How to not pay any sales tax when you shop
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When I initially bought my first car in georgia when I started medical school, I had to pay sales tax in Louisiana because i was registering my car there. I got reamed by Louisiana too many times because my tax bill for my car was almost 10 percent. Thats a few thousand dollars down the hole. That is their sales tax rate. Where does all the money go for those of us who have been to Louisiana know how dirty (or charming) the city of New Orleans was even before the hurricane
With thoughts like this, I was thinking of writing an article about way to get around paying the sales tax.
- Enjoy living and shopping in a sales tax state: based on the sales tax clearinghouse, Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon have no state sales tax. However, though the state doesn’t have tax, indidividual counties and cities can sometimes collect their own tax for sales. The sales tax clearinghoue has an excellent compiliation of sales tax information for each state.
- Take advantage of tax holidays: Some states offer tax holidays for shopping on various items, so if you don’t live in a sales tax free state…go and buy the things you need during these special days. Places will probably have sales on top of this free tax situation to bring you into their stores.
- Alabama - 3 days - august 3-5 ; clothing <100, computeres < 750, school supplies < 50, books < 30
- Connecticut - 7 days - august 19-25; clothing < 300
- Connecticut - June 1,2006 to June 30, 2007 tax free for weatherization products.
- District of Columbia- 9 days in august 4-12 for clothing <100, school supplies <100
- District of Columbia- 9 days in november 24-dec2 for clothing <100
- Georgia- for 4 days in august 2-5 for clothing <100, school supplies <20, computeres <1500, energy efficient products <1500
- Georgia- 4 days in october 4-7 for energy efficient products <1500
- Florida- 12 days in June 1-12 for hurricane supplies and equiptment
- Iowa- 2 days in august 3-4 for clothing <100
- Missouri- 3 days in august 3-5 for clothing < 100, computers <3500, school supplies <50
- New Mexico- 3 days in august 3-5 for clothing <100, computers <1000, school supplies <15
- North Carolina- 3 days in august 3-5 for clothing < 100, school supplies <100, computers <3500, other comp <250, sports equiptment <50
- Oklahoma-for 3 days in august for clothing <100
- South Carolina 3 days, august 3-5 for clothing, school supplies, computers, other
- Tennessee- 3 days, april 27-29 for clothing <100, school supplies <100, computers<1500
- Tennessee- 3 days, august 3-5 for clothing < 100, school supplies <100, computers <1500
- Texas- 3 days, august 17-19 for clothing and backpacks < 100
- Virginia- 3 days, august 3-5 for clothing < 100; school supplies < 20
Avoid paying sales tax by buying items on the internet - the rules that dictate whether an online retailer has to collect sales tax on someone is if the online retailer has a physical presence in a perticular state such as a store, business office, or warehouse, then it must collect sales tax from customers in that state. If a business does not have a physical presence in state, then it is not required to collect. This rule is derived from 1992 supreme court decision which held that mail order merchants did not need to collect sales taxes for sales into states where they did not have a physical presence. However, consumers are technically responsible to remit any unpaid sales tax on online purchases directly to their state. I wonder how many of us do this?
- Most states charge no sales tax on groceries - I grew up in hawaii so i didn’t really understand this concept so when I moved to lousiana, I was so happy to not pay tax on food. These states charge sales tax on food listed below. Several of these states however are considering scrapping their tax on bread milk and other staples. Hawaii is also in the process of dropping the sales tax on food. There is an interesting article on food tax.
- Mississippi - 7%
- Arkansas - 6%
- Tennessee- 6%
- Idaho- 6%
- Kansas- 5.3%
- West Virginia- 5%
- Oklahoma- 4.5%
- Alabama- 4%
- Hawaii-4%
- South Dakota - 4%
- South carolina - 3%
- Utah- 1.75%
- Virginia- 2.5%
anyone else with any correction, please let me know and if you know of any other tax saving advantages related to sales tax…i would love to hear them.
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Comment by Mark
In Louisiana all donations are tax free and you can donate anything to anyone. Had you, for example, been donated your Georgia-titled vehicle from a relative or friend who is an out-of-state resident, you’d have paid no sales tax and the transaction should have cost you about $100 from a private car titling agency (maybe slightly more depending on the value of the vehicle). The private agencies are usually about $25 more than the Office of Motor Vehicles and offer notary services, which may be required on these types of transactions (and oddly enough aren’t offered by the OMV). The private auto titling agencies also can often issue metal plates on the spot.
While insurance rates are generally higher than other states, the year-to-year registration fees are generally negligible. An inspection sticker (referred to as a “brake tag”) is $10 a year and the plate or registration fee is $10 a year for vehicles valued at $10,000 or less (more for higher-valued vehicles, but not outrageously more). It’s best to handle your renewals by mail or, if you have time, directly through the Office of Motor Vehicles. In Mississippi, I understand the year-to-year registration fees are considerably more and you are have to pay what essentially amounts to a large sales tax on the value of your vehicle year after year, so you may take comfort in the fact that you only have to pay big bucks once in the Sportsman’s Paradise.
You’re right in estimating that the tax, title,