I have a question for anyone who has bought a car, hence everybody here probably lol.

Ill give an outline of the situation and would like to know if it seems legal to you, and if you've experienced anything similar

I bought a "new" Cadillac from a private party. We both live in Texas and in the same city/county. I paid 2,000 dollars to the party, Went to the Tax Assessor for the county and applied for a transfer of title. On the form i filled out it asked for the purchase price, I wrote the actual amount in, which was 2000. Paid my $218 and then got a receipt and left. On my way home I looked at the receipt and saw that I was taxed on $2,920. I went back and asked the clerk if I could look at my form, I wanted to make sure i wrote 2000 and that it was legible. When I saw I had I showed her, To which i was told they base tax on 80% of the book value.

So 80% Blue Book value for a 93 Cadillac is almost 3000 apparently , I paid an additional 30% tax on a car the tax office had never seen in person. Does it seem legal to tax people with a arbitrary number created by a non-government entity. The car is 15 years old, How can they accurately determine its "value" without ever looking at it in person.

I plan to write a letter to a few people and make some calls. Any suggestions to whom? I talked to other people who recently purchased cars in the county and they were surprised, they were taxed on the amount they paid and not 80% book value.

If they think the car is worth 2,920 they are more then welcome to make me an offer :highfive:

Anyone else encountered this?.. Especially those in Texas. I want to know if its state wide or county wide, If its county I could have driven a few miles to the next county and saved almost $100

Government does whatever the hell it wants, because we keep electing the same retards over and over.

All I can say for sure is that it's not like that here. We pay 7% (NJ sales tax) on whatever the purchase price is written on the back of the title. They go by nothing else than that... and it's "customary" around here to low-ball the amount paid as well.

It's ridiculous that they would charge you more than what you actually paid for the vehicle. Then again I think it's ridiculous for a private party sale to be taxed in the first place - it's essentially a double tax since the sales tax was already levied on the original purchase.... but that's the government for ya...

On the forms here for purchase price on private sales we write "$1 and other considerations".

On the forms here for purchase price on private sales we write "$1 and other considerations".

That tends to be the same here... the seller usually extends to courtesy of letting the buyer write in the amount paid on the title. The latest personal example is the CJ-5 we picked up, the price written on the title was about 1/6th of what we actually paid... and like always, no questions were asked. It's good to know NJ actually does one thing to not purposely screw us - I can't imagine having to pay tax on a vehicle's book value regardless of what was actually paid for it. What if a car was given to you? Like I said, the government had already gotten it's money out of a used car... sometimes several times over...

That tends to be the same here... the seller usually extends to courtesy of letting the buyer write in the amount paid on the title. The latest personal example is the CJ-5 we picked up, the price written on the title was about 1/6th of what we actually paid... and like always, no questions were asked. It's good to know NJ actually does one thing to not purposely screw us - I can't imagine having to pay tax on a vehicle's book value regardless of what was actually paid for it. What if a car was given to you? Like I said, the government had already gotten it's money out of a used car... sometimes several times over...


I got some clarification today. As of October 2006 or so Texas State Legislature passed a bill which set the price to be taxed on at either 80% of Book value, or actual purchase price, whichever is HIGHER :rant2:So everyone in Texas is affected, regardless of county.

So if your pay over 80% of book value for a car then you can save a few pennies by "low-balling" lol, but 90% of the times the buyer is getting screwed

I dont think Texas titles show purchase price, I dont have a copy infront of me at the moment but as I remember getting the title we both just signed our names and wrote the date and odometer reading. I don't recall seeing a spot to write the sale price in. Just signature, odometer reading and a spot for the new owners address. The only spot I wrote in the purchase price was on my appication I got at the tax office

I am interested in finding the bill number and see how the local reps voted on it. Then maybe shoot a few letters to them, and the comptroller.

For anyone who hasn't seem the wonder Texas legislature in action hers a brief clip
http://uttyler.facebook.com/share_redirect.php?h=d231847ef415e8d98410d973a7cc5 d71&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DeG6 X-xtVask&sid=5279954390

Florida will check the book value on rare occasions if they suspect that its becoming a problem with a particular individual or dealership (there is actually a suspicious checkbox on Florida registration receipts that says "Selling Price Verified"). Dealers will not risk their license or reputation on it period... even if you pay for a car cash they will process the titlework and collect your taxes right then and there if you are a Florida resident. If you're an out of state resident they will give you all your paperwork and your title to take with you along with a bill of sale showing the proper purchase price.

In Kansas, the same law that you just spoke of was recently overturned because thousands of irate buyers were purchasing junk cars and being charged an arbitrary retail amount of sales tax no matter what condition the car was in. As a result, the law was overturned to allow actual price to be taken into consideration.

On the flipside, jurisdictions that do apply a minimum value, do so because of exactly the problem above. Rampant trouble with individuals not writing the honest sale price on bill's of sale to eachother.

Obviously, the way people get around it if they don't plan to keep a particular car is to just hand the title over without anything written on it.

Here are the details of the Texas Bill

Legislation Affecting Sales of Used Motor Vehicles: Standard Presumptive Value
House Bill 4, Effective October 1, 2006

House Bill 4 changes the tax base for calculating motor vehicle tax on retail sales of used motor vehicles, whether purchased in Texas or out of state for use in Texas. There is no change to the motor vehicle sales and use tax rate of 6.25 percent.

Effective October 1, new Tax Code Section 152.0412 adds a standard presumptive value (SPV) to determine the tax base for sales of used vehicles between individuals. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is responsible for determining which SPVs apply and will update and publish this information. The county tax assessor-collector will continue to collect the tax when a person titles and registers a used vehicle.

The new legislation provides that the county tax assessor-collector will determine the used vehicle tax due based on one of the following:

* the purchase price of the used vehicle, if the purchaser paid at least 80 percent or more of the SPV for the vehicle;
* 80 percent of the SPV for the used vehicle, if the purchaser paid less than 80 percent of the SPV for the vehicle; or
* the appraised value of the used vehicle, if the purchaser paid less than 80 percent of the SPV for the vehicle and provides a certified appraisal.

A purchaser who decides to provide an appraised value for the used vehicle must obtain the certified appraisal on a Comptroller-prescribed form within 20 county working days after the date of purchase or after bringing the vehicle into Texas.

A purchaser will be able to get a certified appraisal in one of two ways: from a licensed Texas motor vehicle dealer for a fee to be established by Comptroller rule, or from a licensed insurance adjuster for a fee determined by the adjuster.

The SPV does not apply to salvage, abandoned, or antique vehicles. It also does not apply to vehicle gifts, even trades, or vehicles sold through storage or mechanic's liens.

The Comptroller will adopt an agency rule to address the requirements of this new law as soon as possible and will provide more information to the general public, county tax assessor-collectors, motor vehicle dealers, and licensed insurance adjusters before the law's October 1 effective date.

Also a bit more info here (http://www.traviscountytax.org/pdfs/SPVFactSheet.pdf)

I can see how people writing in the wrong amounts to save on taxes would be frustrating, but the wording of this bill only hurts private parties, vehicles sold through licensed dealers are exempt. I can pay for an appraisal to get the vehicle valued at less then SPV but that is yet another form to fill out and fee to pay.

I pulled up the voting record and plan to contact the members from my district and those who introduced and co sponsored it. I understand their logic about people avoiding taxes, but that is not a excuse to screw everyone dealing with private party sales and shield dealers. If you look closely you can see how this actually benefits dealers since they profit from performing apprasials.

Hopefully we can follow Kansas and get it overturned

Move to Alaska where they don't tax car sales. After a year the state will send you a check for a couple thousand dollars or so.

My parents live in TX and are always complaining about the rediculous taxes! In MN we alway write in whatever we want for a purchase price. As long as it doesn't look rediculously low ie: $500.00 of an '07 vette they pretty much take us at our word.

The reason I never complain about it is because I've lived in the ridiculous states that not only charge SALES tax, but also VEHICLE PROPERTY TAX.

That's right, yet another way the man takes your money... Every year you pay anywhere between 1 and 3 percent of your vehicle's MSRP to the state in order to RENEW your tags! On a Lincoln Navigator, say 2 to 3 years old... it would be around 4-600.00... A YEAR! Until the value begins to go down.

Kansas does this, Texas and Florida do not. At least in Texas and Florida they only hit you once.

Alaska doesn't tax car sales. License tabs cost $100 or so for two years. If you live off the highway system you don't have to license it at all.

Two words, "tax grab".

In Illinois you pay based on 100% of the book value of the car, purchase price has no effect. It is pretty cheap though. No where near 7%.

On the forms here for purchase price on private sales we write "$1 and other considerations".

No sexual favors in Texas. There is always a 50 cent charge.

I have a question for anyone who has bought a car, hence everybody here probably lol.

Ill give an outline of the situation and would like to know if it seems legal to you, and if you've experienced anything similar

I bought a "new" Cadillac from a private party. We both live in Texas and in the same city/county. I paid 2,000 dollars to the party, Went to the Tax Assessor for the county and applied for a transfer of title. On the form i filled out it asked for the purchase price, I wrote the actual amount in, which was 2000. Paid my $218 and then got a receipt and left. On my way home I looked at the receipt and saw that I was taxed on $2,920. I went back and asked the clerk if I could look at my form, I wanted to make sure i wrote 2000 and that it was legible. When I saw I had I showed her, To which i was told they base tax on 80% of the book value.

So 80% Blue Book value for a 93 Cadillac is almost 3000 apparently , I paid an additional 30% tax on a car the tax office had never seen in person. Does it seem legal to tax people with a arbitrary number created by a non-government entity. The car is 15 years old, How can they accurately determine its "value" without ever looking at it in person.

I plan to write a letter to a few people and make some calls. Any suggestions to whom? I talked to other people who recently purchased cars in the county and they were surprised, they were taxed on the amount they paid and not 80% book value.

If they think the car is worth 2,920 they are more then welcome to make me an offer :highfive:

Anyone else encountered this?.. Especially those in Texas. I want to know if its state wide or county wide, If its county I could have driven a few miles to the next county and saved almost $100

You obviously have not kept up with state/tax regs. Too many people were lying about the cost of the used cars. In Jan 07, state legislature changed regs so that if you are off of the book value by more than a certain percentage, the state will charge the tax on the full book value of the car.

State regs, nothing to do with county or country.

Try Jackson, MS, man. Buy a new car, and pay thousands of $$ for new tags for several years. There, it pays to live in county and to drive an older car.

Yeah I had this same problem when I bought my '91 Coupe Deville a couple months ago. I bought it for $1250, yet the bb value is something like $2K. So I paid taxes on that that. Oh well, I guess. It screwed up my whole budget for the week, too. I guess you can't shoot-to-kill robbers and have low taxes in the same state...lol.

Texas does pull in billions from oil royalties and taxes. What the hell did you do to piss away all the money? Alaska took a large percentage of its oil income, put it in a permanent fund (savings account) and invested it. Now the earnings pay for state government and cash dividends are distributed to every resident. With oil near $100/bbl the state has a huge budget surplus. The account is now between $40B and $50B.

In Illinois you pay based on 100% of the book value of the car, purchase price has no effect. It is pretty cheap though. No where near 7%.

I take it, IL has a dedicated vehicle tax then. Luckily we only have sales tax here.. the only tax you pay is based on what is paid - regardless of book value. The only time the amount can be low-balled is of course on a private-party sale. Either way, it's ridiculous to have to pay any percentage of some arbitrary figure, as "book value" is hardly an accurate indicator as to a car's value.

The only thing I don't particularly care for is NJ's tiered registration fees.. since the Seville is a smidge over 4000lbs, it's registration fee is $75 (which most of the time gets levied on full-size trucks and SUVs) opposed to the "regular" $42 registration fee.

Alaska took a large percentage of its oil income, put it in a permanent fund (savings account) and invested it. Now the earnings pay for state government and cash dividends are distributed to every resident.

Do you mean that every household gets a dividend check just as if they were investing on their own? That's pretty nice.


Since the Seville is a smidge over 4000lbs, it's registration fee is $75 (which most of the time gets levied on full-size trucks and SUVs) opposed to the "regular" $42 registration fee.

Hows about you go get some aluminum parts like bumpers and whatnot to bring you under 2 tons? It would probably pay off in just a few cycles.

Do you mean that every household gets a dividend check just as if they were investing on their own? That's pretty nice.




Hows about you go get some aluminum parts like bumpers and whatnot to bring you under 2 tons? It would probably pay off in just a few cycles.

Last year every resident got a check for $1654 as their share of the earnings on investment. Our household got three checks. Next year each check will be over $2000.

I take it, IL has a dedicated vehicle tax then.

On private party used car sales, yes. All others subject to county level sales tax rate (of the actual purchase price).

On private party used car sales, yes. All others subject to county level sales tax rate (of the actual purchase price).

See that... learn something new every day... you don't have a state wide sales tax? Does it vary from county to county?

We have a state wide sales tax of 7% on all "non-essential" items, except for two counties (my own - Salem, and our neighbors to the east - Cumberland) which are labeled "economically depressed areas," which really is a misnomer... since unlike the majority of the state which is vastly over-developed, we are still mainly an agricultural area whose landscape is still dominated by farmland... We are the "Garden" in the "Garden State." Because of that our sales tax is prescribed by statute to be one-half of the rest of the state (on everything except automobiles of course...). In reality, we've always felt it had more to do with our close proximity to tax-free Delaware, in order to keep our dollars in-state.

An interesting happenstance occurred though within the past couple of years. For the longest time, NJ's sales tax was 6% which meant our's here in "Down Jersey" was of course, 3%. Since they've raised the state-wide tax 7%, our's is by law - 3.5% - an odd amount to say the least. Because of such, I sent a 1099 to Governor Corzine last year for all of my half-pennies... I've yet to hear anything back though... oh well... I still do most of my taxable shopping in DE though, so it's a wash.

See that... learn something new every day... you don't have a state wide sales tax? Does it vary from county to county?

There is a state wide sales tax, but county tax rate preempts it, and city tax rate preempts that.

I think IL sales tax is 6.5%, but I am not sure as most counties have their own. Lake County (where I live) is 6.5%, Cook county (the largest) is 7.75% (I think) and Chicago is 8.5%, maybe 9% now. Don't quote me, this is all from memory.

The great thing is, I could buy a car in Chicago, and only pay 6.5% since, with cars, you pay based on where you live, not where you buy.

On the subject of sales tax... Where I in Texas is 8.25%. I think Texas is 7% then county and city make up the other 1.25%. I guess this is somewhat negated by the fact we have no state income tax though...