We need some help from a CA resident or someone who knows.
We are sitting here talking at work about how much it costs to register a car in CA. When we go to the DMV site there is a calculator that spits out a fee called ‘Total Use/Sales Tax’.
Is that just analogous to the sales tax that we pay here in OH when we get the title in our name? Or is that some other road use tax? I’m thinking the former since when IO punch in a car bought outside CA that would have had sales tax paid on it that fee is $0.
in CA use tax is the same as sales tax for items that you buy in another state (sales tax free I assume) and then use in CA. You used to have to pay it for things you bought off Amazon before they started adding in CA sales tax.
I would imagine for the DMV, it would be if you bought a car in a different state to try to avoid paying CA sales tax, they would still get you buy having to pay the use tax. However, at some point, if you bring in a car you have owned for a while, you shouldn’t have to pay a CA use tax when you register it in CA.
Depending on how long ago the car was bought, you’d have to pay some kind of transfer sales tax. Like if you bought the car in New Hampshire, where there is no sales tax, and took it to CA, you’d have to pay the full CA sales tax to the DMV.
Otherwise, it depends on the value of the car, depending on the age. Up to a certain vintage, it’s a percentage of a percentage of the MSRP. Older than that, it’s based on the GVWR.
In 06, I brought in a 04 Liberty bought new in Michigan. To get plates, we only paid the yearly fee.
The online calculator can include sales tax if you pick the right option. I just said if I buy a new car Thursday for $33k, it said the TOTAL fees are $2700. $2475 is sales/use tax, usually paid to the dealership. $314 would be the initial plate fees for the first year.