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Yes, you will pay the full tax bill when you register... you may also have to buy a transit license in order to legally drive the car to your home state.
When you take the car back to your home state, you will need to transfer the title in your state. Your state will then assess the applicable state sales tax, along with the title transfer fee and the registration fee.
When you buy the car, all you need to do is get a temporary 30-day non-title transit permit, which can be renewed as many times as necessary, and is very cheap, usually only about 5 bucks.
Don't forget to notify your insurance company to get coverage on your new car. If you traded in your old one, just switch the coverage from the old car to the new one. In most cases, you will need to have an insurance card faxed to you in the place where you are buying the car, because you'll need to show proof of insurance in order to get the temporary transit plate.
Each state has its own rules, and yours may vary, but the above is probably applicable, in some form or another. I've bought cars in Indiana, Missouri. Wisconsin and Texas, to be plated elsewhere, and as I recall, the prodecures are pretty much the same. Texas was even easier, the plates stay with the car, and you are just driving "somebody else's car" until you get home, and you can even drive it at home until the plates expire.
To specifically answer your question, No, you never need to pay sales tax in the state where you buy the car, only in the state where you intend to title it. But, it might be to your advantage to pay lower taxes in the state of purchase, and title it there, and then transfer the title to your state, with no sales tax payable there.
In some states (like Michigan), you can simply declare a (ridiculously low) purchase price and pay tax accordingly. In others (such as Texas), the tax is levied on the KBB value.
[quote=jtur88;14525652]When you take the car back to your home state, you will need to transfer the title in your state. Your state will then assess the applicable state sales tax, along with the title transfer fee and the registration fee.
Several states require that you pay their applicable sales/ownership taxes upon the purchase of the vehicle in their state. You can then apply for a refund upon proof of obtaining title with your residence state's taxes paid.
When you buy the car, all you need to do is get a temporary 30-day non-title transit permit, which can be renewed as many times as necessary, and is very cheap, usually only about 5 bucks.
Not in many states that I'm familiar with. You can get ONE and ONLY ONE 30-day Temp. If you cannot get the paperwork processed in your home state in that time frame, you can find yourself without a temp license from the state you bought the car in and no means to obtain one in your residence state.
Don't forget to notify your insurance company to get coverage on your new car. If you traded in your old one, just switch the coverage from the old car to the new one. In most cases, you will need to have an insurance card faxed to you in the place where you are buying the car, because you'll need to show proof of insurance in order to get the temporary transit plate.
Each state has its own rules, and yours may vary, but the above is probably applicable, in some form or another. I've bought cars in Indiana, Missouri. Wisconsin and Texas, to be plated elsewhere, and as I recall, the prodecures are pretty much the same. Texas was even easier, the plates stay with the car, and you are just driving "somebody else's car" until you get home, and you can even drive it at home until the plates expire.
In some states, license plates do stay with the vehicle, but in many states, they are the property of the vehicle owner and it is a mis-use of the plates by the new owner to allow them to stay on a vehicle. The new owner must obtain their own plates ... and it's certainly not a situation where you're driving "somebody else's car until you get home".
Nor can you keep the old plates, which weren't yours, on the car until the plates expire. For example, Colorado and Wyoming have very specific time frames for you to locally register and license a vehicle as a resident if it's on the public roads. I think you'll find most states are conforming to this policy, as they're trying to crack down on the number of vehicles where a new owner didn't have full responsibility clearly established by their ownership/licensing and got into an accident. I know that I wouldn't allow a new owner of a vehicle I sold to leave my premises with any doubt that I've sold the vehicle and it's no longer in my name and responsibility. I keep a copy of the sales receipt showing the date and time of their acceptance of the vehicle.
I know personally of two families that got sued by an injured party when the vehicle they sold was allowed to leave with their license plates on it. The "new owner" got into an accident on the way home, and despite having notified their insurance company of their purchase, the seller was accountable for the vehicle due to their plates still being on the car.
To specifically answer your question, No, you never need to pay sales tax in the state where you buy the car, only in the state where you intend to title it. But, it might be to your advantage to pay lower taxes in the state of purchase, and title it there, and then transfer the title to your state, with no sales tax payable there.
Again, not in many states that I'm familiar with. You will need to pay the sales tax in the state of purchase and then apply for a refund or credit after paying the appropriate taxes in your state of residence.
That process defeats "your advantage to pay lower taxes in the state of purchase" by titling it elsewhere scheme. For example, if I purchase a vehicle anywhere in the USA as a resident of several Western states, and drive it home within a year, it will be subject to my local sales taxes upon titling it in my home state. You can't just simply title a car in many states where you are not a resident for the purpose of ultimately evading the taxes in your home state; the "system" is wise to these dodges and is set up to collect from you if you bring the car home within a fairly long time period.
In some states (like Michigan), you can simply declare a (ridiculously low) purchase price and pay tax accordingly. In others (such as Texas), the tax is levied on the KBB value.[/QUOTE]
So, what you're suggesting here is to commit sales tax fraud. The insurance companies are now cross-linked to the title departments at many County Clerks offices. You'll not want to claim a "ridiculously low" purchase price supported by your sworn affaidavit of purchase in the absence of a sales receipt and then have a much higher insurance valuation.
In many states, the sales tax is collected upon the verifiable purchase order or signed sales receipt. If you bought the car from a dealer, you'd better have their sales order in hand for the deal. If you bought the car from a private party, you'd best have a receipt. If you're going to declare a very low valuation, it had better be explained ... salvage, junker, blown motor, etc., justifying a exceptionally low purchase price, and you'd best be able to prove downtime & repairs to restore it to roadworthy condition and real proof of your low purchase price. I know if I go to my county clerk with an exceptionally low purchase price claim (yes, I've bought cars from distress situations for cash and very cheaply), especially with private party sales, they'll have me fill out and notarize a form attesting to that price.
Ownership tax is collected upon the original List Price of the car, less a table of percentage depreciated valuation determined by the state in some states, and is not dependent upon what you paid for the car or what you value it.
Some states do use the NADA or KBB for price guidelines to collect taxes on, so the tax basis does vary from state to state.
As I pointed out in my first response ... it does matter which state you're buying the car in and which state you reside in for all the applicable polices and taxes.
And you have to be careful about what you buy out of state for some states ... For example, you cannot bring a car into CA that you've bought in the last 2 years that isn't CA compliant for emissions.
Have bought several cars out of State. The dealer takes care of only his state's nuisance fees. Taxes are paid to the state the car is registered in.Dealer has nothing to do with where and when you register the car.
If it's CA you are bringing it into... there's some pretty hefty fees to bring it into the state. Also if it's not up to the Smog standards you will have to pay for that which can also be very costly. Just go to the website of the Dept of motor vehicles for the state you want to bring it into. All the details will be there.
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