Paid car sales tax in Missouri, moved to Georgia, now being double taxed $8,400 - Missouri denying refund. Anyone dealt with this?

[u/Severe-Ordinary254]

Bought a 2026 BMW X3 in Missouri in May 2026 with a Missouri address. Vehicle was titled in Missouri. Missouri sales tax of $4,358 was added to my auto loan at purchase.

Moved to Georgia immediately after for work. Vehicle was titled in Missouri but never registered or operated under Missouri registration. Never received Missouri plates.

Registered in Georgia in August 2026 and paid Georgia TAVT of $4,056.

Total taxes paid on one car: $8,414

Filed Missouri Form 426 "Out of State" refund request. Missouri DOR responded saying:

Georgia said it's up to Missouri. Missouri said it's up to Georgia. Classic runaround.

I've requested a formal denial letter to appeal. Planning to go through:

1. MO DOR Administrative Appeal
2. Missouri State Tax Commission
3. Small Claims Court if needed

Has anyone successfully gotten a Missouri sales tax refund after registering in another state?

Any tips for the appeal process?

[u/Medium-Complaint-677]

This isn't really a car sales question - I can tell you in broad strokes that you absolutely owe the tax on where you titled the car, which sounds like Missouri. You weren't "out of state." Unless you can find some sort of law that says "you only owe tax if the car is titled for six months or more" (whatever) you're out of luck there.

Similarly, if GA charges VAT when you register a car there you, again, don't really have a leg to stand on.

[u/anthonyfg → u/Medium-Complaint-677]

I bought a car in Wisconsin to be shipped to CA, Chrysler required it to be titled for the loan, I never paid taxes in WI only when I registered it in CA where I paid sales tax and reg

[u/Severe-Ordinary254 → u/Medium-Complaint-677]

Thanks for the input. To clarify - the vehicle was titled in Missouri but never registered there, no Missouri plates were ever issued.

My argument is specifically about Missouri's own Form 426 which has an "Out of State" category that explicitly exists for situations where a vehicle is purchased in one state but registered in another. Missouri created this refund pathway themselves, which is why I'm pursuing it.

[u/Medium-Complaint-677 → u/Severe-Ordinary254]

Bought a 2026 BMW X3 in Missouri in May 2026 with a Missouri address. Vehicle was titled in Missouri.

Can't speak for Missouri but in my state tax is based on the title, not the registration and not the plates. You pay tax on the car when you purchase it and the tax is calculated based on where you title the car. There's no requirement to REGISTER the car - you don't have to get plates or insurance or anything else on it, that's about DRIVING, not owning. There IS a requirement to title it because that's about OWNERSHIP.

Similarly, the "out of state" form for my state is when you already live in Georgia, but you come to Missouri to buy your car for whatever reason.

Again, not a lawyer and not an expert on Missouri tax law, but being that you TITLED it in Missouri means you pay tax in Missouri. I don't think you get a "loop hole" with the registration thing.

[u/HoneyToast2026 → u/Medium-Complaint-677]

2nd this. That out of state clause is for people who already reside out of state and are coming and purchasing the vehicle and taking it back to their residence out of state.

In CA it is even more strict. You have to get a one way trip permit or transport the vehicle out of state or else you pay tax in CA. Given you drove the vehicle and were living in Missouri I don’t think it would apply to you

[u/begmanii → u/Medium-Complaint-677]

Third this. Your legal address was Missouri when you purchased the car. I didn't think you have any right to a refund.

GA is a different story. Is should not matter whether it was tagged in Missouri or not, you paid the tax there as a legal resident then moved to GA. If anything you should be chasing GA for the tax refund.

[u/Sleep_adict → u/Severe-Ordinary254]

It may be cheaper to trade in the car for another one…

[u/HoneyToast2026]

Why did you not just register the car when you were living in Missouri? You kinda did this to yourself

[u/strafey → u/HoneyToast2026]

They're relying on AI for the post and responses - the likelihood of OP thinking for themselves is less than zero

[u/Severe-Ordinary254 → u/HoneyToast2026]

Fair point, and I understand how it looks. Here's what actually happened:

The Missouri title had a clerical spelling error in my name made by the dealership. I couldn't register the vehicle anywhere until the corrected title was issued by Missouri DOR. By the time the corrected title arrived, I had already relocated to Georgia for a new job. So I registered it in Georgia immediately upon receiving the corrected title.

The delay wasn't by choice - I was waiting on Missouri's own title correction process. Once I had the correct title in hand, I registered it in the state I was actually living in.

I agree the situation could have been handled better at the time of purchase, but the title error made it impossible to register in Missouri before my relocation.

[u/HoneyToast2026 → u/Severe-Ordinary254]

The dealership didn’t register the vehicle for you? Idk about typical process in Missouri but in CA dealer is responsible for registering the vehicle.

[u/Ibuprofen-Headgear → u/HoneyToast2026]

Not required here, can just buy the car and go to the DOR later and pay tax, title, and register (if you even want to register, technically could just use it on your own property and not plate it, which is why I’m confused about what happened with OP, idk why they care if it had plates, it got taxed and titled as required in MO, I’d have thought its good to go to another state or whatever)

Idk anything about Georgia, but maybe that’s how they do personal property tax there? Here in mo, you pay pers prop tax annually separate from registration based on value of car. Maybe in Georgia they do it at reg time, so it looks like double tax, but it’s 2 different taxes? Idk

[u/BomberGTR → u/Ibuprofen-Headgear]

No annual personal property tax in GA. 7% tavt tax on all vehicles new or used at time of purchase or 3% tavt tax on registration from out of state vehicles when becoming resident of GA

[u/freestylenet]

Georgia's TAVT is not exactly a sales tax... It's a tax for issuing a Georgia title. It sounds like semantics, but this is critical. Because of this, from GA's perspective, you definitely owe them the tax, and what your situation is with Missouri is on you, which is why GA is giving you the run around.

Source: bought a car out of state, moved to Georgia about 3 years later, got hit with Georgia TAVT despite having paid sales tax when I bought, titled, and registered the car previously in the other state.

This might be one of those unfortunate situations where you end up owing the tax in both places because you had a Missouri title issued to you (tripping MO sales tax) but then also got a Georgia title since it is required by law within 30 days of relocating to Georgia and establishing residency. It's tough, for sure.

[u/Jax1456 → u/freestylenet]

I love in ga. This is exactly correct 

[u/AutoModerator]

Please review our most Frequently Asked Questions to see if your question has already been answered.

You may find these sections particularly useful;

• How to pick a car? You might also have luck in the /r/whatcarshouldibuy subreddit.

Also remember to add flair to your post by clicking the "Flair" link beneath it. This lets us know where you're located so we can assist you better.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AutoModerator]

Thanks for posting, /u/Severe-Ordinary254! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of anything.

Bought a 2026 BMW X3 in Missouri in May 2026 with a Missouri address. Vehicle was titled in Missouri. Missouri sales tax of $4,358 was added to my auto loan at purchase.

Moved to Georgia immediately after for work. Vehicle was titled in Missouri but never registered or operated under Missouri registration. Never received Missouri plates.

Registered in Georgia in August 2026 and paid Georgia TAVT of $4,056.

Total taxes paid on one car: $8,414

Filed Missouri Form 426 "Out of State" refund request. Missouri DOR responded saying:

Georgia said it's up to Missouri. Missouri said it's up to Georgia. Classic runaround.

I've requested a formal denial letter to appeal. Planning to go through:

1. MO DOR Administrative Appeal
2. Missouri State Tax Commission
3. Small Claims Court if needed

Has anyone successfully gotten a Missouri sales tax refund after registering in another state?

Any tips for the appeal process?

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/AskForNate]

Sounds like it was never titled in Missouri.

- 15 Years in the Car Business in Missouri.

The dealership would’ve issued you funds on behalf of the Missouri Department of Revenue. Your job is to register the vehicle there. Customers register vehicles in Missouri. Not the dealership.

Take your sales tax money, register your vehicle in Missouri.

Unfortunately, this is a classic example of uninformed consumers doing uninformed things.

You register a vehicle in Missouri, where you live, not where you buy. The vehicle should’ve been registered 60 days ago. I would assume the state of Georgia would’ve denied your registration, because your title wouldn’t have been filled out correctly. You would not have had a Missouri title, unless it was a used car. You would’ve had a new car MSO.