Alberta to Ontario Import

[Dante]

Hi everyone,

Day 2 reservation looking for some advice: I currently live in Alberta, but will be moving to Ontario in September. Going on the assumption that the Ontario tax credit will be gone by July, I am thinking that it would make more sense to buy my Model3 in Alberta before I move to save on the sales tax (assuming I've been invited to configure by then!). However, I have been told that there is a law which would result in you being charged the difference in sales tax if you move a car from one province to another within 6-9 months of purchase. I can't seem to find any official information on this. Does anyone have any experience with something like this? I appreciate that the road trip from Alberta to Ontario will be a pain in the absence of the country-wide SC network, but if it saves me 8% off the tax on the car, that might be worth it!

 

[bpjod]

I can't help you with the ruling on the tax, but I believe you have 6 months to change your driver's licence and plates over, so just keep your AB licence and registration as long as possible before switching over to Ontario registration and licence. That should do the trick.

 

[Bluewish]

If you know that you will be in Ontario for sure in September, why don't you borrow your friend/ relative an address and register your vehicle in Ontario before July? Can you live without the vehicle for 2 months (have it parked in Ontario while you are in Alberta)?

 

[mrElbe]

The point is to not have to pay the Ontario Provincial tax at registration. Registering in July in Ontario is exactly the opposite.
You can legally drive with an out of Province driver license in Ontario for a max of 60 days.
From Ontario Government site:

Most vehicles that are purchased privately in another Canadian province will be charged retail sales tax (RST) or harmonized sales tax (HST) at 13% when you register in Ontario.

If you are becoming an Ontario resident, you may declare an exemption when you register the vehicle instead of paying the retail sales tax.

 

[Bluewish]

The point is to not have to pay the Ontario Provincial tax at registration. Registering in July in Ontario is exactly the opposite.
You can legally drive with an out of Province driver license in Ontario for a max of 60 days.
From Ontario Government site:

Most vehicles that are purchased privately in another Canadian province will be charged retail sales tax (RST) or harmonized sales tax (HST) at 13% when you register in Ontario.

If you are becoming an Ontario resident, you may declare an exemption when you register the vehicle instead of paying the retail sales tax.

I am sure 8% of his model 3 is much less than $14K, so he won't lose anything if registering the vehicle in ON before July.

 

[mrElbe]

You have a point there.

 

[Dante]

I doubt you can actually claim the Ontario tax credit if you are not a resident at the time of purchase. I could definitely find a place to park the car for a few months before I get there, but I don't think I'd get the tax credit since I wouldn't be an Ontario resident at the time I bought it. The ideal scenario would be that the tax credit is phased out slowly, or not cancelled until 2019, that way I can just buy the car when I get to Ontario.
But it sounds like there is an exemption if you are becoming a resident? I will have to call and check I guess. If August rolls around and I a) have an invite to configure, and b) Ontario has eliminated the credit, then maybe I can still save the Ontario taxes with that exemption...