RV sales tax in Arizona (vehicle, buy, driver, license)

[steiconi]

We're looking at RVs in Arizona, and are having trouble getting clear answers to some questions.

A dealer told us there is no sales tax on them if purchased from a private party. I couldn't find anything about this online, but assume the MVD would collect tax when I register the RV. Is that how it works, or is there really no sales tax?

We read online that maximum sales tax you have to pay on a vehicle in Arizona is $975. Neither dealer we talked to thought that was the case. We read that here
https://www.salestaxhandbook.com/ari...s-tax-vehicles
Anybody know the truth of that?

[AlaskaErik]

I purchased a travel trailer in Arizona and did not have to pay any sales tax. All I had to do was prove I was a resident of another state. My Alaska driver's license was all they needed. Arizona dealers will also provide a 90 temporary paper license for $15, although some ripoff dealers will charge more. So as long as you're a resident of another state AND plan on removing the RV from Arizona, there is no Arizona sales tax. If you are an Arizona resident and/or plan on keeping the RV in Arizona, you will have to pay sales tax.

[Quietude]

I think that's pretty much universal for out-of-state buyers, and purchase from private sellers. The entity that collects the sales tax is nearly always the registering DMV; even dealers just do it as a pass-through, in my understanding.

If you buy a vehicle from a dealer and register it in that state, you pay sales tax to either the dealer as part of the deal (since it's often enough for most people to roll into financing) or to DMV when you collect your sticker and plates.

If you buy a vehicle from a private party and register it in that state, you pay DMV an agreed amount in sales tax (based on bill of sale amount or low book; they're not stupid).

If you buy a vehicle in one state and register it in another, generally only the registered state collects sales tax; if you had to pay tax in the purchase state, it will be adjusted against the final registration amount or you can put in for a refund. (I am not sure how the back channels work on this.)

So if a vehicle registered in State A is sold in State B and registered in State C, only State C's terms really matter much.