Anbody with Georgia DMV knowledge

dbodkin

Senior Member
pretty simple question......
If I buy a motor vehicle out of state do I pay Georgia state sales tax? I am looking at buying a used motorcycle over in Alabama. The dealer just said make a check for the bike thats it... What happens when I register the bike in Georgia? tax wise..... I cant see why Georgia would be eligble for sales tax when the sale was out of state??? ::huh:
 

Toliver

Senior Member
You'll be sent a form to fill out. You have to figure the % of taxes for the county in which you live and then mail in the appropriate sales tax. For example if you pay 10,000 for the motorcycle and your county tax is 7%, you'll owe the state 700 dollars.
 

dbodkin

Senior Member
They will take my word for the amount paid :bounce:
It wouldnt bother me to pay taxes on a "NEW" bike but this is a 1998 used one.. being taxed on something already taxed just bugs me....
 

Toliver

Senior Member
Now I don't know about used. But when I bought a trailer out of state, the dealer sent something to Georgia to let them know I'd bought it and how much I paid for it.
 

try2shoot

Senior Member
If buying from a dealer, you have to pay taxes. Bought a Honda at a Ford dealer in Alabama, had to pay taxes a couple weeks after.
 

dbodkin

Senior Member
Man I hate to part with money for taxes on something that already had taxes paid on it... :banginghe Oh well live & learn.... Thanks for the input guys....
 

GeauxLSU

Senior Member
If you buy from an individual (in or out of state), no tax. If you buy from an out of state dealer you are supposed to pay tax but there is only about a 50/50 chance the state has it's act together enough to charge you. Dealerships are licensed businesses and as such sell taxable goods and services.
Not to get in your business, but I've bought and sold more than a few bikes in my life and quite a few for friends and family and I've never seen one at a dealer that wasn't WAY WAY overpriced.
Be happy to help you do some looking if you haven't fallen in love already, or even if you have.
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 

rip18

Senior Member
Couple of different things...

We bought a car in FL from a dealer. We could do one of two things: 1) pay the Georgia tax ourselves or 2) pay the dealer Georgia taxes rather than Florida taxes. We paid the dealer, who then did not pay ALL of the Georgia taxes because "they were only responsible for X%" even though Georgia charges Y% and we had paid them Y%. It didn't take very long for me to convince them to pay Georgia Y%. I was a little disappointed because I did not get to go back down to the dealer and say something face-to-face - I was looking forward to it by that point in time... :bounce:

Buying from an individual vs. dealer or business in Georgia. I bought a used truck from an individual in Georgia. Turns out the truck was in the farm business' name. Even though the business was not a dealer, I owed tax on the truck because it came from a business rather than an individual. GA Dept. of Revenue started sending me bills. At that time, I lived in Baker County with an Arlington mailing address. Now Arlington is half in Calhoun & half in Early county. It took me FOREVER to convince the GA Dept. of Revenue that I didn't owe them the extra 1% that Calhoun had over Baker...

Get Phil to get you a deal!!!!
 

Skipper

Banned
Kentucky will rip you a new one on vehicle tax.

It if's in your name Jan1st you owe property tax on it. If you sell it in October, and your tag month is in December, you can bet you'll have to pay for the one you sold 2 months ago as well as the ones you still own. My favorite thing to do is buy one out of state in December and not tag it till January 2nd. That way I can own it 2 years without paying property tax on it. ::huh:

As far as bringing one here from out of state.

New or Used, when you go to tag it, you have to have it inspected by the Sheriff ($10 fee). The only thing he does is look at the vin# and make sure it isn't stolen. Then you go to the clerks office who will tell you what they think you should have paid for the vehicle and charge you sales tax based on their assumption. (Note, their assumption is generally high) When you buy out of state, you sign an out of state sales tax waiver and do not pay tax in that state. If you did pay tax in Tennessee, Kentucky will still want theirs.

If you move to Kentucky and bring a vehicle with you that you have owned for the last 10 years and you didn't keep the receipt where you paid sales tax on it when you purchased it, Kentucky assumes you have never paid any tax on it and it is a new purchase. You will have to pay sales tax again. Don't worry about the price you paid for it, Kentucky will determine that for you. :( I bought a pickup when I lived in Alabama in 89. I moved to Knoxville in 91 and Kentucky in 93. I had to pay sales tax on my truck again when I moved to Kentucky. I paid $5,000 for the truck when I bought it, drove it 90 some thousand miles in those 4 years and Kentucky valued it at $6,000 for me to pay sales tax on. No matter how big of a fit I threw down there, I had to pay it or else. The thing is, the old truck's electrical system shorted out 2 weeks later and it caught fire and burned in front of the courthouse. ::ke:

The moral to the story is, if you move to Kentucky, sell your vehicle before you come here and buy another one. You might as well, you'll be paying sales tax anyway.

Skipper
 

dbodkin

Senior Member
Too late Phil.. I already fell in love...

1998 FXSTC with extras..... :cool: :yeah:
 

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Toliver

Senior Member
Dat's purdy.
 

dbodkin

Senior Member
Actually after seeing that link Phil I feel real good. The bike I bought was exactly the same price out the door. Although I guess I owe Georgia sales tax on a used bike. :banginghe One difference is it only has 3250 miles on it. All the dress up and engine work are all Harley-Davidson. No third party parts were used. I didnt have to drive up North for it.. too cold for me ;) I do need to get a buddy seat pad. The wife says she wants to ride once in a while :cool:

I do like the looks of those apehangers and the notched rear fender on that one...
 
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GeauxLSU

Senior Member
dbodkin said:
Actually after seeing that link Phil I feel real good. ...
:cool:
Maybe we'll go riding one day. Just sold my Valk so it'll have to be on my 'wife's bike' (I'm going to keep telling myself that to shame me into submission... :eek: )
Hunt/fish safely,
Phil
 
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