Motor Vehicle Q and A
A selection of motor vehicle questons PAN has received.
Q: My customer purchased his vehicle back from his insurance company after it was totaled. He completed the repairs himself and is applying for a reconstructed vehicle title and registration, using the salvage certificate with Form MV-426B. Does my customer have to pay sales tax when applying for the reconstructed title?
A: Yes. Your customer's insurance company declared the vehicle a total loss. Your customer purchased a salvage vehicle back from them and completed the reconstruction process. the first person to apply for a title and registration for the now-road-worthy vehicle must pay sales tax on the vehicle.
Q: When a customer purchases a used vehicle from an out-of-state dealership, the customer often doesn't know how to explain why they paid less than the fair market value because they paid the dealer's asking price. What should the customer write in the explanation section of the MV-3 since the dealer isn't with them to help complete the form?
A: PennDOT's Fair Market Value Fact Sheet states, "... when a motor vehicle is purchased from alicensed dealer, the issuing agent may accept a copy of the bill of sale signed by both the dealer or its licensed sales person and the applicant to be completed MV-1, MV-4ST or MV-217A, instead of Form MV-3, provided that the bill of sale contains both the approved appraised guide's stated Fair Market Value of the motor vehicle and the actual purchase price. The copy of the bill of sale should then be forwarded to PennDOT along with the appropriate title application."
See the Fact Sheet at www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dvspubsforms/BMV/BMV%20Fact%Sheets/fs-mvmv.pdf.
Q: Combination weights are required of trucks pulling trailers in excess of 10,000 pounds. Does this only apply to commercial vehicles or does it also include individuals pulling their recreational vehicles?
A: Any trailer, 10,000 pounds or more, must be registered in combination weight. Combination weight is not limited to just commercial vehicles.
Q: When using MV-140 - Request for Registration for a registration renewal on a truck, do we always need to fill in the "REg. Gross Wt." and "No. of axles" boxes in Section A?
A: If the weights are not changing, you are not required to complete the REgistration Gross Weight and the number of axles fields. If weights are changing, the current weight information will need to be entered on Form MV-140 and Form MV-41 will need to be attached to change those weights.
Q: My customer purchased his vehicle back from his insurance company after it was totaled. He completed the repairs himself and is applying for a reconstructed vehicle title and registration, using the salvage certificate with Form MV-426B. Does my customer have to pay sales tax when applying for the reconstructed title?
A: Yes. Your customer's insurance company declared the vehicle a total loss. Your customer purchased a salvage vehicle back from them and completed the reconstruction process. the first person to apply for a title and registration for the now-road-worthy vehicle must pay sales tax on the vehicle.
Q: When a customer purchases a used vehicle from an out-of-state dealership, the customer often doesn't know how to explain why they paid less than the fair market value because they paid the dealer's asking price. What should the customer write in the explanation section of the MV-3 since the dealer isn't with them to help complete the form?
A: PennDOT's Fair Market Value Fact Sheet states, "... when a motor vehicle is purchased from alicensed dealer, the issuing agent may accept a copy of the bill of sale signed by both the dealer or its licensed sales person and the applicant to be completed MV-1, MV-4ST or MV-217A, instead of Form MV-3, provided that the bill of sale contains both the approved appraised guide's stated Fair Market Value of the motor vehicle and the actual purchase price. The copy of the bill of sale should then be forwarded to PennDOT along with the appropriate title application."
See the Fact Sheet at www.dot.state.pa.us/public/dvspubsforms/BMV/BMV%20Fact%Sheets/fs-mvmv.pdf.
Q: Combination weights are required of trucks pulling trailers in excess of 10,000 pounds. Does this only apply to commercial vehicles or does it also include individuals pulling their recreational vehicles?
A: Any trailer, 10,000 pounds or more, must be registered in combination weight. Combination weight is not limited to just commercial vehicles.
Q: When using MV-140 - Request for Registration for a registration renewal on a truck, do we always need to fill in the "REg. Gross Wt." and "No. of axles" boxes in Section A?
A: If the weights are not changing, you are not required to complete the REgistration Gross Weight and the number of axles fields. If weights are changing, the current weight information will need to be entered on Form MV-140 and Form MV-41 will need to be attached to change those weights.
