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I now live in Maryland, but still own a home in DC. I want to leave my car registered to the DC address - as I plan to continue owning the home and have no intension to sell it, although I have moved to MD. Is this allowed? - to have my car still registered in DC?
I don't know if it's technically allowed, since after moving out of DC you're supposed to surrender your tags. However, if you maintain a valid DC license, address, and registration, I guess it would be ok. I'm not entirely sure how they would determine your "permanent" residence vs. a second house.
If you get caught doing this in MD you'll get hammered. Usually a couple hundred dollar fine plus you'll have to prove insurance which is fifty dollars a day fine. Prince Georges and Montgomery Counties are really watchful about this. To register in MD you'll have to go through the vehicle inspection and pay the 6% transfer tax based on the car's BlueBook value. If your residence is MD and you own it don't forget to claim the Homestead Exemption, limits the increase in your property taxes to 10% a year.
If you are renting or live in an area with an HOA and don't have a garage for your vehicle, watch out. MoCo HOA's and landlords are known for checking their parking lots and reporting to the police. Our old HOA in Germantown sent out a notice warning residents of such action being taken. We had never had such a notice before, not that we would have been affected by it. Large management companies do it too--I know that the Avalon communities do it for a fact.
You run a couple of risks. The insurance one is a bit tricky. You have the car registered in DC and that requires insurance in DC, which probably asked where the car is going to be located (which in this case would be MD). If you bend the truth on this it's called insurance fraud but if you call the agents they might be able to advise you of a mechanism to do so. In addition, some policies might balk if they found out you lived in MD but had the car in DC--you could be liable for the damages in an accident. It's worth checking out.
The second is DC taxes. I thought the DC IRS utilized the driver's registration system as a secondary check to look for tax dodgers, trying to go through and make sure everyone who is registered is paying income tax. I heard this once (and didn't actually believe it given the insanity of the DC IRS) but it might be the case.
Then of course are all the MD rules you might be violating about registering. (Don't know how people do it that have 'summer homes' in one state but live in another. Might be worth investigating)
Is there a particular reason you want DC tags (and higher insurance rates)?
I use my cars for casual use, but commute via metrorail. So, I leave them parked in DC near my secondary-home (where I no longer reside). I didn't realize that there was anything wrong as I do have a valid DC address - a place I own that is not rented out or used otherwise by anyone else. I do have insurance in DC and the insurance company said that it was ok - since the cars were located/parked regularly in DC. A while ago, I had called Maryland MVA - when the lady (I didn't get her name) on the phone said that it was ok to still have the DC tags as I owned a secondary home there and the cars were regularly located there. So, I had not thought about it much after that - till now.... I do pay a lot for property tax DC and do forego the homestead exemption as the DC house is not my residence/domicile.
Is there still something wrong in doing this? I want to abide by the rules and don't want to unknowingly do something wrong.
Is there still something wrong in doing this? I want to abide by the rules and don't want to unknowingly do something wrong.
Again, I could be wrong, but if your cars are predominantly "garaged" in DC and you have a residence in DC (even though not primary), I think you're ok. It's more of an issue if you keep your DC plates, yet always park in MD, or try to use an address that really isn't yours. The biggest issue would probably be if you got pulled over with DC tags and a MD drivers license. That might cause some problems
If the MVA and your insurance company have signed off on this, then I'd leave well enough alone. My only concern (besides the sort of weird tax thing) would be the meter maids (in either city). If you street park for > 2 weeks (or is it 1 month) in DC you can get a ticket, even if zoned in the right area. And if you have residential zoning/parking in MD then you might have the reverse should your car be out there.
But hey, overall I'd let sleeping dogs lie.
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