Ready to order, move to another state in a few months - wondering which state to register

[sbi]

Greetings,

This question is applicable to just about any car, but since I am ready to order a 2021 F-150 I am posting it here.
Admins - feel free to move/delete if this is the wrong place.

I currently live in MA and will move to SC sometime this summer.
I can order the car pretty much at any dealership across the country, whoever gives me the best price of course.
Best case scenario would be of course to get the car in MA/New England area before the move, but then I thought perhaps it would be better to register it in SC (we own property in SC, although it's currently rented) because if I register it in my current state first (MA), I will need to pay taxes to MA and then pay taxes again in SC when we move (unless that's not the case and hopefully someone can shed light on that).
So assuming I will indeed need to pay taxes twice - once in MA and then in SC after we move - the idea was to register it directly in SC and drive it to MA for a couple of months until we leave our house, pack and move.

Any input on this "world's first" dilemma will be appreciated.

Thanks.

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[Wolf Man]

Most likely you will only have to pay sales tax once so register it in whichever state charges the lowest sales tax. Any other taxes or fees are usually paid once a year although I do think there are some states that let you pay every 2 years.

 

[flatag]

Usually, well in Florida, to avoid additional taxes the vehicle needs to be registered in the other state for a minimum of 6 months. If not,and taxes are to be paid, you pay the difference if SC taxes are higher. I doubt SC taxes are higher than Taxachusetts. SCs license and registration bureau online could tell you.

 

[05RubiconLJ]

There are several factors to consider, but if you are going to be living in SC you should likely just register there to make the process more streamlined.

- Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25%; South Carolina is 5%. That's $875 on a $70K truck

- If you are trading, which state allows a tax offset for your trade? My trade knocked $33k off the price of the truck which saved me $2K.

- What state you buy the truck in could impact your ability to take delivery of the truck. For instance, Florida requires you to pay Florida sales tax if you drive the car off the lot. I bought a car in Florida and had to have it trucked out of state to avoid this. If the registering state has a reciprocal relationship, you get credit for the tax paid, but if they do not you may get double taxation. Either way, it makes dealing with registering the vehicle a pain in the butt.

- Some states require you to have established residency in the state to register. As long as you can show that you own the land, this should be a null point.

 

[sbi]

There are several factors to consider, but if you are going to be living in SC you should likely just register there to make the process more streamlined.

- Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25%; South Carolina is 5%. That's $875 on a $70K truck

- If you are trading, which state allows a tax offset for your trade? My trade knocked $33k off the price of the truck which saved me $2K.

- What state you buy the truck in could impact your ability to take delivery of the truck. For instance, Florida requires you to pay Florida sales tax if you drive the car off the lot. I bought a car in Florida and had to have it trucked out of state to avoid this. If the registering state has a reciprocal relationship, you get credit for the tax paid, but if they do not you may get double taxation. Either way, it makes dealing with registering the vehicle a pain in the butt.

- Some states require you to have established residency in the state to register. As long as you can show that you own the land, this should be a null point.

Thank you Matt.

I don't think I'll be trading anything at this point, or at least it won't be worth much.
First time I hear about reciprocal relationship between states when it comes to car purchasing and taxes. I just looked it up and looks like SC has no such agreement with any other state, so that narrows my search radios.

 

[05RubiconLJ]

Thank you Matt.

I don't think I'll be trading anything at this point, or at least it won't be worth much.
First time I hear about reciprocal relationship between states when it comes to car purchasing and taxes. I just looked it up and looks like SC has no such agreement with any other state, so that narrows my search radios.

I don't know that you have to narrow that far, just make sure the state you buy from doesn't require you to pay their taxes to take possession of the car. Like I said, Florida made me truck the car out of state in order to circumvent their tax law. Most dealers will just give you a drive out tag and let you deal with paying the taxes when you register the vehicle in your state. If it is an adjoining state, often the dealer will collect the taxes and forward to the appropriate DOR.

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