[dima1223]

Hi,

I am buying a new car (has 0 miles) from FL and shipping it to CA where I would register and drive it. I am a CA resident.

The dealer is making all the taxes payable to state of Florida giving me "Florida Fast Title" and claims that CA and FL has a reciprocal relationship - FL will transfer the taxes to CA. But it sounds like BS to me! Why would FL transfer their taxes to CA?

Is this so? Am I getting into trouble with the taxes. Will CA DMV charge me for CA taxes separately?

Please advise if anyone ever heard or been in this situation?

Thanks for the input!!!

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by dima1223

Hi,

I am buying a new car (has 0 miles) from FL and shipping it to CA where I would register and drive it. I am a CA resident.

The dealer is making all the taxes payable to state of Florida giving me "Florida Fast Title" and claims that CA and FL has a reciprocal relationship - FL will transfer the taxes to CA. But it sounds like BS to me! Why would FL transfer their taxes to CA?

Is this so? Am I getting into trouble with the taxes. Will CA DMV charge me for CA taxes separately?

Please advise if anyone ever heard or been in this situation?

Thanks for the input!!!

I was bidding on a van being sold on Ebay by a Florida dealer about a month or so ago. Although I did not win the auction, I had the same questions that you had. In my case, the Florida dealer said that my sales taxes would be paid to my home state (Pennsylvania) when I applied for the Pa title. I don't know if he is right or wrong on this issue, but he told me that there is no reciprocity agreement between Florida and Pa. Your best bet would be to contact your local AAA office and/or your state's DMV, and ask them for the procedure that they follow when a client purchases an out-of-state vehicle, specifically Florida. I would not make payment for this vehicle until I knew for certain whether I could be stuck paying the sales taxes to two states. Good luck

[Karla with a K]

Another thing you might want to consider is California has very strict emissions laws

"If you are a California resident and acquire a new car, truck or motorcycle from another state, it must be certified to meet California smog laws in order to be registered here.
Aren't All Vehicles California Certified?

Not all new vehicles are manufactured to be sold to California residents or businesses. Many manufacturers make vehicles to be sold in the other 49 states. These vehicles (49-State) are made with smog equipment that meets federal emission standards, but not California standards. 50-State or California certified vehicles are made to be sold to California residents."

Here is a link with the rest of the information

Before Buying a Vehicle From Out of State—Be Sure You Can Register It in California (FFVR 29)

[tatsuo]

DIMA1223,
The FL Auto dealer is correct.
I purchased a vehicle from FL and payed Sales tax at dealer, then brought it to MN to register.

No problem at DMV.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Interesting that the tax situation for cars works differently than for other retail items. I wasn't aware of that (and don't agree that it should work differently . . . but hey, those wacky legislators ).

[Hanna B.]

Originally Posted by tatsuo

DIMA1223,
The FL Auto dealer is correct.
I purchased a vehicle from FL and payed Sales tax at dealer, then brought it to MN to register.

No problem at DMV.

I know this is an older thread, but I'm looking at the same situation except I'm in WI. When you say you paid 'sales tax at dealer', do you mean you paid the FL tax or MN tax at the FL dealer?

I am cautious because I talked to someone else who said he bought a FL car, had to pay FL sales taxes when he picked the car up in FL, but then he also got charged a sales tax from his own state when he tried to register it there (I think it was Oklahoma). So he paid tax twice.

My SO just bought a (new) car in MN and they charged him WI taxes. From reading eBay ads from FL it seems they do charge FL taxes (unless you get the car shipped out of FL; there seems to be different rules if you fly in and drive it out of state yourself?), and I can see where you could run into trouble if the state you want to register the car in demands sales tax, too.

I'd really like to know for sure (and not what the dealer tells me) before I pay $900 in sales tax twice. Does anyone know for sure, or know a place to find out for sure?

[jojajn]

I live in MN and bought a car in WI. I paid my sales tax for the vehicle in MN when I registered for license plates.

The thing I would wonder about purchasing and paying sales tax for a car in FL is: How does the rate of FL sales tax on a vehicle compare to the sales tax rate in other states? And which state rate are you paying?

[Hanna B.]

Yeah, I was wondering about the different tax rates, too. And what if it isn't reciprocal? You'd end up paying sales tax twice.

The eBay ads from FL dealers say they collect sales tax unless you ship it out of state. But how do car dealers in FL ever manage to sell cars to people outside of FL if they charge FL sales tax on the sale, and then the buyer has to pay tax in the state the vehicle is registered in, too?

It would be hundreds of dollars cheaper for me to fly in and drive it back to WI myself as opposed to shipping it, going by the quotes I got on eBay for shipping, but not if I have to pay $1800 for 2 states sales tax.

Maybe I should post about this in the automotive forum.

[RMD3819]

I bought three cars off Ebay. I am in Florida. One was in FL, one in Texas, and the other in NJ.

The Fl car was handled as usual-paid taxes in FL.

The NJ car was shipped and I only paid FL tax when I registered it here.

The Texas car my wife went and picked up and drove home. Again, we only paid FL tax when it was registered in FL.

[annerk]

I bought a new car in NJ and registered it here in FL. Paid taxes to the NJ dealer, paid no additional taxes to FL when I went to title/register it. They told me that if it was a lower tax rate state I purchased in, I would ahve owed FL the difference.