Sales Tax on New Car (how much, purchase, depreciation)

[Juram]

Originally Posted by AlaskaErik

Ouch! It's either snow and cold and low taxes or warmth and sunshine and high taxes! Guess I'll have to suck it up and expect to pay way more in taxes than I ever have in my lifetime. Thanks for the quick answer.

On the upside, we have cheaper gas, cheaper electricity and plenty of sunshine.

[Juram]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Very interesting, AlaskaErik . . .

From my fairly limited experience with buying a new vehicle out of state, I believe you will be required to pay Arizona Sales Tax (roughly 5%), but no additional county or city tax, since no tax was collected on the initial purchase.

I believe the law clearly states "No Duplicate Sales Tax" and since you never paid tax in Alaska . . .

Also, I have a feeling the tax will be calculated on the vehicle value when registering, not the original price paid so my guess would be about 5% of $30k - $40k, possibly even less, not the original selling price.

Definitely no expert so a quick call to the Arizona MVD would more than likely be best.

Good Luck

This is wrong. If he buys the car in Alaska, he pays no sales tax here, period. He pays the cost of licensing and registration and that is all. It is completely irrelevant whether or not Alaska has a sales tax on the actual item, once he has bought the car, he owes nothing further.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by AlaskaErik

Ouch! It's either snow and cold and low taxes or warmth and sunshine and high taxes! Guess I'll have to suck it up and expect to pay way more in taxes than I ever have in my lifetime. Thanks for the quick answer.

From my experience with visits to Alaska and knowing a few long-term residents, I have a feeling that once you've relocated to Arizona, regardless of the Sales Tax or NO Sales Tax on your vehicle, your overall cost of living with be considerably less.

As an example . . . after relocating to Arizona from California my first reaction was to the lower pay scales just about everywhere. I thought I would never be able to survive on these wages, however, after a few months I realized I had more money left over after paying the bills. In no time at all, I was able to save more and enjoy life much more in spite of my lower income.

JUST MY TWO CENTS WORTH and WELCOME.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Juram

This is wrong. If he buys the car in Alaska, he pays no sales tax here, period. He pays the cost of licensing and registration and that is all. It is completely irrelevant whether or not Alaska has a sales tax on the actual item, once he has bought the car, he owes nothing further.

Exactly why I recommended speaking directly with the experts at the Arizona MVD.

[HX_Guy]

This conversation is nuts!

Let me ask you guys this...for anyone who moved here from our of state and brought a car with them...did you have to pat sales tax on it when you got here? Of course not, so why would the OP have to?

[Susanks1]

Can someone explain to me how the vehicle license tax works? If I move there with a 2003 Toyota Tacoma, will the tax be based on the $30,000 I paid for the truck when it was new 11 years ago? That part I don't understand. Thanks.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Susanks1

Can someone explain to me how the vehicle license tax works? If I move there with a 2003 Toyota Tacoma, will the tax be based on the $30,000 I paid for the truck when it was new 11 years ago? That part I don't understand. Thanks.

No, it is based on its depreciated value. On a 2003, it will not be a lot.

[azdr0710]

Originally Posted by Susanks1

Can someone explain to me how the vehicle license tax works? If I move there with a 2003 Toyota Tacoma, will the tax be based on the $30,000 I paid for the truck when it was new 11 years ago? That part I don't understand. Thanks.

no, the reg fee goes down every year a fixed % as the value depreciates.....

[maverick974]

Originally Posted by Susanks1

Can someone explain to me how the vehicle license tax works? If I move there with a 2003 Toyota Tacoma, will the tax be based on the $30,000 I paid for the truck when it was new 11 years ago? That part I don't understand. Thanks.

In your case, you're moving here with your car. You'll pay NO sales tax which is what this thread is about. You will, however pay to register your car but what they charge for registration is based on what the car is worth NOW. What you paid for it years ago is irrelevant.
As an example, I have older cars. I brought an old Chrysler Concord from Oregon. It's a 1995 and the cost for registrations, title, plate and tags was something like $32.00 for TWO years. You need to remember that you'll have to get your car smog certified as well and that's $27.00.
Something I thought was interesting was in the way Arizona issues your drivers license. Basically if you have a valid license from another state, they punch your old license, then ask you if you want your old license for sentimental reasons, and then they just hand you an Arizona license. At least in my case they did and it was the same for a friend of mine that moved from Oregon and the same for my daughter. Another interesting thing about the licenses in Arizona is that they are issued until age 65. My daughter is 20 and her drivers license is valid until the year 2058.

[Susanks1]

Thanks everyone for your help.