California Fees - buying car out of state?

This is accurate. Registration fees on a newly acquired car is basically sales tax.

You think California is going to let a chance to tax a car multiple times slide?
It kind of sucks if really. If you think about it, the government is literally getting tons of tax revenue from a single car, maybe even more than the value of the car itself if it changes hands enough times.

 

wow damn i have never heard about this...but definitely something to watch out for. Sucks to be stuck with thousands of fees after u finally managed to get back from out of state. Good info for CA buyers

 

Your original post had a scenario of 3 different owners.

 

Double check on the California DMV website, but I'm 99% certain there is no "penalty" tax for registering a previously California registered car in California. It wouldn't make sense; that would incentivize buyers to buy out of state cars, which sends that juicy dealership corporate income tax money out of California.

 

This will be of interest to me as well, I've bought a few cars out of state, paid the standard fees (I believe them only to be sales tax, which hurt, but no additional "registration fees" atop those). Last one I bought in Detroit, had to pay their fees there, then when I arrived in CA paid a little more as our fees here were higher so they deducted the Detroit fees from the CA fees. Am not aware of any such "penalties" you speak of but will await hearing from those much smarter than me to chime in with personal experience. Have you tried calling the DMV?

I sold a car the beginning of this year the process has changed a bit making it more confusing when there is a bank title involved, they now issue the new owner only a temp registration even if the loan is then paid in full until such time as the actual pink slip is issued... this can create serious concerns on the buyers side as it will show them not as the owner but a bank lien until a couple weeks later. AAA knew nothing about this when we went there then headed over to the DMV to take care of transfer. It'snot clean cut like it used to be with this new year change.

 

In late 2010 I bought a Cali in Dallas and shipped it back to California. Just usual sales tax and registration fee. Registration was 1% of value as I recall. And it depreciates every year with car...

SV

 

American,

The CA DMV website has a calculator that will tell you the cost to register the car and a breakdown of the various fees it is derived from.

Sales tax is not something unique to California. Most states charge sales tax each time a car is sold. Montana is the only exception I know of.

What obbob states is not quite accurate. The sales tax in your hypothetical situation is around 8%, or $14K, depending on the county you live in. The registration will be around $3,500, which is composed of a bunch of various fees (or taxes). A few of the individual fees are for "re-registering" the Car back in California. It is these fees that are generally thought of as a penalty fee.

It's a bit of a misnomer as a similar situation applies if the car had remained in California but the owner had let the registration lapse for a few years. Unless the car had been put in non-operational status, it too will be subject to "catch up" fees once it is again registered in CA.

Being a CA native in the military and moving around frequently, I've been subject to both scenarios.

 

PS. - Since you pay sales tax only once, the trick is to buy AND pay taxes in a state/county where the taxes are the lowest before you bring the car to CA.

 

Nope. New to California.

DMV does have an online calculator.

SV

 

As the above post says, use the online fee calculator on the CA DMV site and you'll have the answer.

 

Don't know the deal here

Yet CA is looking to avoid people taking CA cars to other states for shell corps to do the plates.

 

The only time, I've heard of this additional reg fee charge happening is when the owner who originally registered the car in Cali, doesn't bother to notify the California DMV that the car was sold to someone out of state (which requires just a simple SR22 form). He then get's the reg fee notices every year, but just ignores them and tosses into trash. Then when someone tries to bring this car back into CA, when this person goes to try and register, then he has to pay all the penalties and back reg.