Question
California tax when taking delivery in Fremont
2 months ago
For those who took delivery in Fremont but live and register in a different state: did you have to pay California sales tax on the purchase?
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For those who took delivery in Fremont but live and register in a different state: did you have to pay California sales tax on the purchase?
No, sales tax (also known as use tax for vehicles) is always paid to the state where the vehicle is registered.
Vehicles are treated differently so the state where they are owned and operated receives the tax. This helps prevent people from buying in a no- or low-sales-tax state and driving home to avoid the tax.
We’re Texas residents. Paid taxes in Texas and left the Fremont site with California temporary tags.
Same for Florida.
No tax in Delaware if your vehicle is registered there. Good example of how it works.
Thanks for the input. The tricky part is that if you buy a car in California, you pay tax if you drive it off the lot yourself; it has to be trailered across the border to avoid California tax. My concern was whether that applied to driving a trailer off the Fremont Pebble lot. Apparently, because Fremont is Pebble’s headquarters and Pebble has no franchised dealers in other states, it is exempt from that rule and they can issue a temporary tag. I wanted to make sure that was what people were experiencing in the real world.
You can take delivery in Fremont without paying California tax. If you tell Pebble ahead of time that you will take it out of state to register and title in your home state, they do not process California DMV paperwork or charge California taxes; you file that in your home state. Avoid giving California a reason to think the trailer is used primarily in California: have domicile elsewhere, take it out of state promptly, and title and register it in your home state. Pebble may later request paperwork confirming the home-state registration and taxes.
That makes sense, but only because Pebble is direct to consumer and has no authorized dealerships outside California. My earlier comment was specifically about cars, not trailers.