Purchasing car/sales tax

[PaulPierce34G]

I am thinking of purchasing a car in the near future and the vehicle I am currently looking at is located in Connecticut.  My permanent residence in in Rhode Island.

My question is concerning the vehicle's sales tax....Will I have to pay taxes to CT, RI or both if I make the purchase?

[slamtheking]

I am thinking of purchasing a car in the near future and the vehicle I am currently looking at is located in Connecticut.  My permanent residence in in Rhode Island.

My question is concerning the vehicle's sales tax....Will I have to pay taxes to CT, RI or both if I make the purchase?

I was in a similar situation 5 years ago where I bought a car in Mass but lived in RI.  Mass has a cheaper tax but the dealership collected the difference between the Mass amount and what RI would charge since RI has that 'usage' tax to collect from out-of-state sales.

I'm not sure what the sales tax is in CT but if it's less than RI's and you're buying from a dealership near the state line, they'll probably charge you up to the RI tax amount and pay the difference in the tax rate to RI. 

Yet another reason why I left that taxaholic state.

[KGs Knee]

Just buy in wonderful tax-free NH.  Yeah, we're awesome like that!

Also, as far as I am aware (unless something changed recently), NH dealers refuse to collect out-of-state taxes.

[Emmette Bryant]

No sales tax here in Oregon either.  Don't know how much a round trip out here will cost you though. 

[BballTim]

Just buy in wonderful tax-free NH.  Yeah, we're awesome like that!

Also, as far as I am aware (unless something changed recently), NH dealers refuse to collect out-of-state taxes.

  I think Mass might ding you for the tax on a car you buy in NH when you go to register it.

[KGs Knee]

Just buy in wonderful tax-free NH.  Yeah, we're awesome like that!

Also, as far as I am aware (unless something changed recently), NH dealers refuse to collect out-of-state taxes.

  I think Mass might ding you for the tax on a car you buy in NH when you go to register it.

Not really knowledgable about that, as I've never lived in Mass.  How would they do this though?  Would they base the tax on sale price, and if so, couldn't you just tell them you paid $1?  Or would they base the tax on ERV?

[Neurotic Guy]

Just buy in wonderful tax-free NH.  Yeah, we're awesome like that!

Also, as far as I am aware (unless something changed recently), NH dealers refuse to collect out-of-state taxes.

  I think Mass might ding you for the tax on a car you buy in NH when you go to register it.

NH is good for some things, but you won't get the tax break unless you live there.

[BleedGreen1989]

Just buy in wonderful tax-free NH.  Yeah, we're awesome like that!

Also, as far as I am aware (unless something changed recently), NH dealers refuse to collect out-of-state taxes.

  I think Mass might ding you for the tax on a car you buy in NH when you go to register it.

NH is good for some things, but you won't get the tax break unless you live there.

yea I know that's what Maine does. You pay the sale tax when you go to register it. However, I'm not sure how they really determine the sale price.

[Neurotic Guy]

Just buy in wonderful tax-free NH.  Yeah, we're awesome like that!

Also, as far as I am aware (unless something changed recently), NH dealers refuse to collect out-of-state taxes.

  I think Mass might ding you for the tax on a car you buy in NH when you go to register it.

Not really knowledgable about that, as I've never lived in Mass.  How would they do this though?  Would they base the tax on sale price, and if so, couldn't you just tell them you paid $1?  Or would they base the tax on ERV?

I think if a person is willing to lie and fake a bill of sale, etc, he/she may be able to get away with many things.  However in this case I actually think they base the tax on car value.

I purchased a Civic for my daughter recently (an in Mass purchase from a person), and I got a pretty decent deal. I produced my bill of sale, but as memory serves, at registration I paid tax based on the actual value of the car rather than the purchase price. Not sure how they account for damaged vehicles in terms of value.  I may be wrong about this, but pretty sure they used market value to assess the tax.

[BleedGreen1989]

Just buy in wonderful tax-free NH.  Yeah, we're awesome like that!

Also, as far as I am aware (unless something changed recently), NH dealers refuse to collect out-of-state taxes.

  I think Mass might ding you for the tax on a car you buy in NH when you go to register it.

Not really knowledgable about that, as I've never lived in Mass.  How would they do this though?  Would they base the tax on sale price, and if so, couldn't you just tell them you paid $1?  Or would they base the tax on ERV?

I think if a person is willing to lie and fake a bill of sale, etc, he/she may be able to get away with many things.  However in this case I actually think they base the tax on car value.

I purchased a Civic for my daughter recently (an in Mass purchase from a person), and I got a pretty decent deal. I produced my bill of sale, but as memory serves, at registration I paid tax based on the actual value of the car rather than the purchase price. Not sure how they account for damaged vehicles in terms of value.  I may be wrong about this, but pretty sure they used market value to assess the tax.

yea now that you mention it this makes sense. I know in maine, at least the first time you register a car, you pay on the initial sale price.

I bought a 99 Acura TL for $4000. When I went to register it I paid on the original sale price of about $24,000 or something like that.