How to buy a vehicle in AB to save sales tax?

[Murky-Article]

Hey!

I am a BC resident where sales tax is 15% for Model 3 Performance. I would love to buy the vehicle from Alberta (get Alberta plates), save the sales tax and drive it to BC (Register in BC afterwards). Is this possible?

Do I need a Alberta License to buy a vehicle in Alberta?

Do I need an address in Alberta to register the vehicle? (This is easy to deal with)

 

[bijan]

Don't know about BC, but in Ontario you pay full sales tax when you register the car, so no savings.

 

[Funkmobile]

Don't know about BC, but in Ontario you pay full sales tax when you register the car, so no savings.

Works the same in BC

 

[rypalmer]

Its very easy.. just move to Alberta and become a resident there instead of trying to cheat your way out of paying the taxes applicable.

 

[Akikiki]

Its possible as far as I am concerned. Bob, is it okay with you? Bob says, yep. Sally, is it okay with you? Sally says yes, okay with her. Sue, is it okay with you? Sue says its okay with her. Go ahead Ataman, we are okay with it.

 

[dmd2005]

Not worth the headaches if you get into an accident and the insurance figures out that you are actually out of province and then you’re not covered for any injury claim or at fault accident. If you can’t afford the Performance 3 with the 15% sales tax, then get the less costly SR+ and receive the full EV credit and pay 12% in taxes instead. The SR+ is still a great car.

 

[Murky-Article]

@dmd2005 and @rypalmer

I never said I could not afford it, but if I can save $7,500 by being smart, I rather have that money in my pocket. It is also not "cheating" you way from taxes, it is called Tax Avoidance "Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law."

I did a simple research and it seemed like I could register a vehicle in Alberta, get Alberta plates then bring the car into BC and register it here. There is no sales tax when transferring from AB to BC. My question is, can I legally own a vehicle in Alberta. This seemed perfectly logical and legal method which would save me $7,500 and a nice road trip with my brand new Tesla. I was just hoping someone with experience could guide me here. Anyways, thanks for comments.

 

[dmd2005]

@dmd2005 and @rypalmer

I never said I could not afford it, but if I can save $7,500 by being smart, I rather have that money in my pocket. It is also not "cheating" you way from taxes, it is called Tax Avoidance "Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law."

I did a simple research and it seemed like I could register a vehicle in Alberta, get Alberta plates then bring the car into BC and register it here. There is no sales tax when transferring from AB to BC. My question is, can I legally own a vehicle in Alberta. This seemed perfectly logical and legal method which would save me $7,500 and a nice road trip with my brand new Tesla. I was just hoping someone with experience could guide me here. Anyways, thanks for comments.

Quick answer is no unless you have a residence/address in AB. I know of a Tesla Model S owner who took advantage of the Quebec EV incentive of $11K a few years ago and somehow registered the car in Quebec (I believe his mom lived in Quebec and he used her address) but was driving and living in Vancouver with Quebec plates and insurance. Good luck in your “Tax avoidance plan.”

 

[alloverx]

Per another thread, you could try hitting the local store and see what deals you can get for unmatched vehicles they have onsite.. e.g. perhaps get free supercharging for 2 years if you take a different color or tire size?

 

[Murky-Article]

Per another thread, you could try hitting the local store and see what deals you can get for unmatched vehicles they have onsite.. e.g. perhaps get free supercharging for 2 years if you take a different color or tire size?

Thanks! I saw that however, I won't be taking delivery until late December since I am out of country until then. Maybe there will be a similar end of quarter deal next quarter!

 

[gdawg]

@dmd2005 and @rypalmer

I never said I could not afford it, but if I can save $7,500 by being smart, I rather have that money in my pocket. It is also not "cheating" you way from taxes, it is called Tax Avoidance "Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law."

I did a simple research and it seemed like I could register a vehicle in Alberta, get Alberta plates then bring the car into BC and register it here. There is no sales tax when transferring from AB to BC. My question is, can I legally own a vehicle in Alberta. This seemed perfectly logical and legal method which would save me $7,500 and a nice road trip with my brand new Tesla. I was just hoping someone with experience could guide me here. Anyways, thanks for comments.

Government has thought of that and wrote a rule to prevent that from happening because too many people would do that if it worked. Residents of B.C. bringing a car into B.C. must pay PST unless one if limited exceptions apply - see page 4 of the BC ministry of finance bulletin

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/taxes/sales-taxes/publications/pst-308-vehicles.pdf

 

[Murky-Article]

Government has thought of that and wrote a rule to prevent that from happening because too many people would do that if it worked. Residents of B.C. bringing a car into B.C. must pay PST unless one if limited exceptions apply - see page 4 of the BC ministry of finance bulletin

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/taxes/sales-taxes/publications/pst-308-vehicles.pdf

Thanks for the info! Answers the question!

 

[N.Y.R.]

Hey guys, any tips on how to rob a bank?

 

[Akikiki]

Ask Siri.

 

[Casmium]

Hey guys, any tips on how to rob a bank?

 

[pcons]

Hmmm, reading the govt doc I have the perfect plan: The OP can buy the car and put it in someone else's name. Then that person can 'gift' it back to the OP and that would avoid the tax.....yeah...foolproof!

I volunteer for this....and I'll totally, totally not just keep the car for myself .

Buy the car, pay the tax and stop trying to exploit loopholes. Just because companies can register offices offshore to avoid paying taxes doesn't make it right (IMHO of course)....but whatever let's you sleep at night....

 

[Watts_Up]

Hmmm, reading the govt doc I have the perfect plan:
The OP can buy the car and put it in someone else's name.
Then that person can 'gift' it back to the OP and that would avoid the tax.....yeah...foolproof!

Let see if you can get use of the following:

Here's Why So Many Exotic Cars Have Montana License Plates​

 

[ZooSean]

Canada has different laws as US, which lots of loopholes is avoided.

 

[pcons]

[
QUOTE="Watts_Up, post: 4027414, member: 97439"]Let see if you can get use of the following:

Here's Why So Many Exotic Cars Have Montana License Plates​

[/QUOTE]
Yeah, there is something fundamentally broken when people are allowed to do things like this. The more money you have, the easier it is to avoid paying for things that the rest of us 'honest' people pay.

A system set to specifically let exotic car buyers avoid tax, but not a minivan for a family of 5 is another example proving my point.

 

[Funkmobile]

Hmmm, reading the govt doc I have the perfect plan: The OP can buy the car and put it in someone else's name. Then that person can 'gift' it back to the OP and that would avoid the tax.....yeah...foolproof!

Still gotta pay PST

If you receive a vehicle as a gift you must pay PST on the fair market value of the vehicle, unless a specific exemption applies. If you receive a vehicle as a gift outside BC and bring or send the vehicle into the province, the PST is calculated based on the fair market value as of the date the vehicle enters BC. The PST rate depends on the type of vehicle and whether the gift is received from a GST registrant in Canada as a taxable supply, or as an exempt supply from a charity, or the gift is received from outside Canada