Several million Canadians travel to the U.S. every year to hold out the winter. Dang. That’s, like, fifteen-ish percent of their entire population. While not all of them are staying for the entire winter, there are many who are. So, let’s assume you have north of a million Canadians staying toasty from Tucson to Key Largo. It makes sense that they might want a car, but might not want to deal with the hassle of driving from Nova Scotia to Fort Lauderdale. Who could blame them? That’s a lot of kilometers.
The obvious answer is to buy a cheap car here in the states and just leave it here for the summer months while you enjoy all things Canadian. But how do you go about titling and registering it so it’s legal? Let’s find out.
Why Would A Canadian Want A U.S.-Tagged Car?
If all of Canada doesn’t look like this, why not?
Well, it’s really about what you, as a Canadian, plan to do with your car. If you want to drive it back to Canada, you should probably just drive it down here and not bother registering it in the States. But if you would rather just fly directly to your Cheeseburger in Paradise, you probably won’t want to rely on Uber and Lyft for six months.
There are a good number of Canadian-tagged RV rigs on the roads; the Lord knows every time I’m around Port Aransas (which isn’t often enough, let me tell you), every third rig is either tagged in Michigan, Minnesota, or Canada, and that’s fine.
No, we’re talking about those hearty souls who own a second (or third) home in one of the warm states. By law, they can spend about six months here before they overstay their legal welcome. So, it is no surprise that they own many houses in the lower parts of the lower 48 to stay warm for just long enough. But here’s the deal: not every state will allow just anyone to register a car there without being a resident.
This is, of course, why Dirt Legal exists. Some states are far less strict about such things, and we can get you hooked up with them. One of the preferred states for this type of situation is South Dakota for reasons we’ll circle back to in a moment.
Vancouver looks lovely.
How Long Can A Canadian Citizen Live In the U.S.?
This question is tricky. First, if you are a Canadian looking to come here and want legal advice, talk to an attorney who deals in this stuff. We don’t offer legal advice. Second, talk to an accountant who can help you with the taxation questions.
The generally accepted answer, though, without diving into the specifics, is about six months.
Can A Canadian Citizen Legally Own A Car Registered in the U.S.?
Well, we’re glad you asked this question; we’ve previously talked about this! The answer is a resounding yes. You, as a Canadian, can come to the states and buy a car here. Then, you can tag it in South Dakota. But why?
For one thing, South Dakota has no state or smog inspection requirements. Look, the State of South Dakota knows what’s going on. They are fully aware that people are registering out-of-state cars in their state. They would have shut it down if they didn’t want to do it. But they make a lot of revenue from it.
But it is no coincidence that South Dakota has kept the registration process open for online registrations. Let’s not look this gift horse in the mouth.
All you have to do to register your vehicle in South Dakota is follow the simple step-by-step process on our registrations page. Chances are good, too, that the four percent sales tax rate in South Dakota is lower than the state where you are snowbirding. Florida is six percent, Arizona 5.6, California also six. But that’s only a baseline; most of these states have local tax rates that can be up to four or five percent on top of the state tax rate. A flat four percent is downright cheap in comparison.
6 million Canadians travel to the U.S. annually, mostly for this view.
The lack of state smog inspection requirements is a real kicker if your winter home is in Southern California. Really, it’s a no-brainer.
Where Do Canadians Tend to Live In the U.S.?
The obvious answer is “wherever it’s warm.” And this holds up.
The states with the highest concentrations of snowbirds are exactly where you think:
How I imagine all road trips from Canada to a warm climate 🍁
Florida (the undisputed champion)
California. Not surprising; the weather is awesome even though the car laws are not.
Arizona
Hawaii
Texas. See the aforementioned paragraph on Port Aransas.
South Carolina. The beaches in SC are totally underrated.
Nevada. Okay, if you want warm. Not okay if you like anything above one percent humidity.
New Mexico. This one is odd because there aren’t any towns of real size south of Albuquerque besides Alamogordo, and it is not warm in the winter.
Just a cursory glance at the list shows a few states that are difficult or expensive to tag cars in, or that have smog requirements. That’s a serious hassle. Why would you buy a cheap car in one of those states just to put money in it because it fails a smog check?
Or worse yet, you’re snowbirding in California and need to offload your car, and it fails a smog check. Guess what? You can’t sell it in California unless it has a passing smog check. And one of the worst things a car can endure is prolonged sitting, which raises the chances of a smog-related component calling it quits.
What States Should Snowbirds Register Cars In?
In our humble opinion, it should be South Dakota. South Dakota has a lot going for it. For one thing, you never have to visit the DMV in person because there are no inspections, no emissions tests, and annual registrations can be handled remotely.
I know we’ve harped on this a lot, but South Dakota has no inspections or smog check requirements. This should be a relief to the Canadian➡️California crowd.
Using our registration program, your vehicle will be given a South Dakota license plate and registration. We can even complete your annual registrations on your behalf, giving you a totally hands-off registration experience and letting you focus on the finer things in life.
Do Snowbirds Have to Register Where They Live?
Not at all! That’s the beauty of it. Especially as a Canadian living in the United States as a visitor, it can be difficult to nail down exactly where you live; your domicile isn’t even in the States, so what should it matter what state tag your car wears?
We suggest you pick an option that provides you the most relief and the least difficulty getting out the door with your tag and registration.
Our out-of-state registration program is just what the doctor ordered. We will set you up with a registration package to save you cash. How?
Flat four percent sales tax.
No use tax or ad valorem taxes.
No costly smog checks.
No vehicle inspections.
The Dirt Legal Advantage
Dirt Legal is your one-stop shop for all of your car registration needs when you need to do it out of state. Utilize our out-of-state registration program to handle your vehicle's titling, registration, and tagging, or go with an LLC through Montana to have zero sales tax or if you have multiple vehicles you want to register. Either way, we’ve got you covered.
Also, I suggest our Canadian friends pull a VIN report before buying any car in the States. It’s only a few bucks, but it can save you major headaches. Oh, and if you bring your toy hauler down and want to drive your UTV, ATV, e-bike, or dirt bike around the coastal beach towns (always a popular option), you can register that at the same time!
Whatever you need, give us a call and we’ll see what we can do for you!
John McCoy is a lifelong car and truck enthusiast and has a strong mechanical background off the road. He spent over 13 years in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief, assigned to the B-1B Lancer, affectionately known as the Bone to those in the community, and the KC-135R Stratotanker. He resides on a small farm in Eastern Kansas where he (sometimes) enjoys fixing ancient farm equipment.