Moving to Georgia, insane car registration fees...

[UGADawgFan]

#@@#$@#$ politicans..who votes these rules in anyway? So I purchased two cars in the last year while living in Washington State; my wife's 2018 S4 (new) and my 2016 M3 (used). The Seattle area has a 10% sales tax on vehicle purchases + other insane fees so I paid near $7,000 for the S4 and about $2500 for my M3 (which had a trade-in tax credit).

So, almost $10,000 in taxes on the cars alone, which at least were tax deductible on our 2017 income taxes.

I did a quick check on the GA Department of Revenue site...evidently they have a one-time "ad-valorem title" tax which equals 7% of the cars value, regardless if you've paid any sales tax in a different state. Rough estimate, I'll be out $8,000 to register our two cars in Georgia.

This is great if you keep the car like 10 years, because the yearly renewal is $20ish....but for those of us who like to rotate every 3-5 years, it's insane.

Plus I found out on leases, the state double dips..you pay this 7% ad-valorem tax on the lease, then if you buy out the lease, you pay it again since there is a title transfer involved.

I know it's "wrong" but my plates have to be renewed in Washington a month before move in November, and the moving will take some time...and my license is not due to be changed for a few years...I think I'll try and milk out a year on our cars there since my wife and I both work from home. My parents live there so I can borrow one of their cars and drive around.

Just ridiculous.

[BzsBimmer]

Still probably cheaper than what the Europeans pay.

But yeah, I thought CA vehicle taxes were bad. I feel for you

[Sunny D]

Dude, I feel you. Same thing happened to me when we moved to GA four years ago. I’m still pissed.

[UGADawgFan]

Originally Posted by Sunny D

Dude, I feel you. Same thing happened to me when we moved to GA four years ago. I’m still pissed.

Where did you move from?

[Sunny D]

Originally Posted by UGADawgFan

Where did you move from?

Miami, FL. AND, we tried to sell one of our cars to get around it, and still had to pay it. FML

It's great when you live here are are buying, but NOT great when you move in. Honestly, really stupid.

[PayamFSU]

Yeah I had the same issue when I moved to Ga it should be illegal pisses me off , I had paid off my tacoma at the time and started residency had to spend 1500 on my bday to register my paid off truck .

[UGADawgFan]

Annoying..but...

Good news is this- my wife still has all her bills and her car registration at her parents house in Seattle...and since our apartment lease is up here in Washington, and we are moving in with them for a few months while our house is under construction, I can make my primary residence their address. Even after the house in Atlanta area is built,
we will still spend about 5-6 months out of the year up here anyway (during summer and fall months).

I'll leave all of my bills up here that I can and that way I can keep a residence up here; no license changing, no car plates need to change.

[hirkaismyname]

Fellas, you can get a rebate if you paid taxes up front. I know that when showing evidence of new car registration, you can take this documentation back to your previous state's DMV and request a pro-rated reimbursement.

It would be unlawful for the gov't to not provide an equitable restitution for lump-sum mandated taxes. I did this for two vehicles moving from SC to FL.

H

[Sunny D]

Interesting info. Thanks!

[Bimmers4life]

Makes up nicely for the lower cost of living in GA lol. I feel your pain bro. It’s ludicrous. Think about it this way. With the average person owning a car for 2-3 years imagine the amount of money the state makes off each car. The ad valorem tax is paid every time ownership changes. The state will cash out on a single car half a dozen times before the vehicle’s life ends.

I’d love to know what they’re doing with all this money since they implemented this amazing ad-valorem tax.

[ellipsis212]

Sucks for sure but the cost of living has to be 60% of Seattle's. I mean, I'm sure you can still spend a million on a house but it'll be 10k sq ft instead of 1k

[UGADawgFan]

Originally Posted by Bimmers4life

Makes up nicely for the lower cost of living in GA lol. I feel your pain bro. It’s ludicrous. Think about it this way. With the average person owning a car for 2-3 years imagine the amount of money the state makes off each car. The ad valorem tax is paid every time ownership changes. The state will cash out on a single car half a dozen times before the vehicle’s life ends.

I’d love to know what they’re doing with all this money since they implemented this amazing ad-valorem tax.

100% agreed. But people like my parents actually prefer it since they tend to keep a car 10 years vs 3-4 years like me.

Originally Posted by ellipsis212

Sucks for sure but the cost of living has to be 60% of Seattle's. I mean, I'm sure you can still spend a million on a house but it'll be 10k sq ft instead of 1k

lol definitely, but Seattle has stunning views everywhere, no bugs, no humidity, and no pollution. I grew up in Georgia, but if my parents weren't insistent on staying there forever, I'd have no desire to come back (they've been in Georgia since the late 70s).

In any case, I've been toying with getting rid of my F80 in for a 2015-2016 Cayman S/GTS and this may just push me over the edge to do so.

[IB M]

That does suck OP but what's more frustrating is having an M3 in Atlanta traffic.

[UGADawgFan]

Originally Posted by IB M

That does suck OP but what's more frustrating is having an M3 in Atlanta traffic.

Eh, Seattle traffic is god awful too during AM and PM rush hours...but thankfully my wife and I both work from home, so traffic will be mostly irrelevant. We will just make sure to avoid the heavy traffic times there.

[IB M]

Originally Posted by UGADawgFan

Eh, Seattle traffic is god awful too during AM and PM rush hours...but thankfully my wife and I both work from home, so traffic will be mostly irrelevant. We will just make sure to avoid the heavy traffic times there.

Yep then head up to the GA/SC/NC/TN mountains where you can stretch the M3s legs a bit. Not telling u anything new if ur from the area originally.

WFH is nice and afford an M3 - way to go.

[///Mangler]

hahaha SC caps sakes tax at $300 no matter the vehicle cost. then you must pay property taxes each year which are then deductable.

t

[ashleyllanes]

After reading your post, I can say moving to a new state can bring some unexpected surprises, right?
By the way, I'm actually in the process of moving into a new place myself. I was browsing online and came across this cool website with an option to find movers near me. It might come in handy when you're ready to tackle the moving process.
Anyway, back to those car fees... it's definitely a bummer, especially if you like to switch cars every few years. But hey, if you can milk out another year on your cars before registering in Georgia, why not? Gotta find those workarounds sometimes!

[G80.Alex]

For other people that may move to Georgia, you can always fill out paperwork to try to pay less. Typically you have to pay it up front and then fill out a form to try to pay less and they'll review it based on car's value and such. Bill of sale and things like that help as well.