PLEASE HELP: Need to register my leased car from out of state; CONFUSED!!! (Torrance: sales, leasing)

[RobinW]

Hi, I am really confused! Moved to L.A. county, (Torrance). The California DMV website doesn't make it clear if you are a newcomer from another state trying to register a LEASED car under a year old. We are from Georgia...have Georiga licenses and Georgia registration. Problem is...my car was leased 8 months ago in Georgia brand new. We didn't have an intent on moving to California... but my husband got a job offer and so we made the move.

Trying to understand this USE tax issue. My car is a leased C Class Mercedes Benz and the sales tax rate in Georgia is 4%. In Georgia, our income stretched way more than here in California. Wondering if we made the right decision. We paid some tax as it shows on our contract. Question is, will I have to pay sales tax on this car if I go register it in California now? I am trying to get a figure on the costs...it took us most of our savings to come to California from Georgia, and with the other moving costs, it has been a very expensive relocation. I don't want to be in violation of the law, but if it is thousands...we just don't have it right now! It is costing us enough to keep up our payments and rent until we can get established.

Please if anyone has any suggestions, it would be so appreciated! I tried to call the DMV but after waiting for 20 mins, I got hung up on. Where can I find out for sure?

Thank you
Robin

[1200RT]

Briefly:

In ca, you are taxed on the monthly lease payment. This is the "base payment" line on your lease contract.

If your payment in GA is 400+tax (4%), your total check every month is for $416.

In CA, if your base payment is 400+tax(9.75, depending on where you live), your monthly payment is now going to be $439.

You will NOT have to pay a lump sum of tax to CA.

This was just discussed not too long ago: http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-f...eased-car.html

[Kingman99]

I just moved from NJ to Ga. And l have a year left on my lease and Toyota is telling us that we have to pay both
NJ and Ga. Taxes monthly through our lease payments.

[Dunbar42]

Originally Posted by Kingman99

I just moved from NJ to Ga. And l have a year left on my lease and Toyota is telling us that we have to pay both
NJ and Ga. Taxes monthly through our lease payments.

This is a California board. Do you mean CA and not GA? Did you roll your NJ taxes into the monthly payment instead of paying them up front?

[bjowalker]

Just relocating to Torrance CA from NC and I found this post. I have a similar situation as RobinW and wonder if anyone can help. I agree with the response given and do not understand why Ca DMV recently communicated to me that I need to pay sales tax on my leased vehicle based on purchase price. I have called DMV multiple times and even visited the local office...I have been told to call the State Board of Equaliztion which I plan to do. My vehicle is not qiute a year old- 11 months....my finance co is changing the rate I pay monthly to reflect CA tax rates...which I understand ..But who can I talk to get this issue resolved...Help!!!

[creativekristy]

Your best bet is to make a DMV appointment online, and then go to the DMV in person, on your appt day, to figure this out. I've never had any luck having the CA DMV pick up the line and give me a correct answer. Or, if you can get out of your lease in any way, that might be the best situation. CA has very strict vehicle emissions laws, plus they charge you a percentage of the car's total cost for registration. It can be very expensive.

[bjowalker]

Well, I finally got my car registered in Ca...wanted to post the process for all those who may run into the same situation...

If you have an out of state leased vehicle that is less than a year old and need to get it registered in CA without paying sales tax on the purchase price of the vehicle here's what you need to do:

1. Go to the State Board of Equalization with the following documents: copy of the title, out of state registration, copy of lease agreement, statement from lease/finance co that you have updated your address with them and they are now including tax in your monthly payment reflecting new tax rate in CA, plus fill out BOE 106...found on State Board of Equal. web site...Take your documents to your local office letting them you want a tax clearance on your vehicle to register your car at DMV. Prepare to spend 2-3 hours getting your request taken care of but it is possible. Once you get tax clearance certificate(BOA form #111) proceed to DMV.

2. Additional documents you will need...copy of title, original notarized Limited Power of Atty from leasing co giving you right to register car, recent smog certificate, your current out of state registeration and DMV registration form...found on DMV site.

3. With all these documents in hand go to DMV...before going into office get your car inspected and get a verification form...
there is a car line outside the office...they will give you the verification form needed to register car

Hope this helps someone...it was a nightmare for me....Good Luck!!

[Timogrey]

For future reference, if you are a AAA member (at least in SoCal), you can take all your paperwork from your prior state registration, and bring them to your local AAA office. They will help you fill out all the necessary paperwork and file all the required documents with the state of CA. Best of all, you avoid the lines at the DMV. We did this twice in Orange County. No hiccups. A good idea to call them first to make sure you bring with you all the necessary documents. You still need to go to the DMV to get your CA driver's license, though. But, make an appointment through their online reservation system.

[suffolk2325]

Hi,

What reason did you use on BOE 106 form to waive your tax? I am going to be in the same boat as you and the Online DMV calculator shows I have to pay more than 1600 dollars as tax. I will try going to SBE, as you did, but wondering what reason to state on BOE 106?

Thanks

Neena

Originally Posted by bjowalker

Well, I finally got my car registered in Ca...wanted to post the process for all those who may run into the same situation...

If you have an out of state leased vehicle that is less than a year old and need to get it registered in CA without paying sales tax on the purchase price of the vehicle here's what you need to do:

1. Go to the State Board of Equalization with the following documents: copy of the title, out of state registration, copy of lease agreement, statement from lease/finance co that you have updated your address with them and they are now including tax in your monthly payment reflecting new tax rate in CA, plus fill out BOE 106...found on State Board of Equal. web site...Take your documents to your local office letting them you want a tax clearance on your vehicle to register your car at DMV. Prepare to spend 2-3 hours getting your request taken care of but it is possible. Once you get tax clearance certificate(BOA form #111) proceed to DMV.

2. Additional documents you will need...copy of title, original notarized Limited Power of Atty from leasing co giving you right to register car, recent smog certificate, your current out of state registeration and DMV registration form...found on DMV site.

3. With all these documents in hand go to DMV...before going into office get your car inspected and get a verification form...
there is a car line outside the office...they will give you the verification form needed to register car

Hope this helps someone...it was a nightmare for me....Good Luck!!

[bjowalker]

Hi Neena...here's what I put on my form:

The car was leased in NC
Sales/use tax on my lease is based on depreciated amount during the term of lease and spread over all payments for the duration of the lease
My monthly payments include sales/use tax...I have informed my lease co of my move to California and they have adjusted my monthly payments to reflect California higher tax rate

The fact that I do not own the car and pay California tax in my monthly payments was the key...hope this helps!!