OT: Sales Taxes

Sorry for being slightly out of topic. I am sure that I will get plenty of answers anyway with such a hookup title. Judging by the last few days, maybe I should have said "'Vette beats the **** out of the 911 on taxes" ;-))))) that would have gotten the juices going. I am wondering how sales taxes are assessed and paid when buying a vehicle out of state, particularly when "importing" to North Carolina since we don't have a car sales tax but a highway use tax. Would I be paying the tax of the state I am buying the car in or one the state you live in (import)? If so, is that paid when purchasing (to the dealer who has to return it to the state) or in one chunk, when the gar gets registered in the destination state (tag office)? I know, I know, sorry for the headache - Don't you just HATE tax questions! Thanks, t.

I can only give you my experience here in Tennessee. I bought a truck in GA from a dealer, paid in cash and received the title. Since I was from out of state, I didn't have to pay GA sales tax. I went to the county courthouse here and asked what I needed to do to get plates. They responded with "do you have the title"? I gave them the title, plunked down $26 bucks and walked away with my plates. No sales tax paid. A friend here in the office bought a brand new WRX from a dealer in KY. He had the same questions so I called DMV. She wanted to know if it was a dealer sale or private. Since it was a dealer and was financed, she said "bring in the bill of sale and we'll calculate the tax for you and give you your plates". I responded by asking how she knew that the bill of sale I brought in would have the correct numbers on it...she said it was up to me to be honest. So....basically in TN (at least in Knoxville), if you have the title, you don't have to pay sales tax and if you don't have the title, any old piece of paper saying you own the car for any amount will get you the plates. I'm not saying that this is right or wrong, just my experience. Mike

In Georgia, when you purchase a car out of state, the Georgia sales tax bill comes in the mail a few weeks after getting your tags.

I'm sure how sales tax on vehicles is treated varies widely from state to state but here is my experience. I live in California, but I purchased my '99 996 coupe through a Florida dealer for tourist delivery in Europe. When the car came back to the States it was given a temporary registration and sales tax was paid to Florida. My dealer provided me with an affidavit that proved that the sales tax had been paid. Normally, when a new car is purchased outside of California, and then brought into the state and registered, California charges a fee equivilant to sales tax at the time of registration (they want their cut!). However, since California and Florida apparently have a reciprocal agreement on this issue, my proof of sales tax payment in Forida got me off the hook in California. One pleasant surprise : I had expected to have to pay the difference between the lower Florida rate and the California rate, but I didn't. Don't know if that was an oversight or not on behalf of the DMV but it saved me about $1500. Again, I don't know if this will apply to you in North Carolina. Good luck! Mike

Best bet is to either call your local Dept. of Motor Vehicles agency in NC or perhaps your NC State Dept. of Revenue. Either should be able to answer your question. If you want to do the research yourself, most states if not all have a website. Look under sales taxes or Dept. of Revenue or the specific dept. that issues licence plates or tags in NC. Lots of info out their at your fingertips with a little keyboard banging.