Living On The Road? Save Money By "Moving" To South Dakota

Living On The Road? Save Money By "Moving" To South Dakota AG WORLD 29-6-22 If you spend most of your time on the road - or you've ever thought about heading out in an RV and not coming back - you'll be interested to know you can become a resident of Chamberlain, South Dakota thanks to a business called South Dakota Mail Forwarding. All you have to do is fill out two forms and come to South Dakota once to register your vehicle and apply for a driver's license. Suzanne Tarabetz's company handles your mail and oversees the residency paperwork. The legal paperwork is handled on the first floor of the Brule County Courthouse. There are many advantages to "living" in South Dakota. "Since the state lives on property tax and sales tax rather than income tax, if you don't buy things here or own property here, you get by pretty cheap," she says, adding that South Dakota also doesn't have vehicle inspections. Insurance and license plate fees are low, too. "You can save thousands of dollars a year in license plate fees alone over other states," she says. Excise (sales) tax on vehicles is only three percent and if you trade in your RV for a newer model, you just pay tax on the difference. If you've already paid more tax on the vehicle in another state, you don't have to pay the fee again in South Dakota. "For example, if you buy a $200,000 RV where the sales tax is 8 percent, you would pay $16,000," says Tarabetz. "If you have a South Dakota residency and state driver's license before purchasing that RV, you wouldn't pay any sales tax to the state where you bought it, and just the 3 percent tax in South Dakota, which would be $6,000. That's a savings of $10,000. If you had a trade in, you only pay 3 percent on the trade difference." For a service fee, the company handles mail and forwards it according to your wishes. After filling out the forms, your address looks like this: Name 200 Paul Gust Rd., Ste 104 Chamberlain, S. Dak. 57325 Tarabetz says most people have mail forwarded to a relative or a specific post office in a small town they'll be going through. Post offices hold packages for 30 days. She puts a label on the package with her phone number in case there are any questions. "As RVers move around the country, they only have to change their address with me and not change their address on their bank statements, credit cards, magazine subscriptions, etc. Those always stay the same," says Tarabetz. For those interested in making a little extra cash, she has an associates program for those willing to promote her business to others while RVing around the country. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, South Dakota Mail Forwarding, LLC, 200 Paul Gust Road, Suite #104, Chamberlain, S. Dak. 57325 (ph 877 333-1418; rv@midstatesd.net; www.SDRVmail.com).

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