Many show rooms closing… Now what?

[SucreTease]

When you buy out-of-state the selling dealership will collect your state sales tax on the amount you paid on your behalf. When you go to register your car back in your state you will find that what you owe (state, county & city sales tax) will be less by this amount if your DMV rep explains it properly. So you're not paying CA tax at the time of delivery but they may require a certain amount of "state tax" at the time of delivery... they just failed to explain what tax you were paying and what was happening with that money.

This is how it works in every state. You pay tax for your city, county & state if they require it and NOT that of where you bought the car from unless it happens to be in the same city, county and sate but you don't pay twice.

The Nashville Service Center did not charge or collect any state sales tax--neither for Tennessee nor Alabama.

 

[Ostrichsak]

The Nashville Service Center did not charge or collect any state sales tax--neither for Tennessee nor Alabama.

I didn't say they always do. I said that if they do it's collected for the state where the vehicle will be registered and submitted on your behalf.

 

[HeloCaptain]

Not true. It is generally paid in the state where it is registered. I picked up my Tesla in Nashville, but I live in Alabama and had to pay sales tax when I registered it in Alabama.

Sales tax payments are determined by the state in which you take delivery AND the state where the vehicle will be registered.

For example - our first Tesla was purchased via a store in MA. It was a Model S inventory vehicle in FL. I explored FL sales tax laws online and found that FL charges out of state purchasers the same sales tax rate as their home state (so it will vary). My home state, NH, charges no sales tax. So, when I went to FL and picked up my car, I paid no sales tax and left the state with a temporary FL tag.

Our second Tesla, a Model X was a display vehicle on the floor at a different store in MA. We had stopped for a minor service issue, wife saw the Model X, tried it on in the showroom and expressed her interest in obtaining THAT vehicle. We negotiated a deal during that visit, went home to NH and completed the deal online. The car was delivered in a trailer to our home in NH. No sales tax paid to any entity. If I had taken delivery in MA, I would have been required to pay MA sales tax.