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Georgia sales tax and planes

Palamedes

Palamedes

Well Known Member
I moved to the mountains of North Georgia from Texas. And it was a bit of a punch in the kidneys when we had to pay sales tax for our vehicles to register them in Georgia.

Between my truck, my wifes SUV and my motorcycle we paid close to $10k the first year to regisiter them.. It was brutal.

(I paid sales tax already on them in Texas when I got them, move here and I have to pay again?! This seems like double dipping but that's a thread for somewhere else... )

Is this something I'm going to have to deal with / get hit with when I try to register a plane?

I'm still hazy on the plane registration process so if this is something I will have to deal with then I need to plan for it.

Thanks guys I appreciate your experience.
 
There's no such thing as airplane "registration" in GA. There is property tax due in the county the airplane lives in.

You'll get a personal property tax return in the mail with questions about your airplane, and there's a place where you can specify what you say the value is. They accepted _my_ value with no argument. I'll let you do with that information what you will.

Edit: Also, on the ca tax, you'll note that next year you'll just have to pay the yearly registration fee ($20) and no ad valorem tax will be due. The GA Auto dealers got the change made because it used to be that in GA sales tax was only due on dealer sales and everybody paid ad valorem tax. It's generally better than it was IF you don't buy and sell lots of cars in private sales, like me.
 
i realize you're in Blairsville, but hangars don't show up their very often. Look at Tenn airports.

I live in Murphy, NC but will be hangaring my plane in Tenn. (20 miles away at Copperhill).
No tax at all on noncommercial use ga planes in Tenn.

Tom H.
 
You will have to self declare the value. You will get a valuation & sales tax form when you register the plane. You will then have to pay 6% sales tax on any items not purchased in Georgia.

Then every year after you will also get a personal property tax bill that is much less, again you have to fill out a form declaring the value. Same rate as house property tax, but no homestead deduction.

Just did all this last year.
 
That sales tax thing must be new. All I ever got (on two airplanes bought out of state) was the property tax stuff.
 
gtmule said:
That sales tax thing must be new. All I ever got (on two airplanes bought out of state) was the property tax stuff.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they implemented it on cars effective in 2013, I think, and it probably applies to other vehicles too. It was pitched as "now you just pay it all at once instead of getting billed with ad valorem every year"; in reality the state decided it was missing out on revenue from private sales of used cars and people moving to the state, so they changed the rule. At least with cars, you don't have to pay ad valorem afterwards; apparently that's not the case with airplanes.
 
rmartingt said:
Yeah, they implemented it on cars effective in 2013, I think, and it probably applies to other vehicles too. It was pitched as "now you just pay it all at once instead of getting billed with ad valorem every year"; in reality the state decided it was missing out on revenue from private sales of used cars and people moving to the state, so they changed the rule. At least with cars, you don't have to pay ad valorem afterwards; apparently that's not the case with airplanes.
Click to expand...

Right, it's very much an "after the fact" sales tax. And it really is irksome when you have to pay it on a something you have already paid sales tax on!

AND, to add insult to injury, the new "birthday tax" (since it's due on your birthday) is not the same as sales tax rate wise, but rather will be going up 0.5% a year for like 3 years.

I have spoken to Senator Steve Gooch and as well as the various tax assessor's about it and they all say it was a bad idea that was ill conceived. Which it is. Frankly, it de-incentivises people to move to Georgia. Especially considering I moved from a state with no income tax to one with an income tax. They are already getting their pound of flesh and demanded another.. /rant
 
i got hit with the sales tax as soon as I put a registration N number in the plane. they wanted everything but sent them the receipts for the Van's kit items. They were satisfied.

still waiting for my tax bill. they know I am here, they took all the N numbers down Jan 1st so I guess I will here somthing by October
Jaxk
 
gtmule said:
That sales tax thing must be new. All I ever got (on two airplanes bought out of state) was the property tax stuff.
Click to expand...

Sales tax is just on NEW airplanes I think. It is NEW, so they want tax, as if it was a new car.

Used ones don't pay the sales tax I don't think.
 
[email protected] said:
Sales tax is just on NEW airplanes I think. It is NEW, so they want tax, as if it was a new car.

Used ones don't pay the sales tax I don't think.
Click to expand...

I think that's correct. There is no more "birthday tax" at all.

For a car; You pay "title Ad Valorem tax"* when you register the car, then $20 a year for the new tag sticker after that. The theory was that a big bite at time of sale would be more agreeable than a small bite every year. The reality is that it removed a tax paid by people buying from dealers (they now just pay at the time of sale, not every year) and converted private sales over to a sales tax only scheme.

*The whole thing was so poorly thought through that after the first year they had to go change the name of the tax when everybody realized it wasn't tax deductible any more because the tax looked to the IRS like a "sales tax", not like an "ad valorem tax".

For an airplane; You pay "personal property tax" which is based on the assessed value of the aircraft and is usually billed in October or November, just like real estate taxes. I assume there's sales tax on new airplanes.
 
I think Bill is partially correct. Technically it is called a "use tax" but is at the same rate as sales tax.

If the airplane is sold from one individual to another there is no "use tax".
It is called a "casual sale". If, however, the airplane is in an LLC and sold or sold to an LLC then there is a use tax. Regardless of new or not.

I may not have all of these particulars exactly right.

YMMV in that I am not a tax attorney and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
 
[email protected] said:
Sales tax is just on NEW airplanes I think. It is NEW, so they want tax, as if it was a new car.

Used ones don't pay the sales tax I don't think.
Click to expand...

If it's the same as other "motorized vehicles", that's not what the OP said. He paid sales tax in another state, then had to pay again when moving to Georgia.

BTW, Georgia says it's not a use tax, it's an ad valorem tax:

http://onlinemvd.dor.ga.gov/Tap/faqs.aspx

and that it applies to anyone moving into the state.

So glad I'm not moving there anytime soon...
 
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RV7A Flyer said:
If it's the same as other "motorized vehicles", that's not what the OP said. He paid sales tax in another state, then had to pay again when moving to Georgia.

BTW, Georgia says it's not a use tax, it's an ad valorem tax:

http://onlinemvd.dor.ga.gov/Tap/faqs.aspx

and that it applies to anyone moving into the state.

So glad I'm not moving there anytime soon...
Click to expand...

The TAVT does NOT apply to airplanes, because they aren't registered or titles by the state.
 
I live in Bryan County, GA and pay no sales tax on my Cherokee 140 but over the line in Chatham, they have to pay.

New cars sold after 2011 (I think) are exempt (optionally) from Ad valorem if you show proof that you paid sales tax. We had to pay the first year (before the exemption went online in 2013) and that was a hard hit (~$750).

All my other vehicles are old so the ad valorem is < $50 per vehicle.

Also, ad valorem is deductible on your state and fed taxes.
 
How about asking the right person

If you want, you can call Cathy at 706-295-6749 and ask her. She is in charge of overseeing the aircraft tax portion for the Georgia Dept of Revenue. You will probably have to leave a message and she will call you back. She is a very nice person and will be able to tell you exactly what tax you owe, if any, as enacted by your elected officials.

Note: The NEW Georgia one-time ad valorem tax is not deductible on your federal taxes. In order for it to be deductible per the IRS, it has to be an annual re-occurring tax, which Georgia's ad valorem tax isn't any more. Even though it's called an ad valorem tax, it doesn't meet the IRS yearly eligibility rule.
cj
 
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grubbat said:
If you want, you can call Cathy at 706-295-6749 and ask her. She is in charge of overseeing the aircraft tax portion for the Georgia Dept of Revenue. You will probably have to leave a message and she will call you back. She is a very nice person and will be able to tell you exactly what tax you owe, if any, as enacted by your elected officials.

Note: The NEW Georgia one-time ad valorem tax is not deductible on your federal taxes. In order for it to be deductible per the IRS, it has to be an annual re-occurring tax, which Georgia's ad valorem tax isn't any more. Even though it's called an ad valorem tax, it doesn't meet the IRS yearly eligibility rule.
cj
Click to expand...

Maybe they call it a one time ad velorem (not sure) but it is really a sales tax that makes ad velorem no longer applicable. You can still write off the sales tax in GA if you want to itemize, rather than using the standard deduction for sales tax.
 
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