Used vehicle sales tax

You just bought a used vehicle and are going to the DMV to transfer the title into your name. How honest are you with telling them what you paid? Since the sales tax is 100% based on what you tell them, it leaves room for fudging the numbers in your benefit. Say you paid $10k for the used vehicle, the 6.5% sales tax would be $650. But you can just as easily tell them you paid $5k and cut it down to $325 of sales tax. How low can you go before they call bs?

Pretty sure they run a KBB estimate on the price of the vehicle to compare to what you say you bought it for. I bought a used truck 5 years ago and they charged me sales tax on the KBB estimate even though what I actually paid was less. I ended up fighting it after the fact and got the difference back, but it was a head ache. Just my experience

All the used vehicles I have bought come with a lot of accessories.
– gas in the tank
– tires/rims
– floor mats
– window tint
– nerf bars
– bed covers/toppers

You get the idea.

depends who is working that day and who you talk to. most the time they dont question anything. for all they know the vehicle could use a new engine or need alot of work…

I’ve never had them run a kbb on a used vehicle. I’ve also never had them show any sign of concern when I’ve told them a price. I leave bill of sales/titles blank when selling for the buyer to decide what they “paid”. I think taxation on used property is criminal.

and also they will more than likely ask you for a bill of sale for the vehicle which you can print off online and fill in your info or just write it on a piece of paper with the sellers signature and your signature

20+ years ago I bought a truck at a state of MN DNR auction. And since I reside in God’s country, AKA, WI, I registered the vehicle there. 4 weeks later I got a nasty letter and a nastier phone call from a gal working for the WI the dept of revenue demanding the balance of the sales tax she thought I should pay. I told here I paid $4300, and that I would only pay the sales tax owed on that amount (which I had already done). She replied that “it was her experience that a truck of that year was worth significantly more…almost double….” and that she was commencing an action to collect on it. I had to remind her that I still lived in America, a country where there still is a presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and that I wasn’t cowed by her threats. I also demanded to know her supervisor’s name, at which point she demanded a copy of my sales receipt. I told her to come up and get it, that I’m not obligated to participate in her harassment. And if she wanted to see what I paid, to go talk to the folks running the state DNR auction. Then I hung up on her. She called back with more threats. I hung up again. This time I called her supervisor and explained the situation. Apparently, this woman was on a power trip and I wasn’t the first victim. I believe that at a minimum, she was disciplined, and possibly fired for her threats.
Long story short, don’t be intimidated, and don’t back down to the revenuers if you know you’re in the right.

You and the seller should agree on what price you are claiming to the DMV.
Sold a vehicle once and received a letter from the DMV a few months later. They wanted to know what my selling price was for the vehicle. I tossed it because I didn’t know how to contact the guy to fill it out correctly. Never heard another word.

Every used vehicle I’ve ever bought came at the same low price.

I’m not sure about now but back in the day you weren’t charged any taxes for a vehicle purchased for less than $3000. Guess what I usually paid for my used vehicles.

My wife worked at a Deputy Registrars office in MN for about 15 years. The people in the office didn’t care what you put down for what you paid for a vehicle. The state on the other hand did check the value of a certain percentage of transactions and would send the buyer a bill for the sales tax on the high book value of the vehicle and it was up to the buyer to prove they paid less. Interest started to be charged after a set time period.

Well, the Gov’t screws you every chance they get…

As long as the seller is kosher with what’s written down you’re good.

Around 2004 I bought a 1997 Chevy 1500 from my boss for a smoking deal ($2,000 if I remember right). It was probably worth around $8,000 at the time.

A few months later I was audited by the State of Wisconsin for evading sales tax. I responded in the letter with his contact information and never heard a word back from the state and he was never contacted by them either??

My personal opinion on used item sales tax is that it’s all BS. Even normal sales tax for that matter.

A vehicle could change hands 5+ times over the course of its life….and the state takes money every time….money that most likely was already income taxed on top of it.

Taxation without representation is alive and well.

mark-bruzek wrote:

Well, the Gov’t screws you every chance they get…

You know the old saying;
What’s the difference between the government and a hooker?

The hooker will quit screwing you when you run out of money.

I actually had an employee at a DMV ask me if I was sure I paid what I paid one time. I didn’t catch it at first. She was like, that’s too bad because if you paid this lower amount the taxes would be this amount. I said, you know what, I think I did pay that amount.
DT

As a seller, I would never agree to claiming a lower selling price to only benefit the buyer. I may forget to put the selling price down on the bill of sale or title, but never ever would I personally write down a bogus sale amount. What a buyer does later is on him.

I have never filled in the sale price when selling a vehicle. Not my business, I’ll let the buyer report it.

Most used vehicles I sell are ATV’s/UTV’s so this is not applicable.

Question is Can you sleep at night? I would use KBB trade in Value in fair condition. LOL But pretty sure we have all done it at some point.

It pretty clear we all feel the same way about this. That doesnt happen here often!

suzuki wrote:

It pretty clear we all feel the same way about this. That doesnt happen here often!

Finally, something we all can agree on

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
It pretty clear we all feel the same way about this. That doesnt happen here often!

Finally, something we all can agree on

Mark this moment down in ido history

Gitchi Gummi wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
It pretty clear we all feel the same way about this. That doesnt happen here often!

Finally, something we all can agree on

You’re right. The sky is green.

I believe it will come down to the DMV or even person at the DMV rather they will accept what value is listed. Some if they feel it way to low ( Attempt to not pay correct tax ) they will use the KBB value or other ways to determine value.

I bought a Mercedes 450sl many many many years ago from California that was shipped to me. It had a bad efi computer so it wouldn’t start. When I told the person what I paid for it she told me that was under valued. I believe that is the term she used. I tried to explain that it needed repair and she would have none of my explanation. All of which was completely true. I ended up having to pay what she told me the value was even though I had a copy of my cashiers check. She was a complete bitch and to hassle me even more when I got the title she had it marked salvage title. That was almost impossible to reverse. Just pay your tax and go on with life as you are supposed to.

Never been hassled. And I’ve been through some vehicles. Only bought 1 from the dealership and obviously they do the paperwork. Dmv has no idea if it’s a parts truck or a nice truck.