reside in, but if (when) they're caught it usually ends up costing way more than they save, along with all the hassles that go with it.

This is why I gladly pay my non-resident fee to Arizona. Mostly, I would rather give my $200 dollars a year to a state that I enjoy vacationing in. And if it helps the waterways, that's even a better bonus. And they make it so easy to renew and handle everything. Its just a win -win. Not worth lying to save a few bucks.

I do like the Wallet cards they came out with this year for the registration card. Makes it even easier to carry while on the boat.

Chris

 

[Advantage 1]

This is why I gladly pay my non-resident fee to Arizona. Mostly, I would rather give my $200 dollars a year to a state that I enjoy vacationing in. And if it helps the waterways, that's even a better bonus. And they make it so easy to renew and handle everything. Its just a win -win. Not worth lying to save a few bucks.

I do like the Wallet cards they came out with this year for the registration card. Makes it even easier to carry while on the boat.

Chris

x2. Live & work in CA but boat has AZ tags... and finally changed my trailer from AZ plates to CA plates... all good Trailer plates cost me $20, received them on the spot at AAA. ZERO hassle.

 

[gqchris]

x2. Live & work in CA but boat has AZ tags... and finally changed my trailer from AZ plates to CA plates... all good Trailer plates cost me $20, received them on the spot at AAA. ZERO hassle.

Yup I have Cali plates also on the trailer. Even though it never leaves AZ, in case I bring it home no hassles.

On a side note, my buddy has Az plates on his tow vehicle he keeps here in Cali. He parks it in his back yard though, and it gets very little use. Thats an option if you have the space and dont use it often. On a daily driver, forget about it. Someone will catch it.

 

[shueman]

...People try to save a few bucks by fraudulently claiming residency in a state they don't actually reside in, but if (when) they're caught it usually ends up costing way more than they save, along with all the hassles that go with it.

I just luv these threads...

 

[Advantage 1]

Yup I have Cali plates also on the trailer. Even though it never leaves AZ, in case I bring it home no hassles.

I would imagine that ticket would be much more than $20.

 

[milkmoney]

This might be alittle off track. But boat cop made me think,,,,

Why can't you have more than one state if residence and or jus cause you own homes in more than one state why can't you chose the state you want ur residence in. ?

Ain't we a free country.

 

[Paul65k]

Arizona reg is the way to go. I was somehow spotted by CHP towing a ca registered boat trailer with AZ plates on my truck and received a nice letter from them. You don't want to get one of the letters so keep everything in order.

What is it with you and the "Po Po".....you're like a magnet or something:eek

 

[Joker]

What is it with you and the "Po Po".....you're like a magnet or something:eek

I got it resolved by sending in a utility bill but I'm lost as to where I was seen by a chp as the boat is only towed to needles in order to launch. So I'm assuming chp cruises the parking lot to look for this.
Also, I just got the letter and we have not towed since September so they're wayyyyy behind.

 

[milkmoney]

I got it resolved by sending in a utility bill but I'm lost as to where I was seen by a chp as the boat is only towed to needles in order to launch. So I'm assuming chp cruises the parking lot to look for this.
Also, I just got the letter and we have not towed since September so they're wayyyyy behind.

That's right Johnny. Stay ahead of the game.

 

[TPC]

I was handing out paychecks/Direct Deposit recipts one day and three guys didn't get one.
They didn't get one for the next several months either.

Their pay was impounded by the State of Cali over unpaid fees with their cars and boats in Az.
It was a shit storm of bureaucracy to get it all straightened out and the penalties weren't cheap.

Even today AAA warns their members against that.

Jus' my 2 cents worth.

 

[grumpy88]

I have a friend who is a chp in CA and he said it's usually a neighbor that turns you in . He said right now they are really going after motor homes that are registered out of state .

 

[Joker]

I have a friend who is a chp in CA and he said it's usually a neighbor that turns you in . He said right now they are really going after motor homes that are registered out of state .

I got the letter from Needles which means CHP is cruising the lots where you launch looking for revenue.

 

[VoodooMedMan]

This might be alittle off track. But boat cop made me think,,,,

Why can't you have more than one state if residence and or jus cause you own homes in more than one state why can't you chose the state you want ur residence in. ?

Ain't we a free country.

Money plain and simple. For example, another thing we discuss ad nauseum is that for the purpose of buying guns you are legally considered a resident of your vacation state when at your owned vacation home. But this is federal law and nobody is losing any tax revenue when you do this.

It doesn't hurt anyone when you register in another state other than the states coffers that's missing out. I'm sure Ca wouldn't care if an Az resident registered their vehicle in Ca.

 

[Racey]

This might be alittle off track. But boat cop made me think,,,,

Why can't you have more than one state if residence and or jus cause you own homes in more than one state why can't you chose the state you want ur residence in. ?

Ain't we a free country.

Because of voting mainly, otherwise you would get more than 1 vote in federal elections.

 

[BoatCop]

This might be alittle off track. But boat cop made me think,,,,

Why can't you have more than one state if residence and or jus cause you own homes in more than one state why can't you chose the state you want ur residence in. ?

Ain't we a free country.

Because of voting mainly, otherwise you would get more than 1 vote in federal elections.

That, and other perks of "residency". And yes, a lot of it is financial related.

Mostly it's the concept that taxes (sales, Income, license, fuel, luxury. property, personal property, etc) will make up for the lower costs of resident licenses and permits. A state should be able to expect that their "residents" will pay income and other taxes to the state they live in.

One thing to note, while the California resident-Arizona property owner claim that they pay property taxes, so should be able to claim "residency" in Arizona, Arizona Property taxes go only to the County for County provided services. Nothing to the state. The state gets no benefit from your owning property here, except for sales tax you pay on what you may buy here (which you'd pay anyway, if you were here and didn't own property)

The County may give you certain benefits, such as using county facilities for no charge (County Parks, refuse dump, etc.), no billing by fire or paramedic services, provided by the fire district, but as far as the state is concerned, they get nothing from you owning property here.

A lot of this came from people (you know who you are) who claimed their parent's, brother's, uncle's, friend's, in-law's, mail drop, PO Box, etc. address as their home address in order to scam the system to try and save money. From all the fraud that was going on, Arizona was losing millions in revenue. So they tightened the requirements, so only actual residents could benefit by lower fees.

And a quick note on Fishing/Hunting Licenses and boat registrations through Arizona Game and Fish. That (and some federal and private grants,) is their only source of revenue for operations and infrastructure. They do not get one penny from the State general funds or any state, county, or local taxes.

 

[Kachina26]

I got it resolved by sending in a utility bill but I'm lost as to where I was seen by a chp as the boat is only towed to needles in order to launch. So I'm assuming chp cruises the parking lot to look for this.
Also, I just got the letter and we have not towed since September so they're wayyyyy behind.

Plenty of CHP's live in AZ, probably a nice neighbor called it in.

 

[Yldboyz]

Plenty of CHP's live in AZ, probably a nice neighbor called it in.

I see what you did there

 

[pronstar]

I tried to change my residency to AZ.
Figured I'd simply pay CA taxes, but claim I lived in AZ so I could buy cool guns :thumbup:

Unfortunately, it's not so simple.
AZ wants you to pay state income tax regardless of where it's earned.
CA wants you to pay income tax for money earned here.

So it's a no-win...

 

[VoodooMedMan]

I tried to change my residency to AZ.
Figured I'd simply pay CA taxes, but claim I lived in AZ so I could buy cool guns :thumbup:

Unfortunately, it's not so simple.
AZ wants you to pay state income tax regardless of where it's earned.
CA wants you to pay income tax for money earned here.

So it's a no-win...

Yes but... For your guns just get an ID for your address in AZ and go and buy guns. Yes it's legal. Federally and State legal. No tax in it so they haven't ripped that away from us. Go to the gun forum we've discussed it a few times already.

 

[Kleptow]

I tried to change my residency to AZ.
Figured I'd simply pay CA taxes, but claim I lived in AZ so I could buy cool guns :thumbup:

Unfortunately, it's not so simple.
AZ wants you to pay state income tax regardless of where it's earned.

This is the same for every state.


CA wants you to pay income tax for money earned here.

Not true, If you are a resident of AZ and do not spend any nights in CA your state tax will be ZERO They will charge you rent for every night over 10 that you spend in CA.


So it's a no-win...

AZ wants you to pay state income tax regardless of where it's earned.

This is the same for every state.


CA wants you to pay income tax for money earned here.

Not true, If you are a resident of AZ and do not spend any nights in CA your state tax will be ZERO They will charge you rent for every night over 10 that you spend in CA.

 

[pronstar]

Yes but... For your guns just get an ID for your address in AZ and go and buy guns. Yes it's legal. Federally and State legal. No tax in it so they haven't ripped that away from us. Go to the gun forum we've discussed it a few times already.

Yes, but I don't have a "real" place in AZ to keep the cool guns I want to buy.
Storing them with a friend isn't a great option, and no way in hell I'd bring them into CA.

CA wants you to pay income tax for money earned here.

Not true, If you are a resident of AZ and do not spend any nights in CA your state tax will be ZERO They will charge you rent for every night over 10 that you spend in CA.

But I "really" do live in CA, so I'd be asking for tax trouble by trying to claim AZ residency.
Way too sticky for me to consider it.

 

[VoodooMedMan]

Yes, but I don't have a "real" place in AZ to keep the cool guns I want to buy.
Storing them with a friend isn't a great option, and no way in hell I'd bring them into CA.



But I "really" do live in CA, so I'd be asking for tax trouble by trying to claim AZ residency.
Way too sticky for me to consider it.

My bad. I thought you owned a house out there.

 

[shueman]

AZ wants you to pay state income tax regardless of where it's earned.

This is the same for every state.


CA wants you to pay income tax for money earned here.

Not true, If you are a resident of AZ and do not spend any nights in CA your state tax will be ZERO They will charge you rent for every night over 10 that you spend in CA.

From what I know (very little), you pay State Income Tax to the state where you earned the income, regardless of your "home state".
Pro athletes have to file in every state they play in, where Income Tax is collected...that's why they hire shintooo...

 

[mjc]

From what I know (very little), you pay State Income Tax to the state where you earned the income, regardless of your "home state".
Pro athletes have to file in every state they play in, where Income Tax is collected...that's why they hire shintooo...

Not so, my sister lives in Havasu and works in needles. She fills out some form every year to get her Ca with holdings back and then pays Az with it.

 

[throttle]

All of my vehicles, boat and trailers are registered in AZ. All have AZ insurance. I have AZ id, CA dl, pay state taxes to both CA and AZ. Have places in AZ and CA where I work.

 

[Kleptow]

From what I know (very little), you pay State Income Tax to the state where you earned the income, regardless of your "home state".
Pro athletes have to file in every state they play in, where Income Tax is collected...that's why they hire shintooo...

I don't know about pro athletes I'm just a working stiff that does his own taxes because I can't even afford Shintoooo. Yes I've been audited but not for anything having to do with my residency.

Not so, my sister lives in Havasu and works in needles. She fills out some form every year to get her Ca with holdings back and then pays Az with it.

I need to check into this I've had to fill out a regular CA tax return and wait to get it back so I could pay AZ.

 

[ianman84]

CA Franchose Tax Board is known to be far worse then the IRS. They went after a screen written who lived solely in AZ. He wrote scripts for a few movie studios which was based in CA. The studio obviously paid him for his work. CA FTB went after him demanding money even though he never stepped foot in CA! CA Appelette court ruled in favor or FTB lmao

 

[Hdgasser]

You realize this is 6 years old

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

I did some searches, as I'm pretty sure this topic has probably been covered, but I didn't find anything...

I was considering registering my Jeep to my Az place. We kept it there for a few months in the winter. When it's in CA, it's parked in a garage. When we bought in Az the realtor said we would be able to register the Jeep there (she did similar for years before they moved out to AZ full time). I found this at AAA.com, regarding registration for non-residents.....

Arizona

A resident is defined as a person that remains in the state for an aggregate period of 7 months or more during a calendar year; a person that engages in work other than seasonal or temporary work; a person that places children in public school without paying non-resident tuition; a person that declares residency in the state for purposes of state rates of tuition or licensing fees; or a company that maintains a main office in the state.

It is illegal for a person to operate a motor vehicle unless it has been properly registered for the current year in the state or county in which the person is a resident.

I read that as I can't legally do it..... am I wrong?

Here is the link I quoted AAA from: http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/registration-for-non-residents/

There really are not any significant savings on the registration and insurance has always been more, but I still register everything that is not through the LLC in Arizona, since thats where my DL is from.

 

[SKIDMARC]

You realize this is 6 years old

Right!

 

[shock22]

Not so, my sister lives in Havasu and works in needles. She fills out some form every year to get her Ca with holdings back and then pays Az with it.

Not exactly true you pay California nonresident income tax on the money earned in California and get an refund for the difference winds up California keeps 2/3 of the tax money and gives you an third as an refund just enough to pay AZ taxes

 

[Havasu blue label]

Just pay the fine the skinny ass crackhead looking chp with a earing on rice road pulled me over gave me a ticket for some bullshit reg 119.00 just listen to him about he lives in havasu and has to pay calif taxes make a business card up with your name and put accusations and more

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

Huh?

 

[G. Faulk]

Unless its an RV, if tires touch the ground register it in the state you live in. Not worth it.

 

[Havasu blue label]

Correct

 

[samsah33]

I heard that CA cops cruise parking lots looking for out of state plates, I know they're pretty strict, there's even a web page on the CA DMV website that makes it so convenient to turn in your neighbor...

California Highway Patrol Registration Enforcement and Guidance (CHP REG) Program

www.chp.ca.gov