vehicle sales tax
 

k, so i'm trading my fc for an s14. :mad: (it sucks, but i kinda have to) but anyways, do i still have to pay sales tax on the vehilcle even though it was a trade? are theyre any rules as to how much you can "sell" a car for. like, could i put down that i sold my car for $100?

they will put the value of the sales tax at the lowest "worth" value. like my fc, they said it was worth like 2500$ or some junk, so they put the sales tax on that price. You can always contest it with having like estimates of repairs on it (like get something in writing for a new engine/rebuild, or body work etc), or have someone look at it and appraise it, or some other various things. There is also the choice (if available) to gift it to the other party, but that can only be done like once in the vehicles history or some wierd stipulation like that. I just did the repair cost thing to bring it down to a tolerable level.

I believe gifting a vehicle can only be done when the other party is a family member.

I have no idea, I gifted a vehicle to someone I wasn't related to.

if you're trading, then there's no sales tax at all. you only pay tax on money exchanged. if it's written up as a straight up trade, there will be no tax.

New car price minus your trade in. You only have to pay sales tax on the difference. If you do it with a dealer its simple, but I don't know if private transactions are the same?

also, the car is from out of state

Washington State charges EXCISE TAX on vehicle transfers; not sales tax. It's like sales tax, but it covers private party sales and, I believe, trades as well. Basically, they screw you every time you register a new vehicle, no mater the circumstance. The tax is proportional to the value of the vehicle. Their computer gives them the a acceptable value range of the vehicle and if you claim something outside that range, they make you provide an affidavit signed by the seller. If it's really far-fetched, they could investigate and nail you for fraud. Basically, keep the value you claim somewhat reasonable and cover yourself by getting the affidavit signed by the seller. Like the Mob, the state just wants a "taste" of the money. If you offer them nothing, they get mad.
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Blake

I've used this form several times without any problems, "Declaration of Buyer and Seller Regarding Value of Used Vehicle" http://dor.wa.gov/content/forms/

ok, I KNOW FOR A FACT that if you have paperwork saying that you traded vehicle for vehicle that NO TAX of any kind will be charged. The paperwork must specify that no money was exchanged.

There's a lot of different oppinions on here, none of wich are from licensing agents (to the best of my knowledge). I would recomend making a phone call to one to find out for sure, just so you're not in for any surprises.

GOD DAMMIT!!! I'm telling you I've done this.

what kind of paperwork do you need?

bill of sale stating terms of agreement...
write one up on with vin numbers, date of transaction, terms of transaction.
not rocket science...

John,

I have personally done this twice in the past few years. There is NO TAX! You have nothing to worry about. As long as the Licensing place deems the vehicles as close in value it will be the easiest thing you have ever done. The whole process takes 2 minutes.

wut he said