Montana Motorhome

Montana is a state you should consider if you intend to purchase a motorhome. Why? Because this is the only state that allows you to purchase and register your RV, even if you do not have residency.

There is no sales tax in Montana. So you can own a Motorhome and pay nothing more than 0% sales tax upfront. However, the law dictates that registering a Motorhome in Montana requires you to reside within the state. And this is where Montana LLCs come in.

So, let’s jump right in to discuss the road to using your Montana LLC to purchase, title, and register your Motorhome in Montana.

Purchasing A Motorhome Using A Montana LLC

Your LLC or Limited Liability Company acts as a legal entity enabling you to buy a Motorhome even if you do not reside in Montana. So after forming an LLC, you can use it to purchase and register RVs and other vehicles.

Here is a list of things you’ll have to do to own a Motorhome without paying any sales tax:

• Form a Montana LLC.
• Get a business bank account to form annual tax reports and fund your LLC requirements or open a separate account to finance activities like gas, camping fees, etc.
• Since you are purchasing under Montana LLC, the LLC is the legal owner. So remember to use the name and address of your new LLC.
• Once you purchase the Motorhome, send your paperwork to your Montana LLC service providers.
• Have your RV registered from the DMV and get a mail-back for your registration and license plate.
• You will have your EIN or title a few days later.
• Lastly, continue to maintain your registered agent.

Use A Valid Address

You do not want to pay $1000 to an agent only to end up with an address that is not legitimate or leads to a parking lot. And when it comes to addresses, not all are equal or valued the same. For instance, if you search on Google, you will see everything from strip malls and parking lots to residential buildings.

Many businesses will offer you residential addresses for your LLC. However, since you are essentially creating a Montana business with LLC, it is wise to have a valid address. And this is why we suggest you opt for a commercial address instead.

Costs Of Forming a Montana LLC

Some of the basic costs for setting up an LLC in Montana include:

• Initial Custom Articles Of Organization fee to the Montana Secretary of State: $70
• Annual LLC Articles Of Organization fee to the Montana Secretary of State on every 15th of April: $15
• Maintenance of Registered Agent Services: Variable
• Resolutions, Membership Certificate, and DMV fees
• Articles Of Organization filing for professional services

Unlike other states, Montana offers benefits for Motorhome owners, which allows them to avoid double taxation through a Montana LLC. Some states charge up to 10% and more for state and local tax. In fact, you will find multiple websites and services promoting these perks online.

Here are some of the cost-saving benefits that come along with purchase through a Montana LLC:

• Montana sales tax for purchasing a Motorhome: $0
• Montana use tax for registering a Motorhome: $0
• Montana property tax for registering a Motorhome: $0
• However, you will have to pay fees if you opt for professional services to carry out all the processes, which is variable depending on the agent you choose.

That said, under section 61-3-321 of the Montana Code Annotated or MCA, all Motorhome owners must pay a fee based on the age of the vehicle. Keep in mind that the registration requires renewal after every 12 months. So, you need to renew your registration at the end of every 12th month from the date of its initial registration, which you will find on the registration decal of your license plate.

Now, if you purchase an RV that is 11 years old or older, you will have to apply for permanent registration, which will not be transferable in case of a change of ownership.

In such a case, you will have to incur the following costs:

• Montana Highway Patrol Salary and Retention Fee: $10.30
• Issuance of a new license plate: $10.30
• If you decide to keep the existing plates on the RV while registering permanently, you will have to pay $5.15 as an insurance verification fee.
• Moreover, according to 61-10-201 of the Montana Code Annotated, all motorhome owners using their RVs as commercial vehicles will also pay the GVW fee.

Here, you have the registration fees for Montana Motorhomes priced under $300,000 according to age,

NOTE: the fees below will include an additional 3% administration charge during the transaction.

Age of Motorhome	Fee
From 0-2 years	$320.00
2 and above but less than 5 years	$224.25
5 and above but less than 8 years	$132.50
8 and above but less than 11 years	$97.50
11 years and above	$237.50

Here, you have the registration fees for Montana Motorhomes priced above $300,000 according to age,

Age of Motorhome	Fee
From 0-2 years	$1082.50
2 and above but less than 5 years	$1024.25
5 and above but less than 8 years	$932.50
8 and above but less than 11 years	$897.50

Here is the cost analysis based on the RV model:

Motorhome Model	Cost of Model	Sales Tax (6%) on each Model
2020 Newell Coach p50	$2.5 million	$150,000
Prevost	$1.5 million	$90,000
Newmar Essex	$764,430	$45,865.80
Foretravel FS6	$700,000	$42,000
Winnebago Sunstar	$136,258	$8,175.48

Do note that according to Montana’s new luxury tax, all Motorhomes with an MSRP of $300,000 or above will get subjected to $800 of tax.

Registration For Non-Residents

If you belong to a different state other than Montana, then there are a few things that you need to consider before purchasing or registering your vehicle in Montana.

• Although Montana permits out-of-staters to title and register Motorhomes or vehicles with Montana LLC, your home state law may not. For instance, if your home state is Georgia and you decide to set up an LLC in Montana, that would result in tax evasion in your home state.
• Moreover, the conflict of laws may also cause problems getting insurance for your Motorhome as the insurance rates depend partly on where you decide to drive or park your RV.

Final Thoughts 

Purchasing a Motorhome will be one of the most significant investments of your life, which is why it is always great to be able to cut down additional costs wherever you can.

Many rely on Montana LLC to enjoy all the low-cost benefits. That said, if all of this seems daunting to you, there are service providers that can help you throughout the process.

We hope this article was useful enough to help you make an informed decision.