• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A $11k Sales Tax on a TR3

Share this page

Wow - I'm wondering if Mass. DMV was hoping the poor guy wouldn't question the assessment.

"The state used the book value of the Triumph. But it used the wrong one. Why? Because there is no book value for that vehicle in 1982, when Coomey bought it. It apparently was never computed. So instead, the state used the 2019 book value of Coomey’s Triumph: $12,350. That’s a lot more than it was worth in 1982."

But seems to me he'd have noticed the use of the $12,350 soon as he saw it. Yikes. Pays to check the math.

Tom M.
 
Couple of weird things about used car sales between private parties in Mass. Most people think you pay the sales tax when you go to register the car. If you have a long term project and don't pay the sales tax at the time you bought it, you get dinged for penalties and interests when you go to register it years later. I got hit for about $300 in penalties on my Healey. And because they felt people were undervaluing sale prices in private sales, they now base the tax on book value. If you buy a POS TR6 for $500, you're going to pay sales tax on the book for a fully restored one. Totally unfair, but those who've appealed haven't one yet. Someone will have to take them to court eventually.
 
Hey, watch what you say about my TR6 :welcoming:
 
Gliderman8 said:
Hey, watch what you say about my TR6 :welcoming:
Click to expand...

Didn't mean the TR6 was a POS, just that someone could by a rusted out parts car for $500 and pay big tax on it. Think about how unfair it would be if you bought a car for restoration that would be worth$50 or $60k when restored and how much the sales tax would be.
 
HealeyRick said:
Didn't mean the TR6 was a POS, just that someone could by a rusted out parts car for $500 and pay big tax on it. Think about how unfair it would be if you bought a car for restoration that would be worth$50 or $60k when restored and how much the sales tax would be.
Click to expand...
I know you didn't mean it that way Rick... just having some fun.
 
So get 2 identical vehicles and register one and swap the tag on the one you want to drive. That will show the tax man. Haha
 
hondo402000 said:
So get 2 identical vehicles and register one and swap the tag on the one you want to drive. That will show the tax man. Haha
Click to expand...
.

Well-known story from Cape Cod many years ago. Two brothers had identical red MGBs. They registered one and got two plates. Put one plate on the rear of each car and drove around that way for the summer.
 
I was at a car show a few years ago and someone that I knew had two old jeeps in the show. I noticed that they both only had one plate. With the same numbers!
 
Well, that's the world that we're living in. We are getting taxed for everything we do, and that's something stupid.
 
Massachusetts has some interesting concepts when it comes to taxation. The state taxes many little things - giving it the reputation of "taxachusetts".

However, the total tax burden is about average when compared to other states - around 10%. NY has the highest total burden, AK the lowest.

Back on topic, I was not aware of the used car valuation process. My TR4A, still in pieces, has a NC title (in my name), even though I have been in MA for a few years. I probably should change that...
 
To be fair, the state lowered his tax from 11k to $980, basis the actual price he paid vs. the book value of a restored example.

Still a lot of money on a car that he paid 1,000 for!!!
 
Yes, and, frankly, I have a hard time feeling sorry for the guy. He skirted the rules, and the resulting mess was hard to clear up. Dunno about MA, but here in CA, he could have transferred the title, paid the sales tax, and registered the car for nonoperational status. Registration renewal then would have been just a few $$ annually, until he removed the nonop. Simple.

We all know the rules. Follow them, and this sort of thing won't happen.
 
On one of Tush's videos where he is working on a TR4 I believe with a friend he said "Take lots of photos of the condition of the car you bought so you will not be taxed on the fully restored car.
When I tried to get my TR3A registered in Georgia I was told to come back when it was ready to drive. They accepted my bill of sale as valuation but I did not have to register it while it was in restoration.

David
 
Besides that, nowadays, taxes have reached some insane levels. Sometimes, if you buy an older car, you'll have to pay a more significant tax than the car price. Ain't that stupid? I read about a particular tax in Italy, which I consider is the most stupid thing in the world. They are getting taxed for having a second TV at home! For f, sake, that's insane! I tried to generate an Italian paystub from > Paystub Generator | Paystub Creator - PayStubCreator < and deduct all the taxes. Man, that doesn't look great.
 
David, that's interesting. When I went to get my TR4A title transferred, I was told (at AAA) that I didn't need to do this until it was ready to drive. That didn't seem right to me--so I went to the DMV and checked. It wasn't right, and, with the delays, I have to pay a penalty of (I think...) $75. Plus, of course, the sales taxes and reg fees. But without the title transfer, I didn't legally own the car, and I would have been restoring a car that was in someone else's name. No way would I do that.
 
Each state seems to do it a little differently.
I had taken the Bill of sale and the North Carolina title to our local DMV. They were the ones that said it did not have to be registered till it was ready to drive. As it was pre 1962 they do not issue a title it just goes on the bill of sale in Georgia.
I was about 6 to 9 months from being a driver and I decided I needed insurance to protect what I had and at the same time I had it inspected by the local sheriff to get it registered ready to have a tag issued.

David
 
Back
Top