Car Taxes and Title Transfers Very frequently, the question comes up about car taxes and what taxes have to be paid on a car to get a title if the vehicle is being transferred to another person. That’s typically a trigger for taxes due when it is appropriate in that state, and it sometimes depends on whether it’s a private sale or a dealer sale whether or not taxes are due. Sometimes it also depends on whether it’s a new or used vehicle.
Annual Property and Ad Valorem Taxes In some states, they also have a property tax or an ad valorem tax which is due every year for ownership of that vehicle. Be aware that in many cases, the sales tax that you’re aware of in a property transfer is actually a sales and use tax, meaning that not just the sale of the vehicle triggers it but any use of the vehicle.
Statutory Determinations One of the things that will make a determination of this is the statutes for that state and depending on whether it’s new or used or from a dealer. Be aware that the transfer of a vehicle, whether or not it’s done by changing title, is a triggering event.
Jumping or Skipping Titles So if you jump title or skip titles, there may be taxes due for each one of those transfers. And who’s liable for it? It might be the new owner, it might be prior owners; that’s between the different people involved in the car transaction. But a transfer of a vehicle, even if a new title wasn’t issued, might trigger sales tax being due by somebody. So if you’re jumping titles or skipping titles, understand that there may be a tax that comes back to haunt you for an unpaid tax down the road.
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So over 20 years of processing car titles, we’ve seen quite a bit happen in the car title replacement service business. People that need lost titles really will do anything to get a title, and that includes allowing a third-party agent to do things it may not be 100% legal.
Changes in Laws and MarketsThere’s been laws that have changed, markets have changed, even the rules that the DMV’s have of handing out paperwork have changed. Some loopholes that existed before don’t exist anymore. There’s dozens of companies that have been shut down that are out of business.
Indianapolis CaseThere’s a case in Indianapolis where one company was using mechanic’s liens to get titles and there were dozens of people arrested. There were hundreds of vehicles that had their titles revoked because that illegal process was used.
Risks of Transferring Titles to Third PartiesSome services require that you transfer the car to them, you sign it over to them, they title it in their name, and then they sell it back to you. They may have a way to title in their name, but you don’t know if that process is legal. And if it is not legal, they own the car. So if they’re shut down or if there’s some claim against them for illegal operations at the moment that happens, they’re going to be the legal owner of your car. And if that is needed to pay for claims or pay for fines or pay for penalties, then your car might be used to satisfy them.
Observations of Illegal SchemesSo like I said, in 20 years of seeing car titles being processed, we’ve observed many, many illegal schemes in all states. Nevada had a couple company shut down, Indianapolis, there’s a few companies in Florida that do mechanic’s liens that no longer do that.
Advice for Car OwnersSo make sure that if you’re having somebody other than yourself process your car title, that you understand the process, that they’re willing to explain it to you in detail before you go ahead and give them your money.
Replacing Your Car Title in KentuckySo how do you replace your car title if it’s lost and get a duplicate in the state of Kentucky? Kentucky has an unusual portion of their law which requires any application to be acted on by the DMV within five business days. There’s no other state that I’m aware of that has a requirement in the statutes for such a quick turnaround.
Required Form and Application DetailsTheir form is called the TC 96-182. There’s a link to it at the bottom of this YouTube video. That form is required to be filled out by the applicant. If there’s a transfer, then sales tax has to be paid at the time of application. It’s possible that inspection of the vehicle might be required.
Fees and Processing TimeThe good news is there’s only a six dollar fee for that duplicate title. Remember, by law the agency has to act on it within five days. In fact, if you want a speed title, you can pay an extra 19 dollars for a total of 25, which means that they have to act on it within 48 hours to hand you a title.
Title Validity and ReactivationThe titles are good for as long as you own the vehicle. However, if there’s no activity on that title, no current registration after five years, the title will become archived and dormant. To reactivate it, there might be an additional fee to bring it back to life and have it be an active title again.
Key Points to RememberSo in Kentucky, there are a few unusual factors in getting titles. They have to turn it around quick, you do need to have sales tax paid if there’s a transfer, and most importantly, you have to have that document notarized to verify your identity before they issue a new title.
So how do you get a lien release for a vehicle title if you have a car that needs to get a title and there’s a lien holder showing on that title record with the DMV? The title normally won’t be released until you have that lien cleared from the title records.
Complications in Clearing a LienSome of the complications could be if the lien holder is out of business or if the car’s not fully paid off, or if it’s an automax-type car title loan. In those cases, you have to go through a certain process.
Dealing with Out of Business Lien HoldersIf the lien holder is out of business, you have to find out where they transferred their assets to.
Dealing with Unpaid VehiclesIf the car is not paid off, you might want to do a lien mitigation to have the lien discounted to an amount that’s palatable.
Title Pawn LoansIf it’s a title pawn, you may find that the loan’s not even recorded on the title, so there might be a duplicate title possible.
Trouble Finding the Lien HolderIn other cases, if there’s any trouble finding the lien holder or finding where they are, you can maybe get a letter of no interest from the bank listed on the title, which will be the same as a lien release.
Providing Payoff DocumentsSometimes, if you have payoff documents from the bank showing that it was paid off on a certain day, the DMV may accept them.
Court-Ordered Title as a Last ResortA court-ordered title is your last resort, but if the car title loan is more than ten years old, sometimes a court-ordered title may be the way to go.
So how do you get a lien release for a title on a vehicle when there’s a lien listed on the title? That means that the lender controls that title. They either have the physical document in hand, or they control with the DMV how that document’s going to be released.
Loan Payment and Lien ControlEven if the loan is paid off, if the lien release is recorded, that means that control of that title remains with the lender. The lender may or may not have a process for providing that document of a lien release. Some lenders don’t have specific people that provide lien releases.
Lender’s Process for Lien ReleaseUsually, what they do is when the loan is paid off, they just mail the title out, and it’s done automatically. They might even have that title document. If not, they have the lien release.
Steps to Obtain a Lien ReleaseBut if you do need one, it has to go through that lender. Now, in many cases, the process to do that may not be defined. There’s not, you know, “press 2 for lien releases” on their voicemail. So you have to get to that right person. Sometimes it’s going through different channels or having a title agent handle that for you.
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