My parents Range Rover Velar lease is ending this month.
The buyout is $37K + tax.
The lease is in my mothers name but I want to buy it at lease end.
What is the best way for me to do this without getting double taxed?
ie: My mother pays the $37K + tax (~$3K) = $40K she paid, then I buy it from her so another $3K in tax = $43K total with $6K paid in just taxes.
Is there a way that I can buy the lease payout direct so there is only $3K in taxes and not $6K?
Open to any ideas/insights you have.
I just thought of potentially doing a lease transfer into my name and then I do the buy out? Does Range Rover do lease transfers? What if is is less than 30 days until lease end?
Which bank is this leased through? Generally there aren’t lease transfers on RR, but occasionally one gets done on a 3rd party bank that allows it. I doubt anyone would approve a transfer this close to the end though.
If she buys it out and then gifts it to you, sales tax isn’t due the 2nd time, however, you can not pay her any money for it.
If she buys it and you buy it from her, then you’ll need to pay tax the 2nd time.
In Florida, a lease buy out has to be done through a dealer rather than directly (unless the bank has a FL dealer license, which most don’t). You may be able to find a dealer that will buy out the lease and sell it to you for some charge less than the extra tax amount.
Thank you for your quick response. The lease is through Land Rover Financial Group which uses the Chase bank. I spoke to LRFG and they said I can’t buy it outright but I can be the one to provide the payoff check then the title is sent to my mother then I do a title transfer at the DMV. I still don’t know if that helps at all with taxes though.
that’s great until you hand her the other $39,999 and commit tax fraud.
There’s no tax due here if the car is gifted (at that point, why do a $1 sale?). But if you claim it’s a gift and then still exchange money, there’s fraud going on.
Speak with dealership if they will purchase the SUV and you purchase from dealership. They may charge a little markup but still save more than second tax. I would call around dealerships to see if they will sell to you.
So what if I gave a cashiers check to range rover for the lease buy out and then they give the title to my mother and then my mother does a title transfer at the local DMV? Is there any tax associated with the title transfer at the FL DMV?
I think your best bet would be to work with a JLR dealer. Call up the manager & give him the specifics of your Mom’s Velar. Tell him or her what the buyout is. Maybe the dealer can buy that car out from the leasing company cheaper than you, sell it to you for the lease end buyout, charge you a $1000 dealer doc fee, plus TTL. Just don’t forget the warranty. Buy the extended warranty.
You paying off your mom’s car would be viewed as you gifting her the money and then her signing over the title would be viewed as her gifting you the car. You can’t gift money in exchange for a gifted vehicle and not incur the tax liability. Again, you may not get caught, but that doesn’t make it kosher.
Just spit balling here, but if mom wanted to buy out lease would JLR let you add a cosigner/second owner on loan?
If so, you could do that and as long as they are both on loan I think it would be legal for either party to pay off loan. Then you can transfer asset out of mom’s name using exception for transferring car amongst family.
I believe any licensed auto dealer in the state of Florida could purchase that vehicle at lease end from JLR, and then sell it to you for say $1000 mark up as they would have to do very little work to make that deal - so it’s pure profit for them. You would then pay the tax once when you purchase it from them. I don’t think it has to be JLR dealer or even a Dealership type car dealer. I have a friend who is a wholesale auto dealer here in FL and he flips cars all the time and someone like that could do it for you I believe.
