You hear stories, seen it in old movies but has anyone actually gone to the Ca. DMV with a ***le/bill of sale with the selling price of $1.00????. Did they laugh at you, put you in handcuffs or did it go through fine. I picked up a car from a longtime customer for $1.00...... no money owed, no trade for work just a straight dollar.....wouldn't take anymore. All the internet scenarios I've read about differ greatly between prison time, DMV looking up what THEY think it's worth or nothing, it'll be fine. Before I go into the lions den do I need to have another figure on my paperwork for price that's more realistic. They're going to send in the Release of Liability with the sale amount as $1. Here in California the sale price denotes how much used car tax you'll pay AND set the starting point for the annual registration price.
The actual bill of sale form from the CA DMV asks for the selling price or if it's a gift, who from and that can be a friend not just a relative. If if you do go the gift route the DMV will still want sales tax. How they would do that is the sixty four thousand dollar question. Maybe check with a broker to see if they have any thoughts or the AAA if you're a member. Good luck.
Last time I checked they will have to accept it. First time doing registration the tax will be what ever minimum they can charge. Next year you will be taxed on fair market value of the vehicle.
Can't speak for CA. But, CO. has a minimum value of $450 ( last time I cheaked ). If it is not sold for, or evaluated/appraised for this minimum amount. The DMV considers it as s****. And they will not ***le or register/issue plates. Check what your state minimum is. If it is listed as a gift, as suggested above. It will probably need to be appraised. By a licensed/certified appraiser. Before the state will process your paperwork.
They will probably look at the $1 as a gift of the rest of the value. Depending on what the car is they may look up what that model "cl***ic/collectable" is worth and tax you on that. Just make up a reasonable value and pay the 10%. Of course condition comes into effect you'll need to be ready with what a POS the car is and how it needs everything. Transfer at AAA they don't seem to care. They are agents for DMV not actual blood ****ing state employees.
Can't speak for CA. But, CO. has a minimum value of $450 ( last time I cheaked ). If it is not sold for, or evaluated/appraised for this minimum amount. The DMV considers it as s****. And they will not ***le or register/issue plates. I sold a 2001 Ford F-150 to the guy that works for me here in Durango for $1. Went with him to the DMV in Bodo Park and they didn't bother collecting sales tax, but did charge the usual ownership fees. He left with a ***le and new plates. This was last fall.
I have known of a case where the DMV asked the new owner for the phone number of the friend. She called while the guy saw standing there and asked what the selling price was. He answered $1.00. I have also read that a Sacramento DMV employee contacted the previous owner in writing concerning a sale price of a $1.00 car….it can happen.
^^^^ Me too. Twice in my lifetime the DMV has followed up on the declared values in a car buying transaction. Weird. I would go with the $250 route, use tax on that amount won’t be much. Better than triggering Ca DMV red flags. Edit: I did give our old van to my friend about a year ago and we did the gift option on the paperwork. We were both present and there was no issue. We might have had to fill out a Statement of Facts form. I don’t recall if there was any tax or not. BUT, this was at AAA, not the DMV. Two distinctly different animals.
I'm with @bchctybob. Let's use 6% as the 'use tax'. That's how it used to be, not a 'sales tax'. For your 1 dollar sale, that's 6 cents. That may or may not fly as shown by the replies and your own concern. If you both agree to a higher figure, something that seems reasonable for the YMM of the car, you put that on the bill of sale and avoid the possibility of a fight. EDIT: I don't know what you bought, but the YMM can trigger stuff too. A 1953 Chevy could be 4drsdn or cnvrt, A 210 is not going to trigger, a Corvette might. Say 500 dollars, so that's 30 bucks. Now nobody wants to pay a bunch of tax when you don't have to, but is the $29.94 worth it to avoid the h***le? You gotta pay for ***le transfer and if it's going to be driven, registration. If not driven, you probably want to go non-op which may or may not be an additional fee. Look at your internet bill and cell phone bill. I bet you are paying close to 30 bucks in additional 'fees' pretty quick already.
In N.Y.... When I did a straight across trade with the late @Hamtown Al, (my Sedan Deliv. for his '36 Cabriolet) we exchanged bill of sales stating: "Straight across trade, no dollar amount exchanged". NY DMV didn't like that...they contacted Albany and determined I owed sales tax on $6500...their interpreted minimum value of a 1936 Ford...it didn't matter to them what the value of the car that was traded.
Today it's the same as sales tax which varies from county to county - around 10%. There is the annual license fee and about 1-2% of the value due each year plus all the other BS fees which makes even our 97 year old Model A cost $200+ per year. $40 of that is for having YOM plates on it.
Yes - they consider all bartering as sales so they can get their $$$. In the 1990s I knew a guy who came to the US every year to buy a few American cars to resell in Holland. He paid 10% when he imported them. When he sold it the buyer paid 10% AND he as the seller had to pay another 10%. That's 30% of the value going to .gov. No wonder they can afford all those social give away programs.
Last I checked in CA the owner needs to or should send in notice that he sold the car and the numbers should for the price be the same . I sold a motor cycle to a kid years ago and sent in the paper work that I sold it. about 6 months later I had the cops and people attorney looking for damages becuse some one crashed MY motorcycle into a car and took off on foot . That paper showed I had sold it and to who . It saved my *** , Many states contact the previous owner and check . WI wanted extra tax on a van i really bought for $800 and they called to owner to verify . I had there DNR want tax on boat I paid $1000 for with no engine because the previous owner had paid $9000 for it with a BBC with a blower and such . I played hell getting that fxed but I did . the owner was not available to verify any more .
I had a co worker that happened to, I just had an impound yard call about a car I sold that never was registered into the buyers name and they wanted fees. That's the Release of Liability I was talking about, it's the upper portion of the ***le. The seller fills it out and sends it in (I photo copy them for when the DMV looses it), but it has a spot on there for selling price. I as the buyer fills out the back of the ***le as the new owner and it also has a selling price. I'm wondering if they will notice if the two are different...I would ***ume they would be happy with mine since I paid more used taxes.
You can do it online now. As soon as the new buyer has cleared my driveway I'm on the computer filing the Release of Liability and cancelling the insurance. If the guy was cool I put whatever amount he wants in the sale price. If he was an idiot and tried to lowball me I put the actual price and it's up to him to explain it to DMV if the amounts don't match.
Hey Dan, When I buy a car, I make sure the bill of sale says "As is condition" to reflect the low dollar amount. Never a problem.....See ya at the Roadster show....
If you're a member, go to AAA. They're pretty easy to deal with. If not, I'd put 500 as the purchase price. I've registered a lot of sitting, long off of the record cars and bikes. I always pay 500 for them.
If the seller lists a price then use that amount that should be on your paperwork. If ots a dollar then its a dollar . Why screw around listing differant amounts to make things even more weird???
I have probably bought 30 vehicles in California when I use to live there..I would put . $500.00.. they will complain about a dollar...Make it easy just make sure the part the buyer mails in says the same..
This…. I’m not sure about doing it online, but the California DMV has lost or neglected to process several of the Release of Liability forms that I’ve sent in over the years. They’ve contacted me about parking tickets, impound fees and expired registration, it’s way easier to call them off when you have a copy to show them. People can be lazy about registering the car, especially if there’s a whole year’s worth of license fee left. With the last few sales I met the buyer at AAA and made damn sure it went out of my name before they drove away.
I always send the buyers info in the next day and tell them I’m going to do it “hopefully” end my responsibilities. I do it on line today but in the past used the yellow form that came with the pink slip!
I am really amazed a NY state employee did work! I always enjoy the people who talk about the DMV will do this the police will do that the know this they know that… Several year my father was the part/service manager for an equipment rental store, big stuff backhoes, bulldozers etc… they had their own trucks and made deliveries. He went to a seminar run by the NY state DOT and the NY State Trooper, he said all it ended up being was the DOT Inspectors and the 2 New York State police officers arguing with each other New State comical vehicle laws!
I go a step further. Buying or selling, every hobby-car bill-of-sale says something like this: "This car is sold as-is with known condition issues, including engine problems, worn out suspension, bad brakes, worn tires, etc." Enough to make it sound like a pile of junk, and yet sufficiently vague that it's not worth questioning.
The Jalopy Journal
