Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 7711L2015A12 Motor Vehicle Tax 1977-11-01

Why did Texas refund only 95 percent of a historical motor vehicle tax payment, and who refunded the other five percent?

Short answer: The State refunded only the 95 percent it had received. The county had retained five percent as its collection fee, so the taxpayer had to request that portion separately from the county. In this case, the county share was $3.44.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1977. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1977
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is a historical taxpayer-response letter whose printed date is malformed as 'November 231, 1977'; this page retains STAR's November 1977 metadata date and does not infer a day. The 95/5 allocation, county collection fee, $3.44 amount, state and county refund procedures, responsible offices, and contact information may no longer be current. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Taxpayer and county-contact details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The State refunded 95 percent because that was the share it received; the county handled its separate five-percent share.

The county retained five percent as a fee for collecting the motor vehicle sales tax. The letter said the taxpayer could request the remaining $3.44 directly from the county.

What this means for you

The historical refund was split between two recipients of the original payment. A State refund did not automatically return the county's retained collection fee.

Common questions

Q: Why was the State refund only 95 percent?
A: The State had received only that share.

Q: Who could refund the other five percent?
A: The county.

Q: How much was the county share here?
A: $3.44.

Citations and references

  • No statute or rule was cited in the letter.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

November 231, 1977

Dear ***:

To answer your question, why does the State refund only 95% of the tax.
The reason is because this is all the State receives. The county retains
5% for their fees to cover the cost of collecting the sales tax.

The county can refund the 5% or $3.44 upon request. Please contact
*** at 392-8167.

Any questions in the matter should be directed to the attention of the
Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Division or call toll free, 1-800-252-5555.

Yours very truly,
Tom Gay
Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Division

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