pay taxes?

[DaveG19]

Purchasing a new pistol out of state. Will I have to pay taxes when I register it?

Dave

[RuralTom]

no "registration" in PA

[DaveG19]

I suppose a better way to say it is...will I have to pay tax when I pick it up from the receiving dealer?

Dave

[Jailkeeper]

OK, I have to reply to this one...

I have purchased 3 pistols from a gun shop in Texas and had them shipped to a gun shop here in PA.

When I picked them up I had to go through the usual PICS check and transfer. And yes, I had to pay sales tax.

In 2002 I bought a sailboat in Florida. No sales tax since I was a non-resident.

Shortly thereafter I received a letter stating that I owed PA sales tax on my purchase.

[Flash]

OK, I too have to reply to this one.

The out of state dealer techicnally, transfers the firearm to the PA dealer, who then makes the transaction of selling it to you.

Therefore, it is actually a Pennsylvania sale, between a Pennsylvania dealer and a Pennsylvania resident, and taking place in the Commonwealth.

Sorry, but you gotta cough up the 6%.

It ain't quite like real "mail-order".

Flash

[sid]

I purchased a lower reciever from out of state and paid for it directly. It was shipped to the ffl and I paid the transfer fee and sales tax on this fee. I wasn't told that I had to pay sales tax on the receiver.

sid

[sid]

I forgot to add the he didn't ask what I paid for it so how was he to know how much tax to charge?. Of course it only cost me 1 dollar.

sid

[mythaeus]

I have many transfers done for out of state shipments and was never charged sales tax. It makes no sense to be charged sales tax for these because the receiving FFL did not purchase the gun, the buyer did. Having mere the possession doesn't entitle ownership or purchase. It's like having a title company charging you sales tax when you're buying a house. Moreover, sales over the Internet to out-of-state buyers are not taxable, unless the seller has a physical store in that state. Sales between private owners are not taxable either. The short answer is no.

Al

[he11zna]

I've ordered quite a few firearms online and had them transferred through various FFL's. Not once did I ever have to pay sales tax. In fact, most of the time a sales receipt doesn't have a price or comes separately so the FFL doesn't need to know the price which I paid.

[Xringshooter]

If you you purchase a handgun from an out of state dealer it will have to be sent to you local PA dealer to complete the transfer paperwork and the background check (PICS). Since it was purchased (bought and paid for) from out of state, you do not owe PA Sales Tax.

You do however (always a catch) owe the state the PA Use Tax, which is the difference (percentage wise) in any sales tax paid to the state you bought the gun from and the PA Sales Tax. If you did not pay any sales tax to the state where the gun was coming from then, by law, you owe PA whatever the tax rate is where you pick the gun up. In most of PA that would be 6%. In the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas they have their own additional sales tax but I don't know the obligation on items bought out of state.


Here is some info from a previous post I answered (Jan 2008):

PA Sales Tax:
1. If I, as a FFL, sell you something that my business purchased to be resold, I MUST charge you the appropriate sales tax. The sales tax is levied on the retail selling price which would include the shipping and handling charges and my profit margin.

2. If I, as a gunsmith, repair your gun, I MUST charge you the appropriate sales tax on the labor charge and parts to fix the gun, unless you provide me with the repair parts (then the sales tax is only on the labor involved).

PA Use Tax:
1. If I, as a business person buy something for use in my business (tools, bluing solution, computer, repair books, etc.) from a place that does not collect the PA sales tax (out of state, internet, etc.) I am obligated to pay PA a tax equal to the sales tax where I live (in my case 6%). This is the PA Use Tax. It was put in place to help businesses in PA compete with out of state and internet businesses (not my statement but from the PA Dept of Revenue).

2. If YOU, as a consumer, buy something from the internet (or a catalog) and the seller does not collect PA Sales Tax, YOU, the consumer, are obligated to pay the PA Dept of Revenue a tax equal to the sales tax where you live. This is the PA Use Tax. You can get full details on the Dept of Revenue web site.

3. If YOU, as a consumer, order something from the internet or a catalog that must come to me, a FFL, to be transferred (think PaFOA AR lower, a gun from Bud's Gun Shop, a gun from AIM Surplus, etc.) and the seller does not collect PA Sales Tax on the item, YOU, the consumer are obligated to pay the PA Use Tax. As the person doing the transfer, I AM NOT REQUIRED OR OBLIGATED TO COLLECT THE PA USE TAX FROM ANYONE. I am not even required or obligated to inform you about the Use Tax (I normally do though, nice guy that I am ). It is up to you and you alone to decide if you are going to pay it or not.

4. Personal sales (person to person not business to person) are non taxable (sales or use taxes). Interstate personal sales are also non taxable.

All that said however, when I do a PICS there is another form that goes to the PSP along with the Application/Record of Sale (handguns only). On it, I have to tell the PSP how many long arms and handguns I transferred, how many were non sales taxable and how many were sales taxable. I do not know if there would be a way the Dept of Revenue could get hold of and use the A/R S to see if people paid any Use Tax due. I also do not know if they could ask for my records to see if someone bought a gun and did not pay any Use Tax due.

I hope that this explains the difference in sales and use tax and who is and isn't obligated to do what.