Will car sales tax change if you purchase AP after you buy the car?

[PoitNarf]

Depends on state but for me.

NJ no sales tax on EVs

If I want to upgrade the battery pack from 60 to 75. I need to pay sales tax on that upgrade.

Yes, the no sales tax on EVs in NJ is one of the many reasons why I’m getting the Model 3. For NJ residents it definitely makes sense to get EAP when you buy the car. If not then the cost of the EAP upgrade is not only $1000 extra, but you’ve got around $400 in sales tax thrown onto that as well ($6000 EAP upgrade after purchase X 6.625% NJ sales tax, the new tax rate in 2018). So getting EAP after buying the Model 3 in NJ would cost you $1400 more. If you get EAP when you buy the car then that $5000 option is part of the price of the car and not taxed by NJ.

 

[MIT_S60]

Any updates on this??

Is it confirmed post-delivery EAP will be $6k on the 3 ($1k more)?

Are they charging sales tax in SoCal?

In California:
If you bought first production ($49k) - Sales TAX and Registration Fees will be: $4,208
If you bought first production with EPA ($54k) - Sales Tax and Registration Fees will be: $4,628

So the difference is $420. And I would assume you can get a decent amount of credit card points on the purchase. Any credit card companies that will offer some rewards for a $5k purchase?? Figured with 5% cash back on automotive, that is $250 so I got $670 in total

They'll charge $1k more post delivery (just like on the S/X). And I believe CA charges sales tax on EAP/FSD. They charged me sales tax on the 60->75 software battery capacity unlock post delivery.

 

[K-MTG]

They'll charge $1k more post delivery (just like on the S/X). And I believe CA charges sales tax on EAP/FSD. They charged me sales tax on the 60->75 software battery capacity unlock post delivery.

I wonder if I change my address to Oregon and order EAP....will they charge me tax?

 

[T34ME]

I wonder if I change my address to Oregon and order EAP....will they charge me tax?

I think your car would have to be registered in Oregon too. California DMV is well aware of that ploy and you have to be very careful about signing paperwork under perjury penalty, it might get you into some sticky legal problems. Is saving $480 use tax that important to you?

 

[K-MTG]

I think your car would have to be registered in Oregon too. California DMV is well aware of that ploy and you have to be very careful about signing paperwork under perjury penalty, it might get you into some sticky legal problems. Is saving $480 use tax that important to you?

But isn't Tesla's act of charging sales tax in California also a direct violation of:

CA Code Regs. Title 18, Section 1502(f)(1)(D)
The sale or lease of a prewritten program is not a taxable transaction if the program is transferred by remote telecommunications from the seller’s place of business, to or through the purchaser’s computer, and the purchaser does not obtain possession of any tangible personal property, such as storage media, in the transaction.

 

[T34ME]

But isn't Tesla's act of charging sales tax in California also a direct violation of:

I don't know, I am not a tax attorney, but it is difficult to tell from your citation since it is out of context. If you believe it is a non-taxable transaction, why bring up establishing a bogus residence in Oregon?

 

[rxlawdude]

I don't know, I am not a tax attorney, but it is difficult to tell from your citation since it is out of context. If you believe it is a non-taxable transaction, why bring up establishing a bogus residence in Oregon?

Dunno about the Oregon thing, but he is right on that Tesla cannot assess sales tax on an e-delivered product.

Someone who has been charged CA sales tax on any OTA upgrade needs to school Tesla. Small Claims Court might be the easiest venue.

This stuff really pisses me off.

 

[whitex]

I don't think that's necessarily true.

For example, it may actually be worse (in some states like Washington) to pay for the feature later.

It depends on the feature. For example, in Washington the car is not sales tax exempt (used to be before July 2015, some still are partially - possibly Model 3 would qualify), however any battery or charging improvements are (details here), so there are some options which can be cheaper afterwards (for example back in the day when the difference between 60 and 75 was $9000, it was cheaper by about $400 to buy a 60 and then pay $9500 for post delivery upgrade). Similarly the post delivery installation of old dual chargers was cheaper, since there was no per/post delivery price difference.

To be sure, you always gotta do the math.