Tax Commissioner Office - Heavy Duty Equipment Motor Vehicle Taxes

Municiple Building Augusta
Office of the Tax Commissioner

Heavy Duty Equipment Motor Vehicle Taxes

Effective January 1, 1999, heavy duty motor vehicle equipment in the hands of a dealer is not taxable at that time. Instead the equipment is taxed when sold provided it is sold on or before December 20 of that year. If the equipment is sold to a government entity or to another dealer, the property is exempt. Equipment manufactured with an intended use as farm equipment is taxable to the dealer and not to the purchaser. However, equipment having an intended use other than as farm equipment is taxed to the purchaser and not the dealer even if it is sold to a farmer for use on the farm (i.e. backhoe, fork lift, etc.)

Heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle sold to taxpayer domiciled in Georgia - Any person or entity which purchases a heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle from a dealer shall, for the taxable year in which the heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle is purchased only, return such heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle for ad valorem taxation purposes, within 30 days of the end of the month in which such purchase is made, to the appropriate county and shall pay a tax for such taxable year. Upon receipt of such return, the tax commissioner shall bill the purchaser for the ad valorem tax. Such tax shall be equal to 33 1/3 % of the amount derived by multiplying the amount of ad valorem tax which would otherwise be due on the heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle and shall be based on the selling price to the end user times 40%, thus deriving the taxable assessment, times the tax rate imposed by the tax authority for the preceding tax year, by a fraction the numerator of which is the number of months remaining in the calendar year not counting the month of purchase and the denominator of which is 12. In no event shall the ad valorem tax due be less than $100 for the year of purchase. The taxes levied shall be due 60 days after the billing.

Heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle sold to taxpayer not domiciled in Georgia – In the event that any heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle is purchased other than for resale by a person or entity not domiciled in this state, at the time of the sale the dealer shall collect the ad valorem tax which would be applicable for the county where the heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle was held in inventory at the time of the sale. Each dealer, on or before the last day of the month following a sale to such person or entity, shall transmit returns and remit the ad valorem taxes collected (using the formula in the preceding paragraph) to the tax commissioner of the county where the heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle was held in inventory at the time of the sale. Such returns shall show all taxable sales during the preceding calendar month.
If any dealer liable for any tax, interest, or penalty sells out his or her business’s heavy-duty equipment motor vehicles or quits the business, he or she shall make a final return and payment within 30 days after the date of selling or quitting the business. Any dealer who does not collect tax as required under this paragraph or who fails to properly remit taxes collected under this paragraph shall be liable for the tax and the tax commissioner shall collect such tax, penalty, and interest in the same manner that other taxes are collected.

Heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle not sold as of December 20 –Heavy-duty equipment motor vehicles which were in the dealer’s inventory on January 1 and remain in the dealer’s inventory on December 20 shall be returned for taxes on December 21 of that taxable year. The assessed value shall be 40% of the fair market value of the heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle on January 1 of the taxable year. The tax commissioner shall prepare and mail a bill to the dealer based on the return. The taxes shall be due 60 days after the billing.

Dealer’s responsibility – Within 30 days of the last day of a month during which there is a sale of any heavy-duty equipment motor vehicle other than for resale, the dealer shall mail to the tax commissioner of the county where the purchaser is domiciled a statement notifying the tax commissioner of the sale which shall include information such as the date of the sale, the selling price, and the name and address of the purchaser.

Penalties and interest

Failure to return – 10% penalty
Late payment penalty – 10%
Interest - 1% per month or part thereof after the due date.