Hey folks. I recently made a temporary move from NY to NC. When I go back to NY I will not be living in the same place. This will probably be about 6 months.
I know the NY DMV wants you to notify them within ten days when you move, but I don’t want to start having to mess around with changing plates, insurance, etc. since I plan to move back.
Any insight on this topic would be most appreciated. What about the insurance? I’m afraid to call them because I don’t want them telling me I have to get a new license or plates.
Thanks.
The insurance company doesn’t care about your car’s registration, or plates. They DO want to know where you are driving. Your rates would probably be LOWER. You could call your insurance company, tell them you’re shy for not identifying yourself, and ask them about your situation. The state, usually, gives you about 60 days for you to give them notice of change from state to state. Some, will charge you the state sales tax, on your car’s value, if you notify them after the deadline, that you’ve moved from another state. Call the DMV’s in both states for details.
I agree, tell your insurance company where the car is being kept, they have no authority to worry about where it’s registered.
I once kept a car in NY for over a year with CO plates, the local cops would occasionally hassle me, I just told them I was only there for a couple of weeks and they would go eat a donut.
A lot hinges on temporary domicile in NC vs permanence in NY. If you intend to otherwise maintain NY residence by filing NY taxes as a resident at the end of the year, then one can argue that you should keep the NY plates. You could also rent a NY PO Box and have your mail forwarded to NC automatically while you are there. If you have relatives you could use their NY address as an interim step and maintain your NY residency. You are not required to change your residence twice in twelve months just because you are working out of state temporarily. Consider carefully how you intend to file taxes, how your license notice and any necessary emissions testing can be met while you are in NC and then decide if you are temporarily domiciled or a part year resident of NC.
As for insurance notify your insurance company thru an agent when you are in NC and tell them exactly where the vehicle is. Stress that this is a temporary six month or so location change. They will adjust your rates accordingly
I can’t imagine why anyone would want to make NY their tax residence. Most folks go out of their way to maintain their tax address elsewhere.
While I agree the tax consequences living in Ny is generaly horrible, and is paynow’s home right now, it also makes no sense to split the tax years (2 potentially) and incur somewhat likely higher taxes by becoming a part year NC resident for six months or so. Splitting the income in the two states means filing one nonresident and one resident return, based on the info provided in the post. The NY income will be taxed at NY rates, and NC may not allow you to recover all the taxes you paid to NY. NY is nearly guaranteed to honor all of the NC taxes paid, but will also require more, because of the NY residence. There is also an inconvenience factor that can be avoided by remaining a NY resident. It is paynow’s choice, and I merely wanted him to understand some of his options. If paynow is going to work six months at a time outside NY, for the foreseeable future, then residence in a low income and vehicle tax state certainly makes sense.
If your move to NC is temporary, I would not do anything at all. In the unlikely event you have an accident, just say you were visiting some friends…You COULD notify your insurance company and tell them you have taken a temporary job in NC “for a couple of months”, but you are not changing your registration or legal residence. I doubt they care…People move around so much now, out of state plates are very common and police seldom worry about it very much…
Great point. I hadn’t thought about the insurance going down. Thanks! I avoid calling the DMV in New York because the customer svc isn’t the greatest.
A guy used to live in my old building and he kept a car with plates from one of the New England states (NH or VT) for the entire five years he lived there. He told me it was because the insurance was cheaper. I remember the building manager asking him about it and telling him he was supposed to change it and him giving her some story and I thought “How is this anything to do with building mgmt?” The cops never came and said anything to him though. The person I’m staying with is in a place run by a management company and I’m just waiting for the day when someone comes up to me and asks the same thing. Not sure what I’d tell them. Thanks for the advice.
Another interesting angle. Thank you. My registration is good for another year and my license has quite a ways to go. What concerns me is the inspection, which expires around the end of January 2008. I guess I can drive up to NY and bring it to my old mechanic for that. I don’t really want to though. So much useless running around.
I’m an artist. I make so little money that it doesn’t matter whether its NC, NY, Timbuktu or the moon.
Caddyman, you are singing my song! Intertia and not being bothered with beauracratic nonsense is what I’m all about! Thanks for the advice and thanks again to everyone.
Feel free to comment further as I had not been able to find a thread relating to this subject before I posted. Hopefully this will serve to help others who find themselves in this situation.
Most decisions I make, and I’m assuming many others do as well, are for the avoidence of needless hassle and because I lack the finances to accomplish what needs to be done in many of these cases.
Actually, I have to backstep a bit. I moved from one to another state. My insurance company informed me that they weren’t authorized, by my new state, to insure me in that state. I had to find an insurance company which was authorized to insure in that state. Paying sales tax on a car you’ve already paid sales tax on is …what’s the word? … upsetting.
I lived out of my home state in college. The last year three of us lived in an apartment. The local cops tried to get one of my roomies to change his license and registration to a local one. He called the State Police, who said: “Those guys again? Just ignore them. If the bother you again, tell them to call us.” If you haven’t been bothered, don’t worry.
If the tag will not expire during your brief stay in NC, I’d say don’t bother. Just give the NY DMV your new address when you move back. As long as the tag is good and up-to-date, I doubt anyone will bother you.
The insurance company doesn’t care about your car’s registration, or plates.
Oh yes they do…Even though insurance companies are national…the policies are NOT. If I moved from NH to MA…I’d have to have my insurance transfered to MA.
I can’t imagine why anyone would want to make NY their tax residence. Most folks go out of their way to maintain their tax address elsewhere.
I would have LOVED to maintained my NY plates and insurance when I moved to NH from NY. New England insurance rates more then double NY rates.
It’s VERY common for college students (who are, after all, 98+% adults) to use mom+dad’s residence for the duration, even though they spend most of their time at school. If this is illegal, it’s virtually never enforced.
During my first year “flying the line,” I had no apt or house, got my mail sent to ma’s house, and lived in motels and “crash pads” that changed as often as evey fourth week. If I were stopped, I’d just say, “My state of residence? Only my tax accountant knows for sure!”
“I would have LOVED to maintained my NY plates and insurance when I moved to NH from NY. New England insurance rates more then double NY rates.”
I suspect you would rather pay NH income tax than NY income tax, for most folks that would make the cost of auto insurance trivial. That’s why I was referring to “tax residence,” which may or may not correspond to your actual location at any given time.
I was recently stopped in a AZ roadblock trying to catch folks with out of state registrations outside the gate of a nuclear power plant. Whenever they have a refueling outage, they bring in several 100 contact workers for about a month (most of these guys travel full time). The local cops set up a roadblock at the end of the day and give everyone with out-of-state plates a ticket for about $200. Of course, no one has time to play around in court with the local-yocals and some of them actually pay the ticket, so the county makes a bunch of cash. Typical small town BS.