From: jimf@centerline.com (Jim Frost)
Subject: Re: Buying a car in New Hampshire
Organization: CenterLine Software, Inc.
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 14:13:56 GMT

rll@fatima.mitre.org (Roberto L. Landrau) writes:
>In article <1992Apr9.032446.13585@news.cs.brandeis.edu>
>st883787@pip.cc.brandeis.edu writes:
>>I need the expert advice of those in New England.  I'm in the market for a 
>>new car.  I also happen to be graduating this semester and don't plan on 
>>staying in MA, the land of the tax.  What I would like to do is this:
>>1. Decide what car i want includig options.
>>2. Go to New Hampshire and buy the car there since they have no sales
>>tax.

>True, but there is no sales tax in Massachusetts for motor vehicles,
>either.  There is a ``registration tax'' instead.  It doesn't matter
>where you buy the vehicle, if you want to register it in Mass (even if
>you already own the vehicle when you move from another state) you have
>to pay 5% (unless it has gone up recently) of the purchase price (or
>the blue book value) of the car.

I believe this is only for car purchases (ie title transfers) and
applies only to the purchase price.  If you move into the state with
an already-registered car you don't have to pay this tax (just the
registration fees).  It amounts to a sales tax and was explained as
such to me by the dealer -- it's paid to the registry to collect taxes
that could otherwise be avoided by buying the car out-of-state.  The
amount was still 5% as of December.

>Don't forget there is also an
>``excise tax'' (which I call ``excess tax'') imposed by the cities and
>towns.  That one is 2.5% of the current value of the vehicle and it is
>paid every year at the beginning of the year to your local city or
>town.

Excise taxes vary between cities and I'm told that the collection
dates follow the dates used for property taxes.  Some towns aren't
very diligent about billing and collecting excise taxes although you
are still legally required to pay them on time.

>>3. Drive my new car back to MA for the reminder of the school year, then
>>   pack it up and depart for CO, my home for the next couple years.
>>
>>OK, my questions are, since I don't have a MA drivers license and am not a 
>>MA resident, will the MA motor registry shit on me for trying to bring in a
>>car from NH?

>There is an old law (I don't know how much it is enforced, but
>remember that MA and NH don't get along) that says if your vehicle is
>driven in MA more than 30 days in a year, you have to register the car
>with the RMV (registry).

I've never heard of this law or its enforcement.  I'm pretty sure this
can't be the case due to NH state registry requirements, and even if
it is a law it's unenforceable due to the high transient population
(ie students) in MA and the number of commuters from RI and NH.

This kind of law would generally violate the motor-vehicle registry
cooperation between states (the reason why it's legal to drive your NH
registered car in MA without additional MA registration in the first
place).

MA does have a law which requires transfer of motor vehicle registry
within a certain time limit (60 days I think) when you become a MA
resident.  They aren't particularly diligent about tracking this down
but it could bite you if you transfer your license but not your
registration and then you get stopped.

>>Do dealers in NH issue temporary plates?

>No.  You need to bring your own plate.  Getting a plate from the NH
>registry is easy: go to the city/town hall and register the car.  If
>you do not own the car (if there is a lien) you get a temporary (30
>day) plate until they complete their paperwork.  2 weeks later you get
>a real plate in the mail.  The only problem is that I believe you have
>to have an address in NH to register the car.

This is correct, although most dealers will do the running around for
you.  The temporary plates are only 20-day plates and give you the
additional freedom to drive the car around without inspection during
this time period (although by accepting the plates you're guaranteeing
that the car is in fact inspectable).

[initial statement about getting the car from the dealer and driving
it away without plates]
>They will let you have it as soon as you give them $$$.  Don't expect
>to drive too far before you get pulled over, though.

You can't drive the car off the lot legally without plates.  Most
dealers (I'm tempted to say "all" because of potential liabilities)
will not allow you to drive the car off the lot unless it's
registered although if you want to tow it or otherwise transport it
then it's your right.

>>I know that many people from MA buy their cars in NH

>That's because they can get a better deal in most cases.  Sales tax
>and excise tax have nothing to do with where you buy the car: it is
>where you register the car.

That depends on which state you're in.  If you're in a state which
requires paying sales tax when purchasing your car, MA will also
charge you the tax when you register it.  I don't know anyone who's
done that :-).  MA used to charge tax at point-of-sale but stopped
doing so because they lost so many taxes to out-of-state purchases --
I'm pretty sure that some states still do it at point-of-sale,
although I don't know any off the top of my head.

Regardless of taxation, wherever you claim residency is where you
should register the car.  If you're from CO but are a student in MA,
you should register the car in CO, abiding by whatever laws CO has
regarding out-of-state purchase.  You're not a resident of MA.  If in
question about this you should call your home state's DMV and ask --
they'll definitely know the laws.  Beware that out-of-state registry
will take more time than in-state registry and you will not be able to
drive your car until the registration is complete.

Some MA residents avoid the MA car sales tax and excise taxes by
claiming NH residency (at least to NH).  To do so they must have an
address in NH that they can report as their residence to the NH DMV.
If you do this it's a bright idea to also have your driver's license
issued by NH for the same address (not everyone does this).  NH isn't
particularly diligent about tracking these things down, but you should
remember that it's illegal to register in this manner both in NH (you
claimed false residency) and MA (tax evasion at the least).  The odds
of getting caught are pretty low (unless, of course, you end up on the
channel 7 news :-) and the odds of NH putting charges against you are
even lower -- but it could happen.

Hope this helps.  If I'm wrong on some points please correct me -- I'm
not completely familiar with MA car taxes but I tried to verify this
with a number of people to make sure I wasn't getting anything
seriously wrong.

jim frost
jimf@centerline.com