Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 7903L2019C01 Motor Vehicle Tax 1979-03-22

Who paid Texas motor vehicle tax when a collector car was sold at auction, and did the auctioneer collect it?

Short answer: The purchaser owed the historical motor vehicle sales tax on a collector car bought at a Texas auction, including a casual sale between individuals. Neither the auctioneer nor seller collected it. The buyer paid the county tax assessor-collector at title and registration, while the seller supplied the required transfer papers and affidavit.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1979. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1979
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 March 22, 1979 taxpayer-response letter. STAR expressly warns that the four-percent rate is not current. Auction and casual-sale tax treatment, purchaser and seller duties, auctioneer obligations, taxable purchase price, title and registration procedures, affidavits, and agency contacts may also have changed. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Taxpayer 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 buyer paid historical motor vehicle sales tax on a collector car purchased at a Texas auction.

The letter treated each Texas retail motor vehicle sale as taxable, including a casual sale between individuals. Neither the auctioneer nor the seller collected the tax.

The purchaser paid tax based on purchase price to the county tax assessor-collector at title and registration. The seller still had to provide the registration papers, including a correctly completed Seller, Donor, or Trader's Affidavit.

What this means for you

The transaction remained taxable even though it involved a collector car, an auction, or a casual sale. Collection responsibility rested with the registration process rather than the auctioneer.

Common questions

Q: Did the auctioneer collect the tax?
A: No.

Q: Did the seller collect it?
A: No, but the seller supplied the required transfer documents.

Q: Who paid?
A: The purchaser, at title and registration.

Citations and references

  • No numbered statute or rule was cited in the letter.

Source

Original ruling text

ALERT: The tax rates cited in this article are no longer the current motor vehicle sales tax
or motor vehicle rental tax rates.

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

STATE OF TEXAS

AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

March 22, 1979

Dear ***:

Your letter inquiring about the tax consequences of selling collector cars at auction has been forwarded to me for reply.

The sale of a collector car at auction in Texas is taxable under the Motor Vehicle Retail Sales and Use Tax Law (copy enclosed), which imposes 4% Motor Vehicle Sales Tax on each retail sale of a motor vehicle in Texas, including casual sales between individuals.

Neither the auctioneer nor the seller is responsible for collecting the tax: it is the purchaser's obligation to pay the tax, based on the purchase price, to the County Tax Assessor-Collector upon titling and registration of the vehicle. The seller is, however, responsible for providing the purchaser with all papers necessary to register the vehicle, including a correctly completed Seller, Donor, or Trader's Affidavit.

If you have any questions you may write the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Division or call toll free 1-800-252-5555 from anywhere in Texas, or call 512/475-6897.

Sincerely,

Patricia Brockway

Division Attorney

Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Division

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