Buying Tacoma out of state (live in California)

I am looking to purchase a new Tacoma from a dealership in Arizona. My question is about the taxes...obviously I don’t want to pay taxes twice, so can you please tell me your experiences with this? I saw some threads related to this, but they were all a bit dated, so I figured I’d ask again.

1)is it possible that I defer paying taxes on the truck to when I register it in California?
2) if I am required to pay taxes in Arizona (and unable to pay my DMV directly), will they give me any sort of paperwork to give the DMV or any proof of tax payment?
3) I was told that if I get the truck shipped to my home, instead of buying a plane ticket and picking it up; I wouldn’t have to pay some portion of the applicable taxes/fees in that county. Can someone tell me more about this?

I don’t really care who I pay the tax to, but I just wanted to get some advice on how to make sure this goes smoothly. Don’t want to get screwed paying tax twice...

any other advice is welcome!

 

I don’t know about California (since I live in AZ) but In Arizona if you buy a vehicle out of state when you register it in Arizona you have to pay the tax, weather you paid it when you bought the vehicle or not.

 

You don't have to pay tax title at the dealer at least in indiana, but you have to pay when you transfer the title.

 

Ultimately you owe sales tax based on the address of title and registration; you won't owe double or anything. Most dealers, especially neighboring states, can collect and forward accordingly, though usually only at the state level. When you title and register, you would then owe any applicable city and county sales taxes. Some states, you can opt to pay none at the dealer and all of it at the time of registration. The only gain at the dealer, if so desired, you can roll the sales tax into the loan.

 

Heres some info from AZ Department Revenue that may help


https://azdor.gov/transaction-privilege-tax/motor-vehicle-sales

 

Thanks for the response. Would there be any documentation I should request from the dealer to show my local DMV that I have paid tax on the vehicle in Arizona, or would this automatically be done when I purchase the vehicle? Just want to make sure this is done right

 

This is exactly how it works in CA. I live in Los Angeles and bought my truck in Oregon.

Also, because I bought out of state, I had to get it smogged and weighed to get it fully registered. One last thing is that I received the registration after the temp one expired. Something about slow processing because it out of state.

 

The dealership will forward the paperwork to the CA DMV on your behalf. At least that’s what mine did.

 

Awesome. Is there anyway I can do a sanity check while I purchase the vehicle to make sure they’re doing this?

my experience with dealerships is after you make the purchase, they want nothing to do with you, so I’d like to make sure they do it all while I’m there

 

Only way is to call the dmv to verify they’ve received the paperwork (that can/will cause you to go insane in itself) or wait until the registration arrives to you in the mail. My temp one was about to expire so I called the dmv to inquire...that’s when I was told out of state can sometimes take longer to process.

 

Gotcha. Thanks for the insight.

 

I wouldn't worry about the registration. I live in NY and purchased in CT. The dealer handled everything. CA might be slightly different because you have to actually physically register your vehicle in the state. With my purchase, the dealer gave me a temporary registration to hold on to. Because of COVID, the State of CT and NY extended the registration from 30 to 90 and then 120 days. I then got the vehicle registration in the mail at about 100 days. It wasn't an issue for me at all. Clearly, NY and CT are close since we kind of view our area as a tristate entity (NY, CT and NJ). I bought my BMW in NY and it was also pretty easy ...

But if you want some comfort one thing to do is to contact the dealer's finance office and ask them to walk you through the process. Your salesperson may or may not actually know. But I would guess that most dealers in AZ do a fair amount of business in CA.

Good luck to you ! Just know that lots of people do these kinds of transactions and it is not really that big of a deal. Check on the process and you should be fine !

 

Thanks for the reassuring words!

 

It really is a simple transaction -- especially when the states are so close and there is a lot of volume. I paid for everything at the dealer and they handled the taxes and everything based on my address.

I do think it is worth a call to make them map it out for you. Better to know all the steps -- end to end -- so you fully understand.

 

I did this exact thing. I live in California and purchased in Arizona. It is a major pain in the ass.

When registering in California I had to do the following:
Pay for and get smog check
Pay for and get the truck weighed at a licensed California weighmaster
Have my lender send the original title to the dmv

Smog and weigh were easy, but annoying. 4 months later I’m still arguing with my lender about getting the title sent. The lender claims that the title isn’t required to register the truck with the dmv. The dmv obviously says otherwise.

The dealership in Arizona just gave me a temporary 60 day registration instead of charging me a full year of Arizona registration on top of what I would have to pay upon registering in California since I showed them my California drivers license and proof of residence. As far as sales tax was concerned I was charged normal sales tax in Arizona and the California dmv took that into account when figuring out what the sales tax should have been had I bought the truck in California. Adjusting/crediting as necessary.

if I could do it all again I would just purchase the truck in California, but at the time Arizona was the only place nearby that had what I wanted on the lot and not marked up a ton. Any benefit from money saved though has been offset with multiple dmv trips, smog and weigh chores, and many phone calls with my lender arguing about the title.

 

do you think if I used Toyota as a lender, this major headache would be solved? I assume you used a 3rd party lender.

this is awesome info, thank you

 

We bought a new car about 9 months before moving to CA in 2016.
The DMV used our purchase documents to determine taxes. They also required a smog check, and VIN check which they did (so had to have vehicle at DMV).
Of note, we were in CA for about 45 days before registering. The DMV assessed an extra fee for not registering in the first 30 days.

 

Only state taxes here in Wisconsin, I bought mine at CarMax and only had to pay for the cost of getting the Tacoma to Wis

 

Your sales contract should have a spot to at least cover the payment of the taxes. Most neighbor states can do it for you via the dealership. I bought one in AL but was registering in OK and dealer handled everything for me.

 

The lender shouldn't have "possession" of the title, whether it be a paper or electronic version. You own the vehicle, though the vehicle is effectively collateral for that loan. The title is locked down by the lender by a lien against it as identified on the title, but they don't own it nor keep the title.

Some states, California and Arizona included, use electronic titles if there is a lien. Only when the lender sends a lien release, paper or electronic, to the state will the state issue a free and clear paper title to you.

In short, your lender is correct, the state should have your electronic title by now. The lender doesn't have, or ever did, nor ability to issue a title.

Edit: typos