Texas Tax Due Date

[SCOOBY]

@jerry33. It's 20 working days, 30 calendar days, so you were on time.

@barbja. The section you quoted refers to sales tax on vehicle sales within Texas. If you read the section on vehicle sales in other states it is clear that tax (which is actually a use tax, not a sales tax) is due 20 working days after a vehicle is brought into Texas.

 

[jerry33]

Meaning what?

Meaning that my calculation of sales tax was more than I was charged by a significant amount. I just shut up and wrote the cheque

 

[hcoon2000]

What did the legislators do? How did they "freak out"?

I was told they should get started about 1:30pm with the Tesla part of the hearing to occur around 4:30pm. When the committee chair came in and saw the packed room he turned to an aid and asked what was going on today that drew such a crowd. After a bit of whispering at the front, the chairman left. When he returned he announced that they had shuffled the schedule but did not announce a new order. They simply told us they would not go in the published order.

I had to leave around 5pm and I heard they did not get to the question about Tesla until after 7pm. If each of us that had planned to speak was given our allotted five minutes the Tesla representation would have spoken for over two & half hours since there were over thirty of us. The chairman mentioned a few times that it would be a long hearing and we might want to go to a kiosk to vote our position rather than address the committee. If I wanted to simply vote I would have done it online from my office in Dallas as I did for the Senate's version of the bill, rather than go to Austin for the day so I could use a kiosk at the statehouse.

I was only aware of about three dealer representatives in the room and one was from the TADA. The dealers were far outnumbered by Tesla enthusiasts. The issue here is not one of consumer protection. It is crony protection.

 

[TSLA Pilot]

This didn't work out well for me.

I was led astray by the "90-day Temporary Registration" and the documentation provided by Tesla, and paid a penalty of hundreds of dollars. It would have been worse but for this TMC Forum, so I've again been saved by the collective knowledge of all of you. Thanks!

**NOTE TO ALL TEXAS BUYERS: YOU HAVE 20 WORKING DAYS TO REGISTER YOUR NEW TESLA!**

As an aside, however, we're all about to get our registration fees refunded, IF all goes well. (But don't hold your breath.) This little blurb was in one of the links posted previously for the Texas State Motor Vehicle Tax Guidebook:

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Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles


An ultra low-emission motor vehicle that is hydrogen power-capable and has a fuel economy of at least 45 miles per gallon, or that is fully hydrogen-powered, is exempt from Texas motor vehicle tax.
A qualifying hydrogen-powered motor vehicle is a vehicle that meets Phase II standards established by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) as of Sept. 1, 2007, for an ultra low-emission vehicle II or stricter Phase II emission standards established by that board. For information, visit the ARB website at Air Resources Board - Homepage.


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One would think that if the goal of this legislation was to encourage cleaner air, all Teslas would qualify for this waiver of Motor Vehicle Taxes, no? How can the cleanest car made not receive this treatment as well? My best guess is that there are no Hydrogen-fueled automobiles to be found in Texas (and darn close to zero elsewhere as well) so it's time for the Texas Legislature to get serious. Today is yet another "Ozone Alert Day" here in DFW, thanks to the exhaust of millions of cars and trucks, plus the gases released by the Great Fracking Boom here . . . and we're effectively penalized because we have cleaner cars, but that don't use Hydrogen. Wow.

 

[GLACIER]

Oh no... I think I'm cutting it pretty close. They said they'll be overnighting me my paperwork today. I've already had the car for a couple of weeks...maybe a few weeks already!?