Loophole to 7% registration/title car tax? (Atlanta: 2014, renters, condo)

[atltechdude]

If you really don't have the money, then just leave your other state plate on your car and try to avoid cops once your registration expires.

When you have the money then you can register it.

[atltechdude]

Originally Posted by ncoflin

Well I learned a few things from this post.

1. I should just bite the bullet and pay the tax.

2. Georgians on this site are really on a high horse when it comes to questions about their state taxes and how the little guy can maybe hope to snag a better deal. No need to just tell him it's a bad idea, but why don't we try to belittle as well.

Well you posted a thread basically saying, I'm looking for a way to go around your state's law and get away wih it, so I don't have to pay as much as other law abiding citizens. What kind of a reaction did you expect?

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by ncoflin

Well I learned a few things from this post.

1. I should just bite the bullet and pay the tax.

2. Georgians on this site are really on a high horse when it comes to questions about their state taxes and how the little guy can maybe hope to snag a better deal. No need to just tell him it's a bad idea, but why don't we try to belittle as well.

ncoflin,

I'm sorry. I know how stressful this is and it comes as bit of a shock and I don't want you to think we don't sympathize, but the law is what it is for now.

The tax system we have now is good for most people and it provides alot of benefits. The major downside is where you are now. It provides a sticker shock and confusion for newcomers. I have some slight change ideas for the state law to alleviate this, but those aren't the law currently.

The reason no one wants to help you not pay the tax is they all pay the tax too. It is also some people giving you good advice with no ill will, but it just isn't the advice you want to hear.

Don't forget there is one small way to alleviate the tax burden. You can pay half up front and pay half a year later.

ie if your car is valued $10,000 you will get a $700 tax. You pay $350 in taxes as registration and can pay $350 in taxes slightly under a year later.

The comparison to our previous system is you would likely pay about $150/year every year perpetually, so the sticker shock ends up being an extra $400 in the first 2 years and the benefit is no annual payment after.


You could try to keep the car registered in Virginia through your family, but if you know your going to end up here... you will pay this tax eventually anyways. I would bite the bullet and pay it sooner and save yourself the cost of the annual Virginia registration tax. There is also a possibility it could lead to legal problems in the future, even though you could probably get away with it. It might be different if you think there is a high likeliness you are moving back to Virginia.

[ncoflin]

Originally Posted by cwkimbro

ncoflin,

I'm sorry. I know how stressful this is and it comes as bit of a shock and I don't want you to think we don't sympathize, but the law is what it is for now.

The tax system we have now is good for most people and it provides alot of benefits. The major downside is where you are now. It provides a sticker shock and confusion for newcomers. I have some slight change ideas for the state law to alleviate this, but those aren't the law currently.

The reason no one wants to help you not pay the tax is they all pay the tax too. It is also some people giving you good advice with no ill will, but it just isn't the advice you want to hear.

Don't forget there is one small way to alleviate the tax burden. You can pay half up front and pay half a year later.

ie if your car is valued $10,000 you will get a $700 tax. You pay $350 in taxes as registration and can pay $350 in taxes slightly under a year later.

The comparison to our previous system is you would likely pay about $150/year every year perpetually, so the sticker shock ends up being an extra $400 in the first 2 years and the benefit is no annual payment after.


You could try to keep the car registered in Virginia through your family, but if you know your going to end up here... you will pay this tax eventually anyways. I would bite the bullet and pay it sooner and save yourself the cost of the annual Virginia registration tax. There is also a possibility it could lead to legal problems in the future, even though you could probably get away with it. It might be different if you think there is a high likeliness you are moving back to Virginia.

I appreciate this. Finally someone giving some honest yet sympathetic advice for a bit of an unusual state law when it comes to newcomers to the state. That was all I really wanted to hear. I wasn't looking to extort the state out of a fortune, I just honestly didn't know if paying this tax flat out was my only option. Yet again thank you for a very honest response without all the attitude of others on this board.

[bUU]

Originally Posted by red92s

But you'll just be paying that 7% on whatever car you are replacing it with.

That's the way sales tax works - correct.

[Grover14]

I don't know what county you are moving to but I was in a Dekalb County tag office earlier this month. Someone was moving from out of state and registering their car and asked about the total fees. They had to pay the tag and title fees but were told they could pay the tax over two years. Half when registering and half upon renewing the tags next year. You should call and ask about paying yours this way.

I would not recommend skirting the tax and doing something funky with your registration. In case you hadn't noticed, driving in the Atlanta area can be precarious at best. You don't want to end up in an accident with squirrelly registration or insurance issues.

[0nyxStation]

Yea its definitely a huge issue. I understand

[Chengdu Nanhai]

To the OP, I was in your shoes just 10 months ago. Keep the car registered in Virginia and save your money. Instead of paying $3k+ to register my SUV here in Georgia, I pay under $200 a year to keep my Michigan plate. Even if I keep my car for 5 years, I will have saved more than $2k. If you end up staying in Georgia, you can still keep the Virginia tag until you have to sell your car - last time I checked, a Georgia tag doesn't magically make a used car more valuable.

Now here are my problems with the Georgia Title Ad Valorum: 1. The state's valuation of used vehicles is WAY TOO HIGH, and I believe it is intentionally so to discourage private vehicle sales, thus benefiting car dealers. I brought two vehicles from Michigan to Georgia, a motorcycle and an SUV. I paid $4000 for the motorcycle a year before my move, yet I had to pay $430 to get a Georgia tag! That's not 7%, that's more than 10%. Same story with my SUV, which I paid $30k 1.5 years before moving to Georgia, yet the state wanted to charge me $3k plus! Basically they are saying my car was still worth $45k. Same thing happened with a friend of mine who bought a used car from a private party here in Georgia. Even though she had a bill of sale with recorded sale price, she was still charged with more than 10% of actual sale price. And the process of disputing tax amount is a complete joke. My friend tried to set up an appointment, but no one ever answered the phone.

2. This law severely punishes new residents, especially those who just purchased their vehicles not long before their move. I already paid $2k in sales tax when I bought my car, and a year and half later Georgia wants to take another $3k! Again, this law bleeds new GA residents only to help line the pockets of in-state car dealers. If someone is considering a move into Georgia in the near future (could be months, could be several years), they are more or less forced to hold off their purchase until after they actually make the move. This is the very definition of double taxation.

And those of you who are defending this law, sure, it might not seem financially detrimental to you, but at least recognize this law is the result of Georgia car dealers lobbying the bejesus out of the General Assembly at the cost of both new and old residents alike.

[Atlmike]

Originally Posted by Chengdu Nanhai

To the OP, I was in your shoes just 10 months ago. Keep the car registered in Virginia and save your money. Instead of paying $3k+ to register my SUV here in Georgia, I pay under $200 a year to keep my Michigan plate. Even if I keep my car for 5 years, I will have saved more than $2k. If you end up staying in Georgia, you can still keep the Virginia tag until you have to sell your car - last time I checked, a Georgia tag doesn't magically make a used car more valuable.

Now here are my problems with the Georgia Title Ad Valorum: 1. The state's valuation of used vehicles is WAY TOO HIGH, and I believe it is intentionally so to discourage private vehicle sales, thus benefiting car dealers. I brought two vehicles from Michigan to Georgia, a motorcycle and an SUV. I paid $4000 for the motorcycle a year before my move, yet I had to pay $430 to get a Georgia tag! That's not 7%, that's more than 10%. Same story with my SUV, which I paid $30k 1.5 years before moving to Georgia, yet the state wanted to charge me $3k plus! Basically they are saying my car was still worth $45k. Same thing happened with a friend of mine who bought a used car from a private party here in Georgia. Even though she had a bill of sale with recorded sale price, she was still charged with more than 10% of actual sale price. And the process of disputing tax amount is a complete joke. My friend tried to set up an appointment, but no one ever answered the phone.

2. This law severely punishes new residents, especially those who just purchased their vehicles not long before their move. I already paid $2k in sales tax when I bought my car, and a year and half later Georgia wants to take another $3k! Again, this law bleeds new GA residents only to help line the pockets of in-state car dealers. If someone is considering a move into Georgia in the near future (could be months, could be several years), they are more or less forced to hold off their purchase until after they actually make the move. This is the very definition of double taxation.

And those of you who are defending this law, sure, it might not seem financially detrimental to you, but at least recognize this law is the result of Georgia car dealers lobbying the bejesus out of the General Assembly at the cost of both new and old residents alike.

I agree 100% Its the little things like this that voters and residents should pay attention to instead of other non-sense.

[aus10]

Originally Posted by Chengdu Nanhai

Now here are my problems with the Georgia Title Ad Valorum: 1. The state's valuation of used vehicles is WAY TOO HIGH, and I believe it is intentionally so to discourage private vehicle sales, thus benefiting car dealers.

This! We have a 42' Motorhome that we use for business. We travel all over the US doing construction. We own a small vacation property in GA and had seriously been considering making GA our permanent residence, as we enjoy spending our down time in GA much more than our home state anymore. The RV industry took a large hit when the economy busted, kind of like the housing industry...... yet GA says that my motorhome is worth book value. LOL... As if I could get 200K out of it if I tried. (I didn't pay that much for it!) Yet they want to tax me on that amount. I think it's clear that we've decided to just stay home and not make the move permanent. I'll just continue to long for the day that I can afford to make the move permanent when we retire and finally sell the RV. If I were to try to sell it up here.. the buyer would in fact get screwed over. So absolutely it's benefiting dealers.