Forum Discussion

Pico2011's avatar
Pico2011
Explorer
Jan 23, 2015

States with no tax on private party purchase?

I have been told that if you are a Nevada resident you don't pay sales tax on a private party purchase of a RV for example..that would be a big chunk of change for us paying 9 percent sales tax...

That would motivate me to become a TX or FL resident if that is the same in those states...maybe save 10K or more....
  • Washington State, but the tax the heck out of you at registration time (tabs)! We have to chip in and help pay for light rail and possibly coming next is State Parks?
  • That is true about private party sales, there is no sales tax in Nevada.

    But when you take it back to Kalifornia, the CA laws apply. The last two paragraphs from Golder HVAC above apply.
  • As soon as you register your vehicle in California, DMV will collect then. No way to avoid it legally unless you move to another state.
  • If you move to Oregon, then you can buy anything without sales tax. I think that Nevada also has no sales tax, but don't know for sure.

    Washington has no income tax, if that is interesting to you, and sales tax is lower than what California has.

    So you might want to move to Oregon, buy the motorhome and car, then move to Washington and live there in retirement. You would also need to transfer the reregistration to Washington, and if the vehicle is less than a certain age, Washington will want to make sure that you paid sales tax someplace, and if not, will collect it for their benefit.

    If you will be 'full timing' and not owning property anyplace in particular, you can move all around the country, and enjoy living in several areas of these great United States.

    But if you keep owing property in California, or have employment in California, California will consider you a 'resident' and want your drivers license there, along with all your vehicle registrations too. This would include paying sales tax on any vehicle that you owned for less than 18 months before bringing it into California.

    And don't bother trying to escape the higher LA sales tax when you purchase a RV in San Bernadino county. They charge the sales tax of the area that you live in, not where it was purchased. . .

    Good luck,

    Fred.
  • In Florida private vehicle sales taxes are collected at registration/Title transfer.
  • Look into Pub 52 Use Tax Clearance. Very specific rules apply but even you in California can legally not pay the use tax (ie sales tax). Otherwise no you can't go to Arizona, buy a trailer, and bring it back to California without paying sales tax. Pub 52
  • So...are you going to move to TX or FL? If not, California will not like it.