Loophole to 7% registration/title car tax? (Atlanta, Savannah: real estate, rental, attorney)
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You can break the payment down in two installments, as someone else suggested above. You can drag your feet and keep you vehicle registered in VA for a while to save up after the move and then register here a few months later, but I don't see that saving too much money, just allows you some extra time to save up; then again, that is technically conning the system not to mention you may open yourself up to other troubles with the law if get caught etc. which may not be worth the extra few months of time. Just consider it part of your moving expense and stop being so upset about it, in fairness they charge it to everyone moving from out-of-state, not like it was targeted for you or people from VA lol, you just happen to be in a tricky situation because your vehicle is new and has high value than an old, used one.
By the way I also moved from VA (August, 2014) and loving it, already bought a condo (for the first time in my life) and settled down and everything. People are nice here, and people in this board are also quite helpful, nice and an active bunch. You can't blame them for getting a little upset at someone who is in a way trying to tamper with state law.
Good luck with the move.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ncoflin
I'm looking for advice. Am I frustrated by what I see as an unjust law? Sure. I haven't made up my mind though. I am on here asking for advice, and yes if there is a way around it (Four years does seem to be the correct number from my research for this to actually be beneficial to me.)
I HAVE tried to do some basic research on moving costs but this is something Georgia is pretty unique about and I (and many others evidenced by things I have read) never even thought about this. A extra four figure expense for something that it seems every other state is pretty cut and dry on(from what I can tell). I'm on here asking now aren't I? This proves I'm doing research.
I appreciate the feedback, even if you guys are a bit crabby about it.
I hope more people I meet in Atlanta have a bit more Southern Hospitality than yourselves :P
To the OP, I was in your shoes just 10 months ago. Keep the car registered in Virginia and save your money. Instead of paying $3k+ to register my SUV here in Georgia, I pay under $200 a year to keep my Michigan plate. Even if I keep my car for 5 years, I will have saved more than $2k. If you end up staying in Georgia, you can still keep the Virginia tag until you have to sell your car - last time I checked, a Georgia tag doesn't magically make a used car more valuable.
Now here are my problems with the Georgia Title Ad Valorum: 1. The state's valuation of used vehicles is WAY TOO HIGH, and I believe it is intentionally so to discourage private vehicle sales, thus benefiting car dealers. I brought two vehicles from Michigan to Georgia, a motorcycle and an SUV. I paid $4000 for the motorcycle a year before my move, yet I had to pay $430 to get a Georgia tag! That's not 7%, that's more than 10%. Same story with my SUV, which I paid $30k 1.5 years before moving to Georgia, yet the state wanted to charge me $3k plus! Basically they are saying my car was still worth $45k. Same thing happened with a friend of mine who bought a used car from a private party here in Georgia. Even though she had a bill of sale with recorded sale price, she was still charged with more than 10% of actual sale price. And the process of disputing tax amount is a complete joke. My friend tried to set up an appointment, but no one ever answered the phone.
2. This law severely punishes new residents, especially those who just purchased their vehicles not long before their move. I already paid $2k in sales tax when I bought my car, and a year and half later Georgia wants to take another $3k! Again, this law bleeds new GA residents only to help line the pockets of in-state car dealers. If someone is considering a move into Georgia in the near future (could be months, could be several years), they are more or less forced to hold off their purchase until after they actually make the move. This is the very definition of double taxation.
And those of you who are defending this law, sure, it might not seem financially detrimental to you, but at least recognize this law is the result of Georgia car dealers lobbying the bejesus out of the General Assembly at the cost of both new and old residents alike.
Do know that if your car is registered in another state, but you have a GA license with a GA address, you could risk getting a citation for new resident vehicle registration.
best way is to form a llc, I have rental properties and did this. My cars are in the LLC's name and registered out of state. Insurance is about the same btw.
In my home state of Georgia, the Veyron’s $1.7 million MSRP would be taxed at seven percent, which comes out to $119,000. For a license plate. I have often said state governments should actually help automakers sell supercars like the Veyron, since the revenue from one Veyron is equal to around 65 Accords.
Surprisingly, minimizing your tax burden by registering a car in Montana is actually pretty easy. Step one is finding an attorney in Montana willing to act as a “registered agent” and set up an LLC (that’s “limited liability company”) on your behalf. Google returns about four million results (literally, four million) so I won’t name any names.
The law firm is important because your registered agent needs an actual Montana address to form your LLC. And the LLC is crucial because it’s going to be the actual owner of the vehicle. That’s right: technically, the vehicle is no longer yours. Instead, it belongs to your newly-formed company – which just happens to be based in tax-free Montana! What good luck you had when choosing a place to incorporate.
In most cases, it costs around $1,000 up front to form the LLC and use the law firm as a registered agent. Each law firm also charges an annual fee of around $100 to continue acting as your registered agent (“hush money” so they don’t rat you out to your DMV). And the state of Montana collects a registration fee every year – but it’s a fraction of what other states usually charge.
Interestingly, you don’t need to buy a Bugatti Veyron for this to make sense. Let’s say you purchase a new Chevy Tahoe Hybrid, which is by far the best Tahoe on the market. (Over/under on how long this article is up before I get attacked for that one in the comments?) With a base MSRP of around $54,000 (what a deal!), the Tahoe Hybrid would mean a $3,800 sales tax bill – at least. In Montana, it’s still just a grand up front and a few fees every year thereafter. A quick $2,800 savings.
This! We have a 42' Motorhome that we use for business. We travel all over the US doing construction. We own a small vacation property in GA and had seriously been considering making GA our permanent residence, as we enjoy spending our down time in GA much more than our home state anymore. The RV industry took a large hit when the economy busted, kind of like the housing industry...... yet GA says that my motorhome is worth book value. LOL... As if I could get 200K out of it if I tried. (I didn't pay that much for it!) Yet they want to tax me on that amount. I think it's clear that we've decided to just stay home and not make the move permanent. I'll just continue to long for the day that I can afford to make the move permanent when we retire and finally sell the RV. If I were to try to sell it up here.. the buyer would in fact get screwed over. So absolutely it's benefiting dealers.
Yep, I think the state needs to stand by its assessments of vehicle values by offering a 70% buy back program. After all, if the assessed value is indeed fair market price, the state can make a hefty penny in used car trade.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cqholt
Do know that if your car is registered in another state, but you have a GA license with a GA address, you could risk getting a citation for new resident vehicle registration.
Yeah you also risk getting a speeding ticket driving 10 miles over the speed limit on the highway, but the majority of drivers do this everyday here in Atlanta. I've been approached by an officer once in my 10 months here in Georgia. I was parked in an empty lot looking up an address. The officer kindly gave me detailed directions and complimented me on my car.
I know what the word of the law says, but I think the spirit of the law is entirely unjust, especially considering the motivation behind the passing of the law. My car is legally registered in Michigan. Since Georgia has an unreasonable law that punishes new residents like me, I'd rather contribute my tag tax to a state that has a reasonable fee structure and save a couple thousands dollars. For all the talks of "conning the system" and "tamper with state law", it is we the Georgia residents that are being conned by auto dealers and the all-too-helpful lawmakers.
For all the talks of "conning the system" and "tamper with state law", it is we the Georgia residents that are being conned by auto dealers and the all-too-helpful lawmakers.
Considering that:
a) I've paid over $3500 in cumulative annual ad valorum taxes (in addition to sales taxes, which are no longer assessed, on the two vehicles I've purchased here) for the right to legally operate my car in the State of Georgia over the last 17 years,
b) You will never pay the annual ad valorum tax since it has been eliminated on purchases made after March 2013,
c) Evidently, nor do you intend to pay the one-time one:
I'd say you're the one conning me and the millions of other law-abiding residents.
Good luck avoiding the pot holes that your tax evasion will make more difficult to fill.
a) I've paid over $3500 in cumulative annual ad valorum taxes (in addition to sales taxes, which are no longer assessed, on the two vehicles I've purchased here) for the right to legally operate my car in the State of Georgia over the last 17 years,
b) You will never pay the annual ad valorum tax since it has been eliminated on purchases made after March 2013,
c) Evidently, nor do you intend to pay the one-time one:
I'd say you're the one conning me and the millions of other law-abiding residents.
Good luck avoiding the pot holes that your tax evasion will make more difficult to fill.
Oh the overflowing self-righteousness and indignation in your post.
a) Good for you?
b) & c) Yes, but you are just rephrasing my comments... Congratulations on possessing basic reading comprehension?
As for your final dig, you are aware that the vast majority of state transportation funding comes from both federal and state fuel taxes, right? Does that mean all electric car owners are conning you and your fellow pitchfork-waving comrades? To extend your logic further, are renters cheating the public school system because they are not paying for property taxes?
Yep, I think the state needs to stand by its assessments of vehicle values by offering a 70% buy back program. After all, if the assessed value is indeed fair market price, the state can make a hefty penny in used car trade.
Yeah you also risk getting a speeding ticket driving 10 miles over the speed limit on the highway, but the majority of drivers do this everyday here in Atlanta. I've been approached by an officer once in my 10 months here in Georgia. I was parked in an empty lot looking up an address. The officer kindly gave me detailed directions and complimented me on my car.
I know what the word of the law says, but I think the spirit of the law is entirely unjust, especially considering the motivation behind the passing of the law. My car is legally registered in Michigan. Since Georgia has an unreasonable law that punishes new residents like me, I'd rather contribute my tag tax to a state that has a reasonable fee structure and save a couple thousands dollars. For all the talks of "conning the system" and "tamper with state law", it is we the Georgia residents that are being conned by auto dealers and the all-too-helpful lawmakers.
All I am saying is if you get pulled over, you will get a ticket for this. So don't think they do not have a way of keeping this kind of stuff in check.
You always have the option of returning to your economically depressed state, where they have reasonable fee structures.
Oh the overflowing self-righteousness and indignation in your post.
a) Good for you?
b) & c) Yes, but you are just rephrasing my comments... Congratulations on possessing basic reading comprehension?
As for your final dig, you are aware that the vast majority of state transportation funding comes from both federal and state fuel taxes, right? Does that mean all electric car owners are conning you and your fellow pitchfork-waving comrades? To extend your logic further, are renters cheating the public school system because they are not paying for property taxes?
a) Yes, good for me. And I quite honestly am quite content to pay the taxes.
b and c) No, I don't think you get it. For years, if you bought a car in Georgia, you paid sales tax on the car, and THEN you got to pay the birthday tax every year. Now, that's no longer the case. You buy a car, and you pay one tax, that is roughly the same as the former sales tax, and you don't pay the annual tax going forward. Yes, those moving from out of state get hit with a one-time tax, but quite frankly, since most of us have been effectively paying double taxes (quite contentedly or at least compliantly, I might add) for many years, it's hard to feel terribly sorry for them.
Yes, of course most transportation funding comes from gas taxes, but not all of it. As you've no doubt discovered here, our roads (and many other things) are in pretty poor shape, and we could use every dollar we can legally collect, whether it goes to the general fund or the transportation budget.
No, electric car owners are not conning me or anyone else. Until recently, they quitelegally avoided paying the gas tax or any equivalent because they consume no gas. That loophole is being closed by the recently pased transportation bill, as they'll now pay an annual fee of $200 or so, which goes directly to the transportation fund. As an aside, I enthusiastically support electric cars and intend to own one myself before too long. When I first heard about the annual fee, I was actually quite annoyed, but when I came to understand that it would go to transportation funding because electric cars currently don't contribute very much to the roads on which they drive, it made sense to me.
Finally, no, renters aren't cheating the public school system. Someone owns the property they rent, and the owners pay school taxes on their property.
All I am saying is if you get pulled over, you will get a ticket for this. So don't think they do not have a way of keeping this kind of stuff in check.
You always have the option of returning to your economically depressed state, where they have reasonable fee structures.
And I am telling you I won't be ticketed. I have a business entity in Michigan, and this car is registered under my business. So don't think you can just assume this kind of stuff without all the facts.
As for returning to Michigan, you mad? You are quick to show your insecurity about Georgia just because some people complain about an unjust local law. I chose to move to Atlanta because it is a nice city with cheap COL, and I have no intentions of moving out just because of some touchy poster.
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I think it's clear that we've decided to just stay home and not make the move permanent. I'll just continue to long for the day that I can afford to make the move permanent when we retire and finally sell the RV. If I were to try to sell it up here.. the buyer would in fact get screwed over. So absolutely it's benefiting dealers.
