For those of you who live in California and register your car in Montana
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,175
Likes: 335
Buying a car with a Montana LLC to avoid sales tax is only tax evasion if your state specifically outlaws it - otherwise it is tax avoidance. As a parallel, Delaware currently has 1.56 million LLCs registered in that state but only about 1 million residents. Smart people make financial decisions to minimize tax liability and they do so legally. Sure, it might **** others off that this is happening but it is not illegal to do this.
Here are some other tax "loopholes". Wrong. These are not loopholes. There is zero ambiguity in anyone's mind, including the IRS, that you could claim a child tax credit and not have a child.
1. Only people who can afford a house get the home mortgage deduction
2. Only people who work in jobs that offer a 401(k) can take that deduction
3. Only people who have kids can claim the child tax credit.
Granted these deductions are codified in law but so is a MT LLC. The folks who own these LLCs are following MT State law exactly and those laws are not disallowed by most other states. Wrong again. With 100% certainty, every single person with a MT LLC, who registered their car in MT with some "agent", who is a resident in CA, who stores and drives their car in CA, is not only committing tax fraud, but most likely insurance fraud. Not getting caught is not synonymous with the activity being legal or a "loophole".
Is it unfair to childless renters who don't work at jobs with 401(k)s benefits? Are they subsidizing all the others who are taking these tax credits? You can say that about anybody who itemizes anything Are we conflating what is fair in life with what is illegal? Is it fair that CA charges a 898098% sales & income tax? No. Is it illegal to decide you don't want to pay that sales and income tax and still live in CA? Yes..
Here are some other tax "loopholes". Wrong. These are not loopholes. There is zero ambiguity in anyone's mind, including the IRS, that you could claim a child tax credit and not have a child.
1. Only people who can afford a house get the home mortgage deduction
2. Only people who work in jobs that offer a 401(k) can take that deduction
3. Only people who have kids can claim the child tax credit.
Granted these deductions are codified in law but so is a MT LLC. The folks who own these LLCs are following MT State law exactly and those laws are not disallowed by most other states. Wrong again. With 100% certainty, every single person with a MT LLC, who registered their car in MT with some "agent", who is a resident in CA, who stores and drives their car in CA, is not only committing tax fraud, but most likely insurance fraud. Not getting caught is not synonymous with the activity being legal or a "loophole".
Is it unfair to childless renters who don't work at jobs with 401(k)s benefits? Are they subsidizing all the others who are taking these tax credits? You can say that about anybody who itemizes anything Are we conflating what is fair in life with what is illegal? Is it fair that CA charges a 898098% sales & income tax? No. Is it illegal to decide you don't want to pay that sales and income tax and still live in CA? Yes..
Last edited by mass27; Mar 10, 2026 at 04:23 PM.
Race Car
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 4,666
Likes: 2,958
From: California
I could never live in CA, OR, WA. The noise rules, the 93 octane gas, the trade in tax, $9 milk, cant wash your cars when you want. Just not a very good place for a car person. Carolinas are very nice with nice weather and if you must, go to FL for CA like weather.
WA now started this 10% luxury tax which is a disaster for car people there.
WA now started this 10% luxury tax which is a disaster for car people there.
For starters, Florida is HUMID as Hell and has zero in common with the weather in California. Gotta love that Hurricane season!
And for what its worth, I can wash my cars whenever I want and Milk is $3.49 a half-gallon.
If you cant afford CA, there are much cheaper states to live in that start with the letter ""A" ... and they all have crappy roads that lead to Nowhereville.
Last edited by Diablo Dude; Mar 10, 2026 at 10:12 PM.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 5,682
Likes: 3,005
I have no idea what you're talking about. This post is absurd. It really questions your credibility as a poster here on Rennlist.
For starters, Florida is HUMID as Hell and has zero in common with the weather in California. Gotta love that Hurricane season!
And for what its worth, I can wash my cars whenever I want and Milk is $3.49 a half-gallon.
If you cant afford CA, there are much cheaper states to live in that start with the letter ""A" ... and they all have crappy roads that lead to Nowhereville.
For starters, Florida is HUMID as Hell and has zero in common with the weather in California. Gotta love that Hurricane season!
And for what its worth, I can wash my cars whenever I want and Milk is $3.49 a half-gallon.
If you cant afford CA, there are much cheaper states to live in that start with the letter ""A" ... and they all have crappy roads that lead to Nowhereville.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 156
Likes: 108
From: Atlanta, GA
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jun 2023
Posts: 265
Likes: 147
From: SoCal
You can still get a gallon of milk you wouldn't want to give your family for under $4 in California. Surprised not to see Idaho, Utah, Arizona or New Mexico on there. Lots of those plates roaming around. I guess because it's a state issue, they're not concerned with people who register their cars in the state but at one of their homes having a near state minimum tax level vs. another in an area approaching 10%? What about all the private says where people report it as a gift or for an amount substantially under the actual transaction. I hear that happens all the time too? I think it was even alluded to on Doug DeMuro's pod a few weeks back.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 79
Likes: 43
From: Parent’s house
I have no idea what you're talking about. This post is absurd. It really questions your credibility as a poster here on Rennlist.
For starters, Florida is HUMID as Hell and has zero in common with the weather in California. Gotta love that Hurricane season!
And for what its worth, I can wash my cars whenever I want and Milk is $3.49 a half-gallon.
If you cant afford CA, there are much cheaper states to live in that start with the letter ""A" ... and they all have crappy roads that lead to Nowhereville.
For starters, Florida is HUMID as Hell and has zero in common with the weather in California. Gotta love that Hurricane season!
And for what its worth, I can wash my cars whenever I want and Milk is $3.49 a half-gallon.
If you cant afford CA, there are much cheaper states to live in that start with the letter ""A" ... and they all have crappy roads that lead to Nowhereville.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Sep 2025
Posts: 128
Likes: 73
From: Pacific Northwest
I could never live in CA, OR, WA. The noise rules, the 93 octane gas, the trade in tax, $9 milk, cant wash your cars when you want. Just not a very good place for a car person. Carolinas are very nice with nice weather and if you must, go to FL for CA like weather.
WA now started this 10% luxury tax which is a disaster for car people there.
WA now started this 10% luxury tax which is a disaster for car people there.
But you know what? There's no salt on the roads. There's a reason "west coast owned" is worth a premium on the used car market. You can drive pretty much year round, though sure it's a little wet for a few months west of the Cascades. There are endless twisty, hilly roads with nobody on them. Or if you prefer your vehicles taller, then you can drive hundreds of miles on forest roads. 93 octane gas? Is that really a problem? I've got 7 "high performance" cars and none of them has ever skipped a beat on gas from my local Chevron.
But OK, whatever.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 3,246
Likes: 2,270
From: NoVA
What are you talking about? This post is either ignorant or a troll. I live in Oregon. I pay $2.99 for a gallon of milk. I can wash my car whenever I want. Trade-in tax? What's that?
But you know what? There's no salt on the roads. There's a reason "west coast owned" is worth a premium on the used car market. You can drive pretty much year round, though sure it's a little wet for a few months west of the Cascades. There are endless twisty, hilly roads with nobody on them. Or if you prefer your vehicles taller, then you can drive hundreds of miles on forest roads. 93 octane gas? Is that really a problem? I've got 7 "high performance" cars and none of them has ever skipped a beat on gas from my local Chevron.
But OK, whatever.
But you know what? There's no salt on the roads. There's a reason "west coast owned" is worth a premium on the used car market. You can drive pretty much year round, though sure it's a little wet for a few months west of the Cascades. There are endless twisty, hilly roads with nobody on them. Or if you prefer your vehicles taller, then you can drive hundreds of miles on forest roads. 93 octane gas? Is that really a problem? I've got 7 "high performance" cars and none of them has ever skipped a beat on gas from my local Chevron.
But OK, whatever.
