RockRaines Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 So I have a specific legal question regarding leasing/buying a car. SO the Chicago taxes are ridiculous when it comes to leasing and adds a couple of hundred bucks to the monthly payment over what you would pay in another state like Michigan. So heres the question: If I lease a car in Michigan, and title it at a Michigan address that is not my permanent residence, is it legal? I save almost 200 dollars a month on a payment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 23, 2009 -> 12:15 PM) So I have a specific legal question regarding leasing/buying a car. SO the Chicago taxes are ridiculous when it comes to leasing and adds a couple of hundred bucks to the monthly payment over what you would pay in another state like Michigan. So heres the question: If I lease a car in Michigan, and title it at a Michigan address that is not my permanent residence, is it legal? I save almost 200 dollars a month on a payment. Not certain if this helps or not but years ago, when I was still in Illinois, the company I worked for leased all our vehicles from Selig Leasing in Milwaukee (our headquarters) and at least two of them went to employees living in Illinois and Indiana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 QUOTE (Texsox @ Mar 23, 2009 -> 12:26 PM) Not certain if this helps or not but years ago, when I was still in Illinois, the company I worked for leased all our vehicles from Selig Leasing in Milwaukee (our headquarters) and at least two of them went to employees living in Illinois and Indiana. I think its different when its a company doing the leasing. In this particular case I live in chicago but found a great leasing deal in michigan if I title the car at my vacation cabin in Benton Harbor. I just dont know if thats legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_genius Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 23, 2009 -> 02:36 PM) I think its different when its a company doing the leasing. In this particular case I live in chicago but found a great leasing deal in michigan if I title the car at my vacation cabin in Benton Harbor. I just dont know if thats legal. If you have a home in Michigan I don't see how it would be illegal. I guess you would be stretchign the truth a bit if you claimed your Michigan home was the primary residence... I would probably go for it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Not 100% sure but this seems to suggest you cant do it: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departme...ation/home.html Exceptions to Illinois Title Requirements The Illinois Vehicle Code requires that all owners of vehicles in this state which have no Illinois Certificate of Title shall apply to the Secretary of State. Exceptions to this provision are vehicles: * Owned by the State of Illinois; * Owned by the United States and not registered in this state; * Owned by a manufacturer or dealer and held for sale, even though incidentally moved on the highway or used for purposes of testing or demonstration; * Owned by a non-resident of this state and not required by law to be registered in this state; * Regularly used in the interstate transportation of persons or property and for which currently effective certificates of title have been issued in another state; * Moved solely by animal power; * Operated as implements of husbandry; and * Operated as special mobile equipment. * Owned by a non-resident of this state and not required by law to be registered in this state; Since youre a resident of Illinois it appears you have to have it titled in Illinois. Im not 100% sure though and this was only about 15 minutes of searching. Also just because its illegal doesnt mean youll get caught. Plenty of people title vehicles to their vacation homes, plenty of people pay for suburban car registration instead of city stickers. Some people get away with it, some people dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 23, 2009 -> 02:36 PM) I think its different when its a company doing the leasing. In this particular case I live in chicago but found a great leasing deal in michigan if I title the car at my vacation cabin in Benton Harbor. I just dont know if thats legal. I believe it would depend on how your vacation cabin is titled. If you are the owner, and it isn't a time share kind of thing, I could see it working. Think about who would want to catch you. The cops really are not that interested. The biggest issue may be insurance. Your insurance company would care if you are paying Michigan rates and incurring Chicago risks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 QUOTE (Texsox @ Mar 23, 2009 -> 04:59 PM) I believe it would depend on how your vacation cabin is titled. If you are the owner, and it isn't a time share kind of thing, I could see it working. Think about who would want to catch you. The cops really are not that interested. The biggest issue may be insurance. Your insurance company would care if you are paying Michigan rates and incurring Chicago risks. Right, so the insurance would need to be changed which could be a risk, as well as my tax returns could get tricky. Im thinking I am just screwed by the Chicago Tax laws and I'll just end up paying more than anyone else in the country for a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABearSoX Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 24, 2009 -> 07:39 PM) Right, so the insurance would need to be changed which could be a risk, as well as my tax returns could get tricky. Im thinking I am just screwed by the Chicago Tax laws and I'll just end up paying more than anyone else in the country for a car. I had friends who lived in Warrenville but had a lake house in South Haven. They insured their mustang in MI and got it titled there b/c it was way cheaper. My uncle also has a cabin up in MI and I think he insures his porsche there...the thing is I think both of them had cars registered and insured in IL, but I am not completely sure. It sorta seems like they just did it with the sports cars to save on insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 QUOTE (DABearSoX @ Mar 24, 2009 -> 02:47 PM) I had friends who lived in Warrenville but had a lake house in South Haven. They insured their mustang in MI and got it titled there b/c it was way cheaper. My uncle also has a cabin up in MI and I think he insures his porsche there...the thing is I think both of them had cars registered and insured in IL, but I am not completely sure. It sorta seems like they just did it with the sports cars to save on insurance. is there any way you could ask them about that? Because if its possible, I would like to do it, it saves 200 bucks per month on payments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABearSoX Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 yea, i'll see if I can talk to my buddy about it... My uncle has been MIA recently so I am not sure if I can get a hold of him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABearSoX Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 hey I found this here: http://www.insidercarsecrets.com/double-taxed.html Question: Can I be taxed twice if I sign a car lease in one state and then move the car to another state? June 17, 2005 Hello Tony I currently live in Massachusetts, but will be moving to New York during the middle of August. I am looking to lease a new car. I have been receiving online quotes from car dealers in both MA and NY. The price quotes have been significantly lower in MA than in NY (I am assuming this is due to there being a high amount of dealership competition in the Boston area versus the low amount of competition found in upstate New York). Are there any advantages and/or disadvantages to signing a lease in one state and then moving the car to another? Can I sign a lease/purchase a car in MA, but register and insure the car in NY (I am still considered a New York State resident if that matters). I am also worried about being taxed twice, by both NY and MA, on the same car. Can this possibly happen? Any advice and insight you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Chad -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Answer: Hi Chad, First of all you will only pay sales tax once no matter how many time you move out of state. Now, on a lease the vehicle is actually registered in the lease company's name so you don't have to worry about it. Once you move notify the lease company and they will do whatever is necessary to transfer the registration. You can lease or purchase a car out of state. It happens all the time. On a purchase you simply register and pay sales tax in your home state. On a lease, as I said before, the lease company will figure out where to register it. All my very best... Tony Iorio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Thanks. I plan on keeping the title in Michigan so I dont have to move the car registration. I guess it alot like people who own a house in Fla and leave a car there. Insurance is there, registration, license plates, and cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockRaines Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 So, the final result was a little different than I thought when I started. I gave up on registering my car somewhere else, as the insurance implications worried me. I have a hard time committing to three years or more on a car which was really hurting my process until I found swapalease.com and found a short 2-ish year lease on a car that was pretty affordable with basically no money down. I now can use that money I was going to put down as an advance payment on the lease which eliminates almost an entire year of payments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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