Automobile sales tax and ad valorem tax? (Houston, Austin: buying, live)

[10scoachrick]

Planning a move in the next few months(from ATL...I've gotten plenty of helpful info from these boards!) and may also be buying a new vehicle. In GA, we pay sales tax on the purchase price of the vehicle(+-7% depending on the county you're in) and each year, we pay ad valorem tax to renew tags. This also depends on your county but a $40k vehicle runs around $500 each year for tags(decreases each year as vehicle value decreases).

I'm wondering if there would be an advantage to holding off on my purchase until we move(IOW, is there a cap on sales tax in TX as there is in South Carolina or would I pay the 8 or so per cent on the total price in Austin?) Also, is there an ad valorem tax tied to car tag renewal each year?

Thanks for the help...I've found a lot of info on the gov't site pages but nothing addressing this particular issue.

[Trainwreck20]

Hmmm...we bought a new car a couple years ago, but I can't remember the exact tax rate. It might have been the 'normal' 8.25% COA sales tax, but for some reason I seem to recall it was a lower amout. Anyway, the tags will cost you a lot less each year, but even if you buy the car in GA, they will cost the same here as if you bought it here.......

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Hmmm...we bought a new car a couple years ago, but I can't remember the exact tax rate. It might have been the 'normal' 8.25% COA sales tax, but for some reason I seem to recall it was a lower amout. Anyway, the tags will cost you a lot less each year, but even if you buy the car in GA, they will cost the same here as if you bought it here.......

Tw2, thanks, I just didn't want to make a $2K mistake by buying the car here in GA before the move and paying 7% IF I could time it by purchasing the auto AFTER our move to Austin. It's a wash if the Austin tax is close to the standard sales tax rate.

My brother and I purchased our MOM a car here in GA but since MOM lives in SC, the sales tax was capped at $300 in SC vs $2100 here in GA. It's a one-time charge but we're dealing with some big numbers on a new C70 as our next car(could be a 328i 'vert' if we go completely nuts!).

[texastea]

My Atlanta friend and her husband flew to a town outside of Houston to buy a new Z and drove it back to Atlanta. They did have connections, but maybe the prices are lower here to compensate for the higher sales tax? Other things are so it might be worth a few phone calls.

[achtungpv]

I'd check on the taxes. I "think" you may have to pay sales tax on vehicles bought out of state but registered in TX within a certain short time frame. I vaguely remember my wife having to pay some crazy amount to register her new car purchased in CA.