[Chas863]

I think that the answer to your question is that Florida has no state income tax for Florida residents AND they have rather loose/generous conditions for becoming a resident. Sooo, a lot of people who perhaps spend a little time in Florida and perhaps even purchase or rent a place in Florida for part of the year will establish Florida residency, thereby saving them from paying state income tax in another state.

One of the things that are considered in establishing residency in Florida is registration of your car(s) in Florida. Hence, you will see a lot of people, especially retirees who have a good bit of time for traveling, will "play the game" and become Florida residents thereby saving themselves thousands of dollars each year in state income tax on their property in another state.

There are potential drawbacks to doing this, but it is generally legal to do if done properly.

[xray731]

Elderly like to travel - military are assigned to new bases - nuff said

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by xray731

Elderly like to travel - military are assigned to new bases - nuff said

...and corp relo's.

Another lesser known crumb...if you have a car worth a lot of money, its much cheaper to set up a Corp in Montana, & license it as a corp-owned vehicle there...saves ~80% off the normal tag fees.

If you go to exotic car shows, you'll see a lot of Montana plates.

[Corrie22]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

The other thing I was thinking of a possibility would be rental cars.

yep, they run ads here in the Keys wanting people to drive cars back

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

Answering my own question here, the answer is an emphatic NO. Florida actually has one of the higher sales tax rates on cars in the US:
https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings...-tax-by-state/

Your tags have to do with your state of residence, not the origin of the sale of the vehicle.

Many snowbirds will stay long enough to qualify for residency in Florida instead of their northern home, and register their car down here because of lower costs post-sale.

Also, if you do live here more than 6 months out of the year, you're required by law to register your car here. That means - when you drive north, you will be doing so with Florida plates.

[Mathguy]

I think this riddle has been solved.

Snowbirds being the biggest factor and that includes those passing through KC as a major interstate hub, some military, some federal and then some small number of other factors making up the rest.

KC near leavenworth is one of the best places in the midwest to play the license plate game. I've spotted Hawaii (military no doubt) and Alaska plates are pretty common.

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

I would think that elderly people wouldn't like to do so much driving ... but maybe that's just me.

I don't see too many Arizona plates, which would be a similar retirement state. I see one once in a while, but not nearly as many as Florida.

Have you noticed what time of year you see so many Florida license plates? Maybe they are escaping the summer months in Florida? Or, like myself, they are done with Florida and haven't changed their plates yet?

[EscAlaMike]

It's not unusual to see license plates from west coast states in Florida, either.

People get around.

[notnamed]

Many military members that get stationed in FL at some point make that their official state of residence for tax purposes. My family did. Also while we were living in WA we actually did have family drive from FL to come visit. Originally a midwest OH family where driving was just the go to travel method. Plus they were also working on visiting all 50 states and road trips to visit us worked that in.

[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by James Bond 007

Answering my own question here, the answer is an emphatic NO. Florida actually has one of the higher sales tax rates on cars in the US:
https://wisevoter.com/state-rankings...-tax-by-state/

However once you have a plate, annual licensing costs are pretty low. For personal use, it can be like $50-80 per vehicle per year.(I don’t know fleet rules.) Other states charge hundreds or more for similar. And given how rental car companies keep vehicles longer than they used to, that could make a big difference in carrying costs.