Overhaulin'

If I do a private car sale in Michigan, am I required to collect the sales tax?

Or does the secretary of state collect when the person registers the vehicle?

Public Comments

1. No. You cannot collect sales tax.
2. NO, the state will take care of that when the new owner registers the car in their name.
3. No you can't collect tax legally from someone unless you are a authorized car dealer, working for the state, besides, who would you give the tax to? just put in an envelope and Mail it to Obama? ha yeah right....
4. i sell cars all the time in michigan & no you dont & dont have authority to do it. besides the state takes enough from us why would want to take from someone else. all you do is collect the agreed sale amount & when that person who purchased your car registers it they have to pay tax on it anyway unless you are related. but always write a sales agreement that you both sign. i made the mistake of not doing so on a motorcycle once & the police came to my door because they found the bike in the woods & wanted me to pay the towing & impound fees. but i was lucky when i called the tow company they agreed to waive the fees if i just signed a paper that they could keep the bike.
5. No you don't collect it, but you will have to pay taxes on the sold car.
6. You would actually be breaking the law if you attempted to collect sales tax. The Secretary of State collects it. And you do not have to claim the sale on your taxes unless you actually sold the car for more than what you paid for it. If you did this, you would have to claim the difference. This is very rare unless you are dealing in antique or collectible vehicles.