CA Resident prefers out-of-state delivery (NOT to avoid taxes)

[Go_Fast_David]

I just ordered my Red MYLR today (yay!). My preference is to take delivery in another state for purposes of doing a little roadtrip and driving back home to CA. It seems this is a complicated topic, especially for taking an out-of-state Tesla delivery without a traditional dealer network. I've searched the forums, and while there is discussion, I didn't really see much success. So I thought I'd ask a specific question.

As background, I've done this twice with BMW. I picked up a 3-series as European Delivery in Munich and shipped it back to CA after a week+ of driving. Another time we picked up a different 3-series in Spartanburg, SC and drove across country back to CA. In both cases the car was paid for in CA ahead of travelling to meet the car on the other end. So these things can be done, but the question is whether it can be done with/through/around Tesla.

So...simple question...has anybody who is a CA resident successfully taken delivery of a Tesla in a different state without paying double sales tax? If so, in which state did you take delivery? And how did you navigate the DMV system to make this happen?

Thanks!

 

[glide]

It shouldn’t matter where you take delivery. Sales tax is paid at the point of registration. Or at least that’s how it should work.

 

[bluenycom]

The only issue is the uncertainty of delivery date unless you have flexible work schedule. I wasn't sure until 5 days before. Even then, there maybe something wrong during inspection that would stop you from taking delivery.

 

[Go_Fast_David]

The only issue is the uncertainty of delivery date unless you have flexible work schedule. I wasn't sure until 5 days before. Even then, there maybe something wrong during inspection that would stop you from taking delivery.

Yes, I have thought of this too, given the myriad of stories I'm reading about date changes. I'm beginning to think this might be an unsolvable riddle!

 

[avs007]

It shouldn’t matter where you take delivery. Sales tax is paid at the point of registration. Or at least that’s how it should work.

If you take delivery in Kansas, you'll need to file an exemption with the state department of revenue to avoid paying KS sales tax. You'll also need a KS trip permit, showing that you are taking the vehicle out of state. That's what I had to do, when I bought my Infiniti in Kansas, to avoid paying KS sales tax.

 

[MtnPat]

@Go_Fast_David Any update on this? Have you ordered? I live in California and am trying to pick up on the east coast.

 

[Macroach]

I haven’t done this, but Oregon has no sales tax, so that might work? I think you just pay the CA sales tax based on your home address.

 

[SushiMY]

I bought a BMW M3 from Oregon and drove it to CA. The dealer provided me documents including a trip permit and the paperwork which i had to submit to the CA DMV to get my plates/reg. Very easy process, had it done through triple A once i arrived home. You might want to call a tesla center in that state to see if they can do the same for you.

Although if the purpose is just to take a road trip for pleasure you might be better off avoiding the hassle and taking delivery in CA and then driving to wherever you please. I only did the above as the oregon dealer offered me significantly better pricing on a custom order.

 

[whydontwe]

If you live in CA, and pickup in another state, no changes to your taxes (it's based on your address). You will lose the CA Clean Fuel Reward of $1,500, so something to consider.

 

[G2bme]

Not to be a debbie downer but wouldn’t it be easier to just take delivery in CA, then just drive somewhere you want to go and back?
You’re paying for travel expenses to a destination. Your first two situations I would presume works because shipping to a closer state may have been cheaper but it seems like your plan is to over complicate and already frustrating delivery experience.
but your money your way of spending, like the others say it doesn’t matter where you buy you have to pay for the taxes where u registered. I was close to buying a MYP from Vegas and live in CA, they stated I’d have to still pay the delivery charge. So the price difference plus the delivery charge plus my expense to go to vegas from LA. Not worth my time and I’d be cavalier with my finances.

 

[Yes007]

If you live in CA, and pickup in another state, no changes to your taxes (it's based on your address). You will lose the CA Clean Fuel Reward of $1,500, so something to consider.

And you will also lose other income based rebates, if you qualify.

 

[mikeskuro]

In Vermont we pick up in NJ, or deliver($1200 additional).

30 day temp tags and they will FedEx the documents for registering locally.

 

[Sacramento]

My first EV: Honda had a killer deal on Clarity all-electric leases in California and Oregon in 2017– $199/mo. I couldn't find ANY in California, but found one in Portland. I flew up with my daughter and trailered it home to Sacramento. Not only did I miss out on the $1,500 clean air reward, but registering it in California was a pain in the butt. After some back-and-forth paperwork, I had to physically take the Clarity to the DMV and have an examiner confirm there was no gas engine under the hood. And yes, Oregon has no sales tax– but the DMV made sure California got its pound of flesh (8.75% sales tax) with the registration.

 

[MtnPat]

In Vermont we pick up in NJ, or deliver($1200 additional).

30 day temp tags and they will FedEx the documents for registering locally.

@mikeskuro Did NJ Tesla give you the temp tags?

 

[MtnPat]

If you live in CA, and pickup in another state, no changes to your taxes (it's based on your address). You will lose the CA Clean Fuel Reward of $1,500, so something to consider.

@whydontwe Where does it say that you don’t get the reward if you register in CA but don’t pick up in CA?

 

[avs007]

@mikeskuro Did NJ Tesla give you the temp tags?

Tesla does things really wierd/stupidly sometimes... When I bought all my OTHER cars, and picked up in another state, the dealership where I did the pickup, will fedex the necessary documents to the DMV in your home state, and you can go in, pay sales tax, and get your temp tags in your home state... Everytime this is how it was done, so I could get my 60 day temp tags. Then 30 or more days later when all the other paperwork is ready, you can go and pickup your plates. I've done this several times with several different cars from several different states. Tesla on the other hand didn't work this way. They will have you sign a power of attorney for the vehicle registration. (I didn't want to, but they said this is what they do, and said they would give me the temp tags directly) Anyways, becuase of this, I found I could not go to the DMV and pay sales tax and get 60 day temp tags, becuase Tesla was witholding those documents from me, becuase they were filing it on my behalf. DMV told me, if Tesla was filing on my behalf, they would need to get the temp tags for me... Well, Tesla couldn't do that, becuase the Tesla location where I did the pickup was in a different state, and they said they couldn't do that for me, so they only gave me a 14 day temp tag for the state that I did the pickup in... They told me this was a "known" issue of how out-of-state registration works, and told me that the state patrol in my state and this state wouldn't give me a ticket.... Even tho EVERY other car I purchased/pickedup in another state did NOT work this way.

 

[avs007]

@whydontwe Where does it say that you don’t get the reward if you register in CA but don’t pick up in CA?

On their website, it says the rewards is redeemed at a participating retailer at time of purchase. So I assume this means if you are doing all this outside of CA, they are not a participating retailer, becuase they aren't even in California... Sounds like you can probably get this reward if you did everything in California, and just specified a different pickup location? But I don't think Tesla knows how to do that, becuase if they did, that would've solved my issue with trying to get temp tags, because there are 5 service centers in my home state, but the pickup location was forced to be the service center in another state, because it's less than 20 minutes from my house.... So they did all the paperwork in that other state, and because of how they set that up, I was unable to obtain the necessary documents to get temp tags in my home state.

 

[whydontwe]

I contacted CA Clean Fuel Reward and I asked about this use case. In order to qualify for the $1,500 POS rebate (at purchase), you not only need to be a CA resident and register the Tesla in CA, but the delivery location must be listed here: Participating Retailers | California Clean Fuel Reward

If not, then you will not get the $1,500. If you look at that list, Vegas or other non-CA delivery centers are not listed.

 

[MtnPat]

Thanks for checking that @whydontwe! Looks like you are correct.

 

[Mrbrock]

Thanks for checking that @whydontwe! Looks like you are correct.

They switched this from being something you submitted (originally through your electric provider) and got a check in the mail to something at purchase.

Also, for all the other circumstances referencing picking up at out of state dealers, Tesla isn’t a dealer. It’s a manufacturer so pickup is different. Vehicle is owned by manufacturer until title is transfered to you. They want to transfer title to you in state where it’s registered. So if you take delivery in another state, your vehicle will be registered there for you by Tesla then you need to wait for all that to go through before you can reregister it in another state. For buying any other car out of state, you are buying it from a dealer who owns that vehicle until it is transfered to you. And they know you are registering it out of state. You can’t compare the two experiencing because they are fundamentally different.