systek

i leased and just got a letter saying i have to pay property tax

i didnt know i had to do that..!!! how much is it usually? can i claim it on tax return???

thanks for any info.

mawaru

I'm pretty sure that property tax is what homeowners have to pay to the borough. There shouldn't be any property tax on a car. When I leased my Camry, I never have to pay anything except for insurance and payments to Toyota Financial. Are you sure that's not for your home?

systek

honda financing didnt offer to finance my home, and i havent purchased home yet...im in the process.

mawaru

I'm pretty certain there's no property tax involved with leasing a car. Give Honda a call and see what they say maybe it's just a big mixup. I'm not an accountant, but I'm certain I didn't pay any type of taxes on my leased Camry.

systek

ur in NJ, thanks for the info, but the letter specified TX as being the one asking for this...so i really need to get replies from TX leasers....

MB-telecom

You WILL pay a sales tax on the 'cap cost' (total purchase price of car) of the car you leased. What determines the cap cost depends on whether or not you paid the incidentals (dealer handling, finance charges etc...) up front or rolled them into the lease. You should have also negotiated a purchase price for your car whether you leased or bought; this is fundamental. You will pay sales tax on the transaction. I am almost positive that this sales tax will be based on where you physically live, not where the dealer is located (it is Colorado). I live in a part of my county that happens to still be unincorporated (even though it is in the middle of another city) and I paid 3.7%. By the way, what is the term of your lease and what is your monthly payment? I leased my 2002 TL-S w/o navi for 36 months, 12K mile per year at $465 per month (tax included). I did a $550 'cap cost' reduction + first month's payment. The nice thing about an Acura lease is that I can purchase the vehicle at any time and not be penalized.

The key in leasing (IMO) is to try to put almost nothing down adn still ahve a much smaller monthly payment then if you would have bought, otherwise if you do put big $ down (like all the ads in the Sunday paper that require a $5000 'cap cost' reduction plus a lot of other BS $ just to get an Audi A6 for $499 a month for 48 months w/ONLY 10K miles per year!) then why not buy?

I used Autobytel and requested a 2002 TL-S w/o navi and without any ground effects or spoilers. When the Internet Sales Manager called, (I didn't have to deal with some regular Car Salesman that can't even run numbers in his head much less on paper) I told him that I was really interested in a lease. I told him what I wanted to pay for the vehicle, asked him for the depreciation after 36 months and asked him for the money factor and the rent charge. I did the numbers in about two minutes. He called 5 minutes later and we came up with almost the same t figures. I went over there the following Saturday and did the deal in about 90 minutes.

Here are three things that you must always ask/look (IMO):

1. What is the adjusted 'cap cost'? (he price you will pay for the vehicle w/everything)? Depreciation is based on the percentage of the MSRP. Your monthly payment will only be the difference plus interst, fees, etc... between the adjusted cap cost minus the depreciated value at the end of the term.

2. What is the 'money factor' AND the total 'rent charge' (the 'money factor' helps to approximate your 'rough' interest rate on the 'loan' and helps to calculate the 'rent charge' ('interest' paid on the 'loan').

3. What 'misc. items' will be thrown into the deal (i.e dealer handing, delivery, finance charges, document fees, etc...)?

Hope this helps anyone out there that is considering a lease.