Heads up!

If anybody is planning on buying a car from a dealer in Texas, do NOT let them charge you the "Texas inventory tax". Dealers will claim it is a tax that you must pay but it is the dealer who pays it, it is a value tax for their inventory on Jan 1. NEVER let them tell you it is the buyers responsibility.

ftp://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/library/pubs/bus/dealer/section07.pdf

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MB-less

Don't the buyers pay all taxes anyway? Who else would?

Who cares if it's itemized. The final price is all that matters.

I am thinking that he meant an add on over and above the negotiated price, which mostly likely means tha tyou are paying the tax twice, since the dealer most likely factors in the tax in the "selling price".

It is a tax the dealer pays whether or not he sells any cars at all. The crooked dealers, and some dumb ones, will try to pass it off as "required", therefore you have no way to get out of it. The tax is levied on a dealer for his total inventory on Jan 1. They are just trying to pass on a fee to the customer which it is not the customers duty to pay. It is over and above the negotiated price as mentioned above.

Anyway, it is not a huge amount, but it is your money.....it would be about $735 on a $30,000 car. (.0245 of value)

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MB-less

Maybe not a huge amount for you wealthy individuals out there, but I think it's significant! Especially if you spent hours haggling $1500 off the price of said vehicle!

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

And that's a prime example why I'm against all tax increases on any product - the tax levied just gets rolled into the product price, we all pay more for the same product, and the gov't blows it on stupid crap then *****es they don't have enough money.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

Vehicle Inventory Tax(VIT) is assessed based on sales price of vehicle.
Same as sales tax. Sales tax is collected from the purchaser at time of sale,
and paid to the County Courthouse when title is processed.
All sales are reported monthly, on a separate form, with selling price.
VIT is paid by the dealer to the County at this time.
Late filing of these monthly reports carries massive fine($100/day).
The rate is recalculated once a year.
Ours is currently .0016xxxx(it's taped to my monitor at work). Works out to about $30 in a $15,000 motorcycle.
I know of no difference in the tax between cars and m/cs.

We charge it as a separate line item on the invoice, along with
state inspection, registration, and sales tax.

The dealer could not charge you the sales tax as well.
He won't be at it for long, though.

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Todd Haven
Parts Manager
MPH Automotive
Houston,TX

I'm against all forms of marketing for the same reason.

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1984 300TD