Can you avoid sales tax on a car by not registering it in the state you bought it in?

[Viper GTS]

For example, I'm taking a job in Oregon (which has no sales tax).

Were I to buy a vehicle in Pennsylvania, drive it to Oregon, and register it there could I dodge the PA sales tax?

I know PA will nail you for sales tax on vehicles you bring into the state if you haven't owned them for at least 6 months, it seems only fair it should work the other way too.

Viper GTS

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

good question.....

 

[iamwiz82]

Are you going to tow/ship it? If not, that's a mighty big chance driving with no tags (or the wrong tags) across the country.

EDIT: What state is your residence in? That may play a big part in it.

 

[mugs]

I believe so. My parents live in NJ near the NJ/PA border. They usually buy their cars in PA, but register and pay tax in NJ.

 

[PricklyPete]

I'm not 100% sure, but here in SC, we have a $300 limit and I know people from other states like Tennessee attempt to purchase vehicles here and avoid the excessive tax. A car salesman I talked to said they usually get away with it at least once...but I believe maybe 1/128 of what any car salesman tells me.

 

[Billzie7718]

I thought sales tax was assessed at the time of purchase. That being true, you would be required to pay the state where it was purchased.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Billzie7718
I thought sales tax was assessed at the time of purchase. That being true, you would be required to pay the state where it was purchased.

It is when you buy the car from a dealer and they register it for you. But if you don't live in the state you bought it in, they can't register it for you. When you buy from a private party you pay the tax when you register the car.

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Are you going to tow/ship it? If not, that's a mighty big chance driving with no tags (or the wrong tags) across the country.

Temporary tags?

 

[Rumpltzer]

When buying a car in California you're charged the sales tax for the county where you live.

It does seem that there are better places to buy a car based on sales tax and fees: Link

 

[EagleKeeper]

You can get a temp tag for transit from the dealer for the purpose of taking the vehicle to the state where you will register it.

We had that option to take it to NV from the Philly area in '04; however, the NV taxes on the vehicle would be higher than PA.

 

[JRS4224]

I was under the impression that you pay sales tax on the car for the state you register it in. Otherwise everyone in the Northeast would just buy a car in Delaware. If you are planning to drive it to Oregon without a liscense plate then you should be good.

Edit: Or you can get a temp tag like suggested by EagleKeeper.

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: JRS4224
I was under the impression that you pay sales tax on the car for the state you register it in. Otherwise everyone in the Northeast would just buy a car in Delaware. If you are planning to drive it to Oregon without a liscense plate then you should be good.

Edit: Or you can get a temp tag like suggested by EagleKeeper.

Exactly. We lived in delaware and bought a car from PA once, paid no tax.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Are you going to tow/ship it? If not, that's a mighty big chance driving with no tags (or the wrong tags) across the country.

Temporary tags?

Only if he can prove that he lives elsewhere. I dunno if Viper ever officially changed his residence to Pennsylvania, but I think they'll get him on that unless he can change it back to Oregon before purchasing it in Pennsylvania.

When we bought a car outside of Michigan, Ohio (where we bought it) required proof of residence outside of the state.

 

[BoomerD]

You'll have to establish residency in Oregon for this to work.
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/driverid/residency.shtml
"To be domiciled in Oregon, a person's primary home is in Oregon and the person intends to remain in Oregon or, if absent, to return. If a person's home has never been in Oregon, they cannot be domiciled. Please note that simply owning property in Oregon doesn't necessarily mean that you are domiciled in Oregon. "

http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/vehicle/trooshavetitle.shtml
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/vehicle/titlereg.shtml

 

[luckysnafu]

Yes you can. I bought my car in PA last year and registered it in NC where I live. I didn't have to pay PA tax but do have to pay NC tax. However, the NC tax is a yearly payment and not a one time tax. So you could technically avoid the tax by buying a car in NC or out of state and registering in NC and then moving out of state in a couple of months (thus avoiding the initial tax and the yearly NC property tax).