Q. I am considering buying a new car in Florida, trading in my old one. I still want to maintain my veteran’s plate. How does the dealer pay for the sales taxes on the new car?

A. Since you do not mention whether the vehicle you are buying is brand-new or simply “new to you,” for the purposes of this answer we’ll assume it’s a brand-new vehicle.

Brand new vehicles do not have titles issued by the state of purchase. Rather, they come from the manufacturer with what’s known as an MSO or MCO — a Manufacturer’s Statement or Certificate of Origin. This document lists all the pertinent information for the vehicle — make, model, body type, number of cylinders, gross vehicle weight and vehicle identification number, or VIN. It’s sort of like a birth certificate for a new vehicle. That document is what the DMV uses to create the owner’s title certificate. So, if you buy a new vehicle out of state and wish to register in Rhode Island, you may put your own plates on the vehicle and drive for a period of 72 hours or three business days from the date of purchase.

According to RIGL 31-4-9 Out-of-state purchases — Any person who purchases a motor vehicle outside the state of Rhode Island from a bona fide licensed dealer and who presently has a motor vehicle registered in this state may, when the new vehicle purchased is of the same type, and has the same number of wheels as the presently owned and registered vehicle, operate the newly acquired motor vehicle for a period beginning at the date of transfer until five o’clock (5) p.m. of the third division of motor vehicles business day following the date of transfer, provided that the number plates issued upon registration of the transferred motor vehicle are attached to the newly acquired vehicle. During this period any operator of the newly acquired vehicle shall carry an original dated copy of the bill of sale reciting the registration number to be transferred from the former vehicle to the newly acquired vehicle.

You may also wish to have the car registered by mail while you are in Florida. You will be required to pay the sales tax amount to the dealer, and Rhode Island will then charge the difference in tax. For example, if Florida’s sales tax rate is 6 percent, you would pay 4 percent of the purchase price ( minus any trades or rebates ) to the State of Florida, and in order to register in Rhode Island, which has a sales tax rate of 7 percent, you would have to pay the 1 percent difference in sales tax. For more information, you can contact the Division of Taxation at (401) 462-5809.

Documents required to register while you are out of state would be the DMV’s application for title and registration (TR-1) form, a RI Use Tax form; both available to download from our Web site. Also, you must submit the original bill of sale from the dealership, proof that you have paid the sales tax in the state of purchase, the original MSO or MCO provided to you by the dealer, and a copy of your previous registration. Also include a check made out to DMV. While we cannot quote prices for registration over the phone, if you like, you can figure out the tax price and include two checks, one for the tax and a blank check for the registration. Please have all documents completed and the TR-1 form notarized, and mail all documents to Division of Motor Vehicles, Data Control Section, 100 Main St., Pawtucket, RI 02860. Please allow sufficient time for processing your registration. Certificate should be mailed out within two to three weeks.

Gina Antonucci Zanni, chief of communications for the State Division of Motor Vehicles, has agreed to answer questions of general interest posed by Journal readers about state motor vehicle laws and procedures. To ask a question that would also be of interest to other readers, send a letter to Ask projoCars, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI, 02902. You can e-mail your question to projocars@projo.com. Please put “Ask projoCars” in the subject field. Questions or complaints of a specific nature should be posed to the DMV directly and will not be answered in this column.

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