Advice on tax implications of selling and buying a car?

How do I minimize my tax liability if I am going to sell a car and replace it with a purchase?

 

So this seems like an odd question but... a bill of sale saying you sold it for $10,000 and a new bill of sale for new purchase saying you bought it for $10,000 works well and is a well worn path.

Interesting, here in NJ no bill of sale required for a purchase. They just ask you. I bought my 348 very cheap. [emoji39]

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Hmmn.. let me try to be more specific.. I plan to sell a car that I bought for 50K for 100k, so 50K gain. I plan to "re-invest" all of that money in another car costing 100K. Is there any way to defer the tax on the gain? What about buying thru a dealer? is there a 1031 option?

 

The car that you bought for 50k and sold for 100k get a bill of sale saying you sold it for 30k.

The car you're going to buy have them write a bill of sale send you bought it for 30k.

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Highly recommend against giving the advice of evading short/longterm capital gains, and/or tax evasion. Just my $.02, it's the internet...you never know who is watching.

You can 1031 on a car sale, and purchase, start here, https://www.1031exchange.com/1031-exchange-rules-allow-purchase-investment-automobiles/ and further more, obviously consult your accountant, they should be able to walk you through it.

If you were selling your car TO the dealer, and purchasing from them (ie. a trade in) then (maybe state dependent?) you'd be able to realize less sales tax liability towards your new purchase, but how you explained it, you're selling privately and then, undecided on who you're buying from (just a guess?).

@Texas Forever may have some keen words of wisdom here...

 

Naw, Im way too cute for jail.

 

Nothing to pay in the uk!

 

I’m interesting in this topic as well… I have some cars that have appreciated but my CPA told me that cars do not fall into the 1031 exchange category?
Any other advice?


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I absolutely agree with the first part here.

But before selling that car, carefully read the linked article and understand 1031 exchanges. They are for “anything held for productive use.” I find it very hard to argue that any collector car falls under this definition and not a “collectible item”. And any increased in value of a collectible is taxed at the income tax rate of the seller, not as a capital gain, no matter how long you’ve owned the collectible.

Matt

 

That is correct. You can't do a 1031 exchange on cars anymore.

 

Generally, losses on a car are non-deductible because it is a "personal-use" asset.

If you are not a car dealer, any gain is a capital gain. Now, here's where it gets sticky. The regular capital gain tax rate is 20%. But if you sell a "collectible," the capital gain rate is 28%. What's the difference between a car and a collectible? It depends on how good your CPA is. I take the position a car is not a collectible, unless you brought it as an investment. But if you brought a car, drove it or whatever, then got lucky because it went up in value, I don't believe that is a collectible. YMMV.

 

So you’re saying I’m screwed [emoji51]


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A wise philosopher once said......

 

Mo Money, Mo Problems

 

These are good problems no?

 

Not only that, but if you are receiving SS and Medicare, since your AGI will go up, more of your SS will be taxable, and they will take more out of SS for Medicare Part B. Everybody wants some!

 

A question for anyone that would know, how does the IRS track private party transactions?

Some people only deal in cash.

To the OP, was the purchase price of the car you are selling recorded somewhere?

 

If you make a deposit of $10,000 or more in a single transaction, your bank must report the transaction to the IRS.

 

yes, but not 9,900 a week

 

Sure, but when they call you and ask about structuring, have fun with that explanation...

 

Yes but a wall safe in your home is not a bank.

 

Why not consider working with a consignor to handle the sale/buy/trade - in this manner you can offset the sales tax on the new car by the trade-in value on the current car. Obviously the consignor gets a vig, but you should be able to negotiate that if all he's doing in the transfer.

As for the IRS, how would they even know you bought/sold a car for a profit? Does the DMV have a feed into the IRS? I doubt it.

 

I assume you are joking, but:

"Even if your deposits don’t exceed the $10,000 threshold, your bank could still consider them worthy of reporting. The IRS requests financial institutions to watch for suspicious activity, which could mean large transactions or series of similar deposits over time. If your bank flags you for this type of activity, you might not know that you’re considered suspicious."

 

Get a dealers license and buy/sell cars that way if you are in it for business/investment purposes and not pleasure?

 

see my comment about structuring ...