RV Long-Term Storage in the U.S.
Posted date : Dec 20, 2023.
As a followup to the email in the fall edition’s Bird Talk about leaving a Canadian-registered RV (or boat) in the U.S. for a long period, even more important is the six-month rule. We were planning to leave our B.C.-registered RV in Washington state, rather than return it to B.C. after our winter vacation. We planned to store it there for about seven months and return in the fall to head south again. Just to be certain that we would not have a problem, I emailed the state tax department and they emailed back stating categorically that any RV, yacht or airplane remaining in Washington state for longer than six months is subject to the prevailing state sales tax. This would be in addition to the Internal Revenue one-year rule that you mentioned and could well be even more expensive for the shorter term. Other states may be different, so I would encourage interested Canadians to contact the respective state tax department. I may not have liked the answer, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quick reply which I received from the Washington state office.
Dennis Dean
North Saanich, BC
Ed.: Thank you for sharing your real-life example of the tax implications of leaving a Canadian-registered vehicle in the U.S. for longer than six months.
