Florida taxes

[Mitch S]

I have a question for the Florida based owners. We purchased a RV in Florida the last of February. My question is this Does Florida collect taxes on a vehicle that is to be titled in another state? I've bought vehicles in others states and the taxes were waived because the vehicle was to be titled in another state. Can anyone tell me or tell me who to contact on this matter?
Thanks, Mitch

[Joe-FL]

Actually someone that lives in Florida probably won't be able to answer that. I know a reverse answer, we bought ours in Illinois and paid Florida sales tax because it was being titled/registered in Florida.

[TurnerFam]

while there might be some exceptions, most every state requires the 'Sales Tax' to be collected and forwarded to them from the state where you purchased the vehicle...
we traded twice in 2014 - both times the TX dealer collected and forwarded the taxes to GA, where it was waiting when we returned to collect our new license plate.

the dealer also provides you with a temporary license plate card, generally good for 30 to 60 days, or sometimes more, to give you time to get your real plate from your state of registration/residence. I believe ours was a 90 day temp tag.

:GA no longer collects 'Sales Tax' on vehicle purchases, but has changed to a TAVT Fee, which is generally about the same amount, though you no longer also have to pay yearly Advalorum taxes on the vehicle anymore, only the $20 decal fee(and additional $50 'Heavy Vehicle' fee on larger units).

I would ask your dealer how they handle your sales tax collection and remittance for your resident/registration state - they do these things everyday and know how to handle them.

If you're concerned about being taxed 'twice', it's doubtful that would be the case.

[gmc]

On new purchases - where you will immediately title/register in another state - you should be fine... As TurnerFam said - the dealers do it all the time - so should be no issue with 'double tax'

Transferring title between states is another issue - and some states are far worse than others...
TurnerFam mentioned the Georgia change to TAVT fee rather than sales tax... Well - they charge that on any title transfer of used vehicle into the state based on vehicle value - even if you paid sales tax in another state originally.. When we looked into it for 3 vehicles including 2014 RV in 2016 - the bill was ridiculous.
Contrast with FL which charged me $400-$500 covering new plate fee and title transfer, and 18month registration (to align with birthday) - and they apologized for having to charge so much... lol... - and now a less than $50 renewal. (If you have previously turned in a FL plate - you get credit for most of that amount...)

[sage]

I just sold an RV to a Texas resident who flew into Tampa to buy it from me. The local tax collector took payment of 6% on the sale to forward to Texas and gave her a temporary plate to allow her to drive it back to Austin. She was going to have to pay an additional .5% when she registered the vehicle in Texas.

[FL-AR]

We bought a motorhome in Florida in March. We planned to register it in Arkansas. Much to our surprise, we learned that there is no agreement between Florida and Arkansas on sales tax. In order not to pay sales tax in both states, delivery had to be arranged so we would take possession in Georgia.

According to Florida sales tax info:
Currently, the states of Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia impose a sales tax on motor vehicles, but they DO NOT allow a credit for taxes paid to Florida. Residents of these states should be informed that they must pay sales tax to Florida at the rate imposed by their home state when they purchase a vehicle in Florida and also must pay tax to their home state when the vehicle is licensed in their home state.

[Mitch S]

FL-AR Thanks. We were told that we "may" have to pay additional taxes when we went to register in W Va, not that we would be "required" to. If we would have known about the taxes, we would have walked away from the deal. That additional 3500.00 dented the budget. We would have lost a non-refundable deposit, but that would have saved us almost 1500.00.

[TurnerFam]

yes, GA has moved to an upfront 'Fee' based on the current New or Used value of the vehicle, generally at ~7%... then only a small $20 annual fee for the license plate for the rest of your ownership... but,

it has hit folks who sale vehicles privately the hardest. Formerly, you could sell a vehicle person-to-person without any 'sales tax', and very little money when the new owner registered the used vehicle in their name.
Now, though, while there is no 'sales taxes' collected from a private sale, the local TAG OFFICE collects it! and they decide what the value is, not what you purchased it for.

the only time now that GA gives you any 'credit' toward your TAVT Fee is when you Trade-in your old vehicle to a 'new' one at a licensed Dealership, crediting the offset amount(value) of the original with the new.

so, in essence, GA moved from a 'Annual'(as-you-go) cost of ownership, to a 'Immediate'(up-front) cost of ownership, effecting many more people, especially if you don't hold onto the same vehicle for many years...

[MrZip]

It's tough to try and escape taxes on vehicles. I get killed on them in Missouri. First the sales tax is based on the community you live in, in my case the sales tax rate is near 10%. So on a 100,000 dollar MH It'll cost me an additional 10 grand. On top of that the county tax collector collects personal property tax on vehicles so there goes another 2 grand every year. I understand if you go full time in a RV you can get an address in South Dakota and avoid all these taxes, but that makes me a little apprehensive.

[scrubjaysnest]

Yes, FL collects sales tax on vehicles titled out of state. At least they did in 2010. Fellow we know in Alaska bought a boat in Fl and titled in Alaska. Had to pay FL sales tax.