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Tax on AP purchase?
- Thread starter rlb4
- Start date
Correct. when you buy it as part of the car it's considered a car purchase and you are charged your state's appropriate vehicle tax. buying it aftermarket counts as a normal software purchase and you are charged your states sales tax. Unfortunately that's the way it is.
Tesla knows which state your car is registered in and charges you that tax. Or it might be the state in which your credit card is registered in. Either way you can't just be in another state and buy it.
notAnExpert
Member
According to NJ’S New Rules for Software Sales Tax
In New Jersey, tangible personal property is subject to sales tax. The state’s definition of tangible personal property includes prewritten computer software, regardless of whether the software is delivered to a customer via a disc or drive, or is electronically transmitted or downloaded. Thus, prewritten computer software is subject to sales tax.
I have my doubts about that one. If someone give me the money and account info and I bought it in a different state you think Tesla would still charge me the sales tax? What if I move to a different state AFTER I buy my car. How does Tesla magically track your registration state?
Well tesla registered my car for me so I assume they have that. But yea if I changed states it may not update unless I change my account address or the credit card zip used. So wouldn't surprise me if it is either that or you have to manually tell Tesla to update your location
I’m in NJ as well. If you purchased your 3 in 2018 like me then had you opted to get FSD with the car it would have been an extra $3000, or $4000 if upgrading after taking delivery. If you buy the FSD upgrade before Monday it will be $2000 + $132.50 NJ sales tax, which is still $867.50 cheaper than if you had ordered the 3 with FSD and not paid sales tax on it.
This is no different than if you had the option of getting all weather floor mats with the car purchase or afterwards. Anything purchased after the initial car sale whether it be tangible like floor mats or intangible like software is not considered part of the car and is not NJ sales tax exempt.
It would be nice wouldn’t it? Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. If you were able to buy upgrades for your car tax free after the initial purchase where would it stop? Would we be able to get new tires tax free? Roof rack tax free? Ain’t gonna happen.
I just bought my SR+ with autopilot, it does not charge tax on the 3k autopilot because it's part of a car now. After the purchase, if I want to upgrade to FSD, then they'll charge tax on that. I don't see our *functional* government will approve such legislation in time or before the car becomes so old so only autopilot for me.
Ludalicious
Active Member
North Dakota has sales tax, Montana does not. If you are a ND resident with an ND plated vehicle and drive to a dealer in MT to have a hitch installed, you will not be paying ND sales tax on that hitch. It is a sales tax, not a residency tax.
Additionally, what if the OP went into NY and bought AP while at a service center, does NJ get the tax revenue?
You should pay the sales tax for the municipality you are in when you complete the purchase.
Additionally, what if the OP went into NY and bought AP while at a service center, does NJ get the tax revenue?
You should pay the sales tax for the municipality you are in when you complete the purchase.
Tesla charges sales tax based upon where your car is registered so if a NY resident was in NJ when they purchased AP/FSD they'll still have to pay NY sales tax and NY gets the tax revenue. I wasn't even aware you could purchase AP/FSD upgrades at the service centers themselves, I thought those things could only be done through Tesla's website.
So if a Montana owned Tesla drove into ND to have an accessory purchased and installed, Tesla would not charge the ND sales tax? No chance.
I hear what you are saying about what Tesla "does", but that does not mean it is right. Tesla may have states looking for sales tax paybacks, because it sounds like they are collecting sales tax for states that the transaction did not necessarily take place in.
If you are talking about a physical accessory like floor mats or a roof rack then you’re right, the sales tax will be charged based upon where the purchase is physically made. But software is treated differently. Think of it being ordered with a “shipping” address of your home regardless of where you are physically located when you actually place the order. Again, I’m not aware of being able to purchase AP or FSD from an actual physical Tesla location so perhaps it may be different in that case.
