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Loophole in Use Tax?

larrynew

Well Known Member
After explaining to my wife why we had to pay a painfully large sum to the State Comptroller, she suggested I ask my question to the smart folks on VAF that I'm always telling her about. Here goes.

Before I registered my aircraft, I paid my Texas Use Tax for out-of-state purchases of aircraft parts. After carefully reading the instructions for Texas Form 01-156, I wonder if there is a way to offset some of those taxes.

Basically, use taxes are to be paid by individuals or businesses that don't have a sales and use tax permit and bring items into Texas without paying sales or use tax on them. When you click on the instructions for the form, you also get this:

...Furthermore, assume you live in Houston and buy an item for $200 from a seller in a part of Texas with no local taxes. The seller only charges state sales tax of $12.50 or 6.25 percent. Since the correct rate in Houston is 8.25 percent, you owe additional use tax of $4.00.

So here's my question. If, like the example above from the Comptroller's own instructions, I live in a higher tax area and purchase items from a lower tax area and owe use tax on the difference then is the opposite true? If I live in a lower sales tax area (which I do) but make almost all of my purchases in higher tax areas (which I also do) should I get a credit for the difference when I file my use tax return?

I've asked three CPAs (two relatives and one friend) about this. All three were very familiar with sales and use tax issues but not plain use tax from the form linked above. They kept trying to answer as if it was a sales and use tax issue with one of the parties having a Texas sales and use tax permit which this isn't. I know other states have use tax so maybe this same concept would apply there.
 
Call the Texas State Comptroller's Office at (800) 252-5555 or (512) 463-4600, as suggested in the form you linked?

These things usually only work in favor of the state. I doubt they'll be wanting to give you any refunds for overpayment.

This doesn't apply to parts, but there is a use tax exemption on the purchase of an aircraft if the aircraft sale is considered an "occasional sale". This is described in this Sales and Use Tax Bulletin put out by the state of Texas.
 
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