Well I was hoping to be able to do this with BMW Financial, but it seems damn near impossible.
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I can confirm that the steps that @Hamid_Daudani performed, I also performed as well and received a tax refund.
Like Hamid, it took a total of about three months for the CDTFA to get the check cut and sent to me but definitely worth the extra work. Wife was ecstatic to see the letter of approval. 
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This is a matter of formality so they donât have to chase you to pay it. I think legally from a tax perspective, you owe the state, not the dealer.
#IANAL
I speculated that this is actually buying from the Nissan Dealer, not buying from Nissan Financial. Hence they must collect tax or they are on the hook. Itâs a used car sale, not a lease buyout.
Has anyone used this link to request refund from CDTFA? https://onlineservices.cdtfa.ca.gov/_/#30
I just used the link for: Claim a Refund for Tax Paid to DMV/FTB and wondering if anyoneâs tried it. The thing that concerns me is that it doesnât really let you attach any documents or receipts.
Could you please elaborate on the steps you took? Did you fill out: CDTFA-101 (FRONT) REV. 18 (9-19)? If so, what address did you send it to and which checkboxes did you tick? What kind of supporting documents did you send them?
Continuing the discussion from California 10 day tax exempt For lease buyout:
@pvc this is what I received from CDTFAâŚ
Please refer to Publication 52- Vehicles and Vessels: Use Tax https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub52.pdf to determine which documents will be necessary to provide in order for the department to issue your certificate. Please ensure that these documents are uploaded during the application process to expedite your request.
Upon submitting the request, please select that you would like for the certificate to be mailed to you, and provide a good mailing address, as the certificate we issue needs to be presented to the DMV to complete the transfer process.
Should you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to email us back, or call us at (626) 480-7200. You can also contact our Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115 during our normal business hours: Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM.
With this info, I filled in form CDTFA-101 and checked the âSales and Use Taxâ box, and filled in the tax/registration amount and date in the section that begins with âThe undersignedâŚâ and checked the box âDetermination(s)/Billing datedâ. As for âBasis for Refundâ, you have to enter why you feel that a refund is justified.
I attached ALL documentation, including registration/tax receipt and carvana sales documentation and sent it to email address BTFD-ADRS@cdtfa.ca.gov
Hope this helps.
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Anyone has recent experience selling to mycarauction with a lessor released title?
Also is there any other website or dealer that would accept the lessor released title in a sale?
Thanks in advance.
Planning to buy out my XC90 soon and donât want to deal with the sales tax.
Iâm interested in this as well. I just purchased a vehicle from GM financial. Made payoff payment today, now just waiting on them to send the lessor released title. Would prefer to sell the vehicle within 10 days of receiving the lessor released title to avoid paying tax instead of paying DMV and then requesting it back later.
My US Bank lease return (Toyota Tundra with about $8,000 in equity if sold to a local dealer) department told me I donât have to pay sales tax if Iâm selling it to a 3rd party and they sign a letter (it has to be notarized according to the rep) stating they are buying the car and they will pay the sales tax when they register the car with California DMV. They are sending me the buyout packet this week. Iâll see if I can screenshot all the docs the my send me.
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So the dealer you are selling to wonât take the lessor released title also?
And sure would appreciate if you could share the docs and process.
Thanks in advance.
So do you plan to try mycarauction?
yes. once i get the title from gm financial. hopefully in 2-3 weeks or so.
Hereâs a link to some of the tax refund questions for CA residents/sellers. Iâm surprised there is a way to get CA to refund money. Tax Guide for Purchasers of Vehicles, Vessels, & Aircraft
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Just sold my 2019 XC90 to Mycarauction. Their offer was around 1500 lower than Driveway which said they could do the released title but they were slow in communication and I only had 1 day left on registration left to sell the car after I received the title in the mail from Volvo Financial. But the offer was good enough to save me some headache and get over 7k in equity back. They sent a very thorough inspector up the same afternoon and gave me a printed check on the spot. They will come back to get the car tomorrow.
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After many weeks of trying to communicate with the dealership to get them to act on my behalf, they eventually attempted to request my money from the CDTFA and they told me yesterday that the state claimed I never sent them a copy of the title (which I did). Also, the dealer said the state said I did not provide the mileage on the car when I sold the car and that I had to prove the mileage and that I did not use the car at all for personal use. I sent the dealer an email explaining the statute and the meaning of a presumption per the statute and generally commented on how the state is just coming up with one excuse after another (which seems to keep changing) on how they can just keep my tax money they know goddamn well does not belong to them. I sent her the appropriate info at the dealer and she has informed me that she spoke to the Auditor at the state 3 times yesterday and is going to resubmit the request today and hopefully it should work. We shall see. CA is probably thinking, how the hell has this guy not gone away yetâŚnormally we feed people some bullshit and get to keep their money. The fight goes on.
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Thatâs what I did and basically claimed that my intention from the lease buyout was to sell to carvana.
However due to BMWFS restrictions and the time DMV required to send me a clean title, I had to pay sales tax upfront.
Put the blame on DMV, I claimed âDMV failed to deliver a clean title required to sell the leased vehicle to Carvanaâ. And show that you have no intention to keep the vehicle any longer than necessary.
This was my timeline for example.
Oct. 25, 2021 - BMW Financial Services confirmed Leased Vehicle Payoff
Oct. 27, 2021 - Bill of Sale generated from BMW Financial Services
Oct. 28, 2021 - FedEx delivers Bill of Sale and Leased Vehicle Title release from BMW Financial Services
Oct. 30, 2021 - Title transfer initiated and all tax and registration fee paid with DMV
Nov. 24, 2021 - Received clean vehicle title from DMV via USPS
Nov. 24, 2021 - Vehicle sale approved with Carvana and arranged pick up appointment
Nov. 28, 2021 - Vehicle Sold to Carvana
Nov. 28, 2021 - Completed Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability via DMV website
Mailed the claim and ALL supporting documents, (including FedEx and USPS tracking, to justify your timeline) around January 7, 2022. And got my Notice of refund a bit after February 16, 2022, then the check about the week after.
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Sadly my issue is 1000% worse since I had an Infiniti lease not a BMW so I had to go through the dealer to buy out the lease not straight through the manufacturer, like BMW. That being said, the point here is clear, CDTFA wants to fight every step to give up that money they owe you. I am glad you got your cash backâŚbasically anyone who wins against these **** is worth cheering for in my book.
Cool thanks. Iâm planning to sell my XC90 as well. Did you get mycarauction to come out and appraise the car in person first before actually buying out the car from VCFS?
Iâm a bit unsure of which steps I should take first especially since I have some damage to my car and not sure how accurate the online virtual quote is
Thanks for any feedback.
Get your appraisals first to know the financial situation. Then buyout if it makes sense. My offer changed a bit from the first offer but wasnât expecting to get anything back when I signed the lease so anything was a bonus.
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