Pay Sales Tax In Two States?

In my state, what ever you paid to another state is deducted from your sales tax bill here when you register it.

IMHO...not legal advice, but what I would do and what I have done...

Call your insurer and get the insurance ready to go. Send them a copy or picture of the title. Have insurance started the day before you pick it up. Have the owner sign over the title, issue a bill of sale, remove their tag and drive away. If you get pulled over for not having a tag, provide the LEO with insurance proof, bill of sale and title. You'll be well on your way as long as there's nothing else funky.

I would absolutely never keep someone else's tag or insurance on a vehicle or trailer after the transaction is complete. I once drove a truck from Mississippi to Florida with no tag, have sold trailers that have been hauled out of state with no tag, and have personally bought and hauled cargo trailers with no tag. This is not something to overthink or be concerned about.

WTP-GC wrote:
IMHO...not legal advice, but what I would do and what I have done...

+1

And double check to be SURE that you will have to pay the tax twice.
In every state I've lived in you do NOT.

WTP-GC wrote:
IMHO...not legal advice, but what I would do and what I have done...

Call your insurer and get the insurance ready to go. Send them a copy or picture of the title. Have insurance started the day before you pick it up. Have the owner sign over the title, issue a bill of sale, remove their tag and drive away. If you get pulled over for not having a tag, provide the LEO with insurance proof, bill of sale and title. You'll be well on your way as long as there's nothing else funky.

I would absolutely never keep someone else's tag or insurance on a vehicle or trailer after the transaction is complete. I once drove a truck from Mississippi to Florida with no tag, have sold trailers that have been hauled out of state with no tag, and have personally bought and hauled cargo trailers with no tag. This is not something to overthink or be concerned about.

But (if I understand this correctly) that doesn't get the OP out of paying FL sales tax. And then when he arrives in WV, he still has to register the vehicle - which will still incur 6% sales tax again, no?

Or does he only incur the FL tax if he gets an in-transit tag?

Makin' Do wrote:
I'll try and make this short. I live in West Virginia and want to buy a used RV from a private party in Florida. If I want an "in-transit" tag from Florida to drive the RV back to WV, I have to pay FL 6% tax, equal to the WV tax, to get that tag. When I title the RV in WV I would have to pay the 6% tax again because WV will not give me credit for paying the tax in FL. 12% is more than I want to pay.
So, the question is, can I pay the owner for the RV and have them sign the title over to me and just get out of state and skip the tag?
BTW, the owner is willing to leave their FL plate and insurance on the RV until I get back to WV.

What's the problem? If you get insurance before you pick it up and the owner is willing to let you use the tag for transport.

jim1521 wrote:
But (if I understand this correctly) that doesn't get the OP out of paying FL sales tax.

It's a private party transaction. The seller is not required to collect sales tax.

It's a much bigger hassle, but if you make multiple trips or do stuff via mail you can get the title signed over (and pay the seller, etc.) in Florida, take the title and paperwork home to West Virginia, and get your registration etc. there and then move the RV.

Florida collects tax on the in-transit permit, which I think is somewhat unusual--the few other states I'm familiar with just have a flat fee. Many states allow offsetting of tax paid elsewhere, but not West Virginia and a couple others. It seems there's no way around the double taxation with the in-transit permit.

I would not drive it under the previous owner's registration and insurance. If I were a seller, I would definitely not want the buyer to do that under my registration and insurance after it's sold, too.

as a seller I would not leave my plate on. However as a buyer if the seller is willing to leave the plate on I don't see an issue

This is what I did 4 times when I bought out of state RV's.

1. Call you insurance company and get insurance and have them text or email you a temporary ins card.

2. Get an explicit 'bill of sale'. Date, time, amount of sale, description and vin of RV. AND then BOTH of you sign it. Seller and buyer.

That is all a cop needs to see if you are stopped.

They will let you go on your merry way providing you aren't an escaped convict, that your registration/drivers license are all up to date and it is not 6 months after the date of the bill of sale! :W

I would just pay and run. Would not talk to FL. Take it home and register it.