Registering under a Montana LLC

[javajoe79]

Can you expand on that. What pitfalls are you aware of recently?

When I lived in Cali I knew several people who drove cars that would not pass Cali smog so they registered them in other states. Often times police will keep track of out of state plates that they see. So you only get to use the "just visiting" excuse once. I have seen this end up in court with a seized vehicle. These were also cars that drew attention to themselves in various ways so there is that.

 

[Role1133]

Just to follow up on this thread, I went through the LLC process this past summer registering the ole girl in Montana. The process was fairly easy and the cost was in the $1000 dollar range. I used 49dollarmontanaregiseredagent.com great folks who were very helpful through the entire process.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

The reality is if it a daily driver, or parked on the street or in view from the street, you will eventually probably get caught.

Get "caught" doing what? The vehicle happens to be owned by a corporation that is based in Montana. You happen to be using it in another state. There is nothing to be "caught" doing...Commercial vehicles are often registered in states other than the state where the business operates. It's one of the benefits of living in a union of states.

I have all of my vehicles registered to a Montana LLC. It's not an attempt to avoid paying taxes anywhere - in fact Montana registration is much more expensive than many other states - it is a convenience for me since I live on the road and don't have a "permanent address" otherwise....

 

[quickfarms]

Get "caught" doing what? The vehicle happens to be owned by a corporation that is based in Montana. You happen to be using it in another state. There is nothing to be "caught" doing...Commercial vehicles are often registered in states other than the state where the business operates. It's one of the benefits of living in a union of states.

I have all of my vehicles registered to a Montana LLC. It's not an attempt to avoid paying taxes anywhere - in fact Montana registration is much more expensive than many other states - it is a convenience for me since I live on the road and don't have a "permanent address" otherwise....

California has its own laws

If you are a resident of California you have 20 days to register your vehicles in California

If you are a corporation with a location in California the vehicles have to be registered in California, this is a really big issue with the construction industry but California is such a big marker they comply.

You are allowed to bring a non California compliant vehicle into California for interstate commerce but not for intrastate commerce. An example is if you have a load to Los Angeles, you can pick up a load and leave the state but you can not pick up a load and take it to say San Diego and unload and pick up another load .

The vehicles owned by corporations and non residents are treated the same in California. They can not legally be in the state for more than 6 months without being registered in California

 

[DzlToy]

Most, if not all STATES, have similar policies, rules, codes and statutes. From my post about a year ago:

The same is true for registering a privately owned automobile in the name of a private trust, LLC, PUA/TUA, 501/508 or other entity. If the car/truck/van is legally owned by an LLC registered in Wyoming, it matters not where the beneficial user resides. Hint: don't be a resident, anywhere. This is not a scam, a loop hole or a trick. It is smart business, asset management, estate planning and fiscally prudent.

 

[4000lbsOfGoat]

If you are a resident of California you have 20 days to register your vehicles in California

A Montana corporation is not a resident of California, it is resident in Montana.

If you are a corporation with a location in California the vehicles have to be registered in California

A Montana corporation does not have a location in California, only in Montana.

Hint: don't be a resident, anywhere.

That isn't quite so easy to do since you need to have a driver's license from *some state*....

 

[billiebob]

I loved this story. EDIT... John Kerry.... bought a yacht and...

He is docking his family’s new $7 million yacht in Rhode Island, not Massachusetts, so he can save $500,000 in Bay State taxes. If the boat were docked at his summer vacation home on Nantucket, he would have to fork over $437,000 in a one-time sales tax and $70,000 in annual excise taxes

Eventually he caved in and registered it in Massachusetts.

 

[kerry]

Joe Biden is from Delaware not Massachusetts. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-kerry-saves-500000-b_n_656985

 

[slowtwitch]

I loved this story. Joe Biden bought a yacht and...

He is docking his family’s new $7 million yacht in Rhode Island, not Massachusetts, so he can save $500,000 in Bay State taxes. If the boat were docked at his summer vacation home on Nantucket, he would have to fork over $437,000 in a one-time sales tax and $70,000 in annual excise taxes

Eventually he caved in and registered it in Massachusetts.

Those details are about John Kerry.

Go Interwebs!

 

[NeverEnough]

FWIW, I did the Montana LLC thing for a previous motorhome (used Bennet). It worked just fine, owned it for over 6 years, no problems.

 

[alexpor]

Just to follow up on this thread, I went through the LLC process this past summer registering the ole girl in Montana. The process was fairly easy and the cost was in the $1000 dollar range. I used 49dollarmontanaregiseredagent.com great folks who were very helpful through the entire process.

Yeah, great to know that you had easily passed the process but at the same time you had $1000 to spend back on it. So, it seems you might have hired someone for yourself who would on your behalf might have done all paper and other work. If you might have gone through the whole process yourself you might have come to a point where you need to do a business entity search which is one of the hardest things I found to register under a Montana LLC. I'm happy with your $1000 spend before these.

 

[Role1133]

If anyone has any questions on insuring their truck after it has been registered under a Montana LLC, feel free to PM me as I have just completed the process successfully.

 

[gator70]

I would be interested.

I am from California. My neighbor has three cars with Montana license plates. My take is; if you go this route with the Montana LLC it should be parked not seen from the street and not a daily driver, rather a separate trip vehicle.
With California politicians, if they had their way we would be forced to use hot air balloons.
I will store mine in a RV storage and keep the plates in the cab until the travel day.

 

[DzlToy]

The Montana Scheme—Out-of-State Vehicle Registration Continues to Boom

The Montana scheme allows non-residents to register their vehicles in the Montana, skirting local taxes and vehicle inspections.

expeditionportal.com

The author should do his research and chose his words more carefully, IMHO. This isn't a 'scheme' any more than placing assets into a trust or taking a deduction on your business tax return, is a 'scheme'. I would contend, it's simply smart.

People who live in Commie states like MA, IL, NY and CA are keen to avoid high taxes, millions of pages of regulations and the like, by choosing to register an automobile in a location that does not have those issues. If residents were happy with the fees, rules and regs where they lived, they would not be seeking other options. i.e. Montana.

On the contrary, states such as Alabama and Alaska do not have onerous or burdensome regulations akin to those in CA, NY, etc., and in the aforementioned locales, license and registration fees are quite reasonable. Here, people are not clamoring to register their vehicles in Montana, for the reasons cited above. Logic.

If an automobile is owned by an LLC that was created and registered in New Mexico, Wyoming or Delaware, that automobile, which is property of the company, can easily be registered in that state.

These techniques are used quite regularly by wealthy, educated, intelligent businessmen to keep the state out of their affairs and minimise fees and taxes paid. The rich get richer because they keep doing things that make them money. Use these tools to your advantage. Educate yourself, do your research and make sure all of the boxes are checked and you are set. There is no 'scheme' here at all.

For additional information on tag, license and registration fees, by state:

Car Registration Fees, Taxes, Titles, and More

Vehicle ownership costs vary widely by city, county, and state. We break down the different fees when buying a new or used car.

www.compare.com

 

[gator70]

What does it cost to insure the truck in Montana?