I purchased a vehicle in Indiana and went to my county tax office to title and register it. I bought it from a dealer and paid Indiana sales tax. Based on what I had researched beforehand, I understood that since I paid tax at least equal to the rate in my county of residence in Georgia, I would not have to pay "sales tax" in Georgia to register it. However, the tax office people stated that I must still pay a "sales tax" to Georgia for said vehicle. They say there are reciprocal agreements which usually allow a credit of 4% when paid to out of state dealers, which is supposedly the case with Indiana, so I am responsible for 3% of the purchase price before I can register the vehicle.
Now, I have looked more and have seen all kinds of different answers to this. Indiana's information says I have to pay the sales tax to them, and that Georgia is forbidden by the Constitution's Commerce Clause from taxing me again and thus must give me a credit. Georgia's site is ambiguously worded but could be understood to mean that they don't care what I paid to another state, I have to pay it all again when registering. Some things I have seen say the dealer should either send Georgia a check for the tax in my county of residence or give me one back after the purchase that covers the amount, so I can pay it when registering.
Anybody have knowledge of this? I really do not want to have to pay another several hundred dollars, as that was not part of my calculation of whether the vehicle was worth the price. A 10% tax rate is not very nice.
Beyond the issue directly at hand, how can a state even purport to charge a sales tax on an item not purchased in said state? I am not seeing a difference here between Georgia trying to tax my vehicle transaction 3 states away and me going across the border to South Carolina and buying some groceries and Georgia saying I have to pay a sales tax on those groceries if I want to eat them while I'm Georgia. How does this even begin to make any sense?
This has got me steamed. Unfortunately I only have a few days left on my temporary tag before it will be illegal to drive my recent purchase without registering here.
Now, I have looked more and have seen all kinds of different answers to this. Indiana's information says I have to pay the sales tax to them, and that Georgia is forbidden by the Constitution's Commerce Clause from taxing me again and thus must give me a credit. Georgia's site is ambiguously worded but could be understood to mean that they don't care what I paid to another state, I have to pay it all again when registering. Some things I have seen say the dealer should either send Georgia a check for the tax in my county of residence or give me one back after the purchase that covers the amount, so I can pay it when registering.
Anybody have knowledge of this? I really do not want to have to pay another several hundred dollars, as that was not part of my calculation of whether the vehicle was worth the price. A 10% tax rate is not very nice.
Beyond the issue directly at hand, how can a state even purport to charge a sales tax on an item not purchased in said state? I am not seeing a difference here between Georgia trying to tax my vehicle transaction 3 states away and me going across the border to South Carolina and buying some groceries and Georgia saying I have to pay a sales tax on those groceries if I want to eat them while I'm Georgia. How does this even begin to make any sense?
This has got me steamed. Unfortunately I only have a few days left on my temporary tag before it will be illegal to drive my recent purchase without registering here.