If one were to purchase a car outside CA, would you still be subject to state taxes when you register the car in CA?
Buying car outside California...
- Thread starter Simons2k
- Start date
Yes, you will need to pay tax when register that car at CA DMV
Crap! I was hoping there might have been a way around it. Wishful thinking on my part.
Simons2k said:
LOL!! Nope...'The Man' always gets his cut.
I did some research on the topic. You don't pay sales tax; but you pay 'use' tax (you are 'using' the car in the state). It is hard to pin down exactly, but if the car is consistently used by the owner out of state for 90 days after it is purchased, and has more than 7500 miles, you can apply for a tax waiver. It has to be documented up one side and down the other, through reciepts, and probably weekly ones at that. (I can tell you a single service reciept showing the car out of state 90 days after purchase did not qualify for exemption.) I'm not sure who it's supposed to be for, but it is explicitly not for people who buy cars out of state and put them in storage for 90 days.
Here is a link to some guidelines; but I have not found them to be comprehensive or accurate. You can call the BOE hotline and ask them (if you don't mind being hold for a long time!)
http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub52.pdf
Here is a link to some guidelines; but I have not found them to be comprehensive or accurate. You can call the BOE hotline and ask them (if you don't mind being hold for a long time!)
http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub52.pdf
Thanks Yellowbeast. 
It is not worth the potential fraud charge if you try to "cheat" the State out of their share when you buy a car and bring it into CA. Just pay it and be thankful that we are able to drive our cars year-around here. No worries that way. But that is just me.
The tax folks are different than the DMV folks. Expect it to take a long, long time for all the forms and letters to go back and forth trying to get out of the tax. It may work, but as was addressed earlier go to that web site and find out the regs. May not be worth the trouble.
Sulley
Merced, CA
Sulley
Merced, CA
Yup, I had to pay that aweful tax, just to help out the governor!
You will most likely have to get it smogged too, I did, even though mine was a 2002, because it wasn't licensed in Cal.
BH
You will most likely have to get it smogged too, I did, even though mine was a 2002, because it wasn't licensed in Cal.
BH
Cairo94507 said:
No intentions of trying to cheat the state. If a legal "loop-hole" existed, I'd want to take advantage of it. But that is just me.
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