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Florida vehicle Taxes

Goober

Professional Javelin Catcher
None
Bullet 4 on that dpcument says sales tax will be collected in the purchase state if not in FL...am I missing something here? I would LOVE for this to work as were about to purchase a new car in the near future.
Additionally, S.O.B.'s 2nd pdf that he attached has bullet #5 that specifically says that the person/spouse registering the vehicle will check with the state in which it's being bought to see if they will owe sales tax on the purchase then/there. If the state/dealer there fails to collect the sales tax when the buyer says they don't intend to register it in that state, well, it seems to be over to them. For the one/two folks that got a good deal in which no one charged tax, ok. It's my guess though that in most cases one state or the other will get their due.

Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon would seem to be a good place to buy a car to register out-of-state in FL...
 

isshinwhat

Registered User
None
Buddy of mine just bought a jeep in GA and paid no sales tax due to the FL exemption. He passed this same info on to everyone else and so far one more guy has bought a car with the same result. Here's to hoping this continues to work out for everyone.
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I've done the car/bike sales tax dance a few times now. The deal is, if you buy a car and register it outside of Florida and have owned it at least six months, you'll owe no additional taxes when you transfer it to Florida. Otherwise, you have to pay the difference between whatever state you bought it in and Fla tax (about 6%, as I recall). As long as you have an address in a no-sales-tax state (DE or wherever) where you can title it, you should be good to go.
 

Carlos Caliente

Member
None
I'm in the process of doing this - every person I have spoken to from the Tallahassee State DMV office down to my local county tax collector says this is legit and offer the information up freely.
Once I get my plates I'll post a writeup if anyone is interested. The only catch is you can't drive the car into FL for six months.
 

Carlos Caliente

Member
None
Part 1: If you buy a car at a dealer don't let them charge you sales tax.
You'll need from the dealer
a) Title (if you get it with the car, great. Shaves weeks off the process)
b) Temporary plates good for at least two months if not title in hand
c) VIN verification letter on dealer letterhead. Otherwise you can have base cops or any john law verify it. Make the dealer work for that exorbitant doc prep fee.
Some states make dealers charge you sales tax by law (CA, for example) unless you take delivery of the car outside the state. Others like OR, MT charge no sales tax. TX doesn't charge any for vehicles taken out of state and that's what I did. You obviously cannot buy a car in FL. Buying from private persons is really no different except they won't charge you sales tax, and you have to take care of the temp plates and VIN verification yourself.

Part 2. Download the milpak.pdf and familiarize yourself with the contents. You're gonna need the title app filled out, a copy of your Mil ID, FL DL, proof of insurance, a check for the funds and then the all important tax exemption form and maybe your orders. Anyone with a notary stamp can hook you up with the exemption form, yeah most of us are notaries and don't even know it but neither do most of the DMV workers out there. Throw in the stuff you got from the dealer and express mail it to your county tax collector. I mailed a return envelope in it since my paper plates were running out. It also helped having signature required when I had to track my packet down after a week of no action.
The biggest sticking point in all of it was waiting for the title. If there was a previous lien on the car, it'll take 4-6 weeks and those paper plates come in handy. We bought the car in late feb, got the title in late march and the plates in mid april. Plenty of opportunity for streamlining especially in the time required for the title to arrive and the process time at the DMV. My high caliber individual of a dealership customer adviser would not mail the title to anything but my FL address on my DL, but the purchase agreement and everything else went just fine to our CA duty station address. That took an extra week.
If you have a FL plate laying around it is also possible to transfer that plate onto your new car, provided no one has claimed the plate.
I did that and saved the $225 initial registration fee. If you were a FL resident when you enlisted, that fee is waived entirely even if they issue a new plate and initial registration. My grand total was $175 plus 30 bucks in express mail envelopes. It's legit, they're up front with it and an awesome deal.
 

SynixMan

HKG Based Artificial Excrement Pilot
pilot
Contributor
ZOMBIE THREAD RESSURECTION!

So seriously, is this still a thing? The wife and I are considering using this. Stationed in VA, but we're both FL residents.
 

MIDNJAC

is clara ship
pilot
register your car in god's country....ie Oregon. Have registered 3 different cars since being on AD in my great home state after purchasing out of state, and have never paid a dime in taxes. Nevermind, don't become a resident......we don't want you :)
 

Uncle Fester

Robot Pimp
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
ZOMBIE THREAD RESSURECTION!

So seriously, is this still a thing? The wife and I are considering using this. Stationed in VA, but we're both FL residents.

Still a thing. VA has 4% sales tax but doesn't give a trade credit. FL has 6% tax but does. So if you're trading and your trade has any significant value, you're probably better off going FL.

Also with Fl, you don't have to deal with yearly inspections.
 

PenguinGal

Can Do!
Contributor
Unless you live in CA. Because why wouldn't a Federal entity (DoD) enforce a state law? Makes perfect sense, right?
While I agree with you completely as it was PITA trying to get base stickers at 32nd street a couple of years ago, I thought with the stopping of base decals that this was now a moot point?
 

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
While I agree with you completely as it was PITA trying to get base stickers at 32nd street a couple of years ago, I thought with the stopping of base decals that this was now a moot point?

Despite the stickers no longer being required, the Region instruction says that vehicles will still hold a smog check certificate. How do they know? Of course they don't, but if you're pulled over, then they'll hit you on it. It's really retarded.

That said, I never had a smog check my whole time there since I had valid DoD stickers when I showed up and then they went away. But technically, it's still required.
 
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