Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8010L0197D07 Motor Vehicle Tax 1980-10-09

Who owed Texas use tax on an out-of-state vehicle brought onto Texas highways under this 1980 guidance?

Short answer: A Texas resident, domiciliary, or person doing business in Texas owed use tax when an out-of-state purchased vehicle was brought onto Texas public highways. An entity holding or required to hold a Texas certificate of authority owed tax on each truck, trailer, or other motor vehicle used here. The operator was responsible, with credit for motor vehicle sales or use tax paid to another state. The printed four-percent rate is historical.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1980. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1980
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 an October 9, 1980 taxpayer-response letter; STAR metadata uses October 1, but this page follows the printed date. STAR warns that the four-percent rate is not current. Residency, domicile, doing-business standards, certificate-of-authority rules, operator liability, highway use, tax bases, remittance channels, and other-state credit may have changed. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Taxpayer details and historical contacts are redacted or obsolete. 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

Use tax applied when a vehicle bought outside Texas was brought onto Texas public highways by a resident, domiciliary, or person doing business in Texas.

An entity holding or required to hold a Texas certificate of authority owed tax on each vehicle, including trucks and trailers. The operator was responsible. Tax paid to another state could be credited.

Payment could go to a county tax assessor-collector or directly to the Comptroller with vehicle identification, entry date, and tax computation. The four-percent rate is historical.

What this means for you

Business authorization, domicile, vehicle entry, highway operation, and other-state tax payment were separate facts affecting liability and credit.

Common questions

Q: Who was responsible?
A: The vehicle operator.

Q: Was other-state tax credited?
A: Yes.

Citations and references

The letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

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.

BOB BULLOCK COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Comptroller STATE OF TEXAS

AUSTIN, 78774

October 9, 1980

Dear ***:

Your letter of October 1, 1980, requesting tax information has come to my attention.

Texas use tax is due on every motor vehicle purchased outside Texas and brought into Texas for use on our public highways by any person who is a resident of, domiciled in or doing business in Texas. The tax is four percent of the total purchase price of the vehicle. The vehicle operator is responsible for the tax.

If an entity holds or should hold a Certificate of Authority to do business in Texas, then 4% use tax will be due on every "motor vehicle (including trucks and trailers) which is brought into Texas and operated on the highways. Credit is allowed, however, for any motor vehicle sales or use tax paid to another state.

In order to pay tax due, payment may be, remitted to any Texas County Tax Assessor-Collector who will issue a receipt for tax purposes. Payment can also be remitted directly to the State Comptroller of Public Accounts. In this case, the vehicle should be identified, as well as the date the vehicle entered this state and the amount of tax due less tax paid to another state.

If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to call me at 512/475-1935 or toll free at 1-800-252-5555 from anywhere in Texas.

Very truly yours,

Joyce M. Dean

Motor Vehicle Division

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