Vehicle sales tax can be transferred here

By Melinda L. Lucas

Local residents who buy a vehicle or a trailer can help the Shackelford County budget by requesting that the title transfer be done at the Shackelford County Courthouse, thereby sending a portion of the taxes paid on the vehicle or trailer to the local county coffers.

Car dealers are supposed to ask buyers where they want the transfer to take place, but a lot do not, according to Belinda Perez, Shackelford County Tax Assessor - Collector Chief Deputy.

“You can transfer a title in the purchaser’s county, the seller’s county, or the lienholder’s county,” Perez said. “The purchaser has first choice on where to have it done. When you go to the dealer and buy a car, you can request that they transfer the title to Shackelford County.”

The purchaser will then need to fill out a short form that the dealer should provide. 

The title can be transferred at the local courthouse whether the vehicle is new or used; whether it is a car, pickup, truck, or trailer; whether it was bought from a dealer or a private individual; or whether the item was paid for in full, or bought with a loan.

By transferring the title in Shackelford, the local county gets to keep all of the road and bridge tax accessed on the sale, along with a portion of the sales tax.

The cost to the purchaser is the same, but some of the sales tax money can be kept locally with very little effort on the part of the buyer, Perez explained.

Local residents who sell a titled vehicle or trailer can encourage the buyer to transfer the title in the Shackelford Courthouse also.

For private sales, the buyer and seller can meet at the Courthouse and sign the title over at Perez’s office.

“We are just a little county, so we really try hard to work with people,” Perez said. “If you have a lienholder, just make sure to get their address to me so we can send the title to them when it is transferred.”

For more information, contact Perez at 325-762-9420.