Thank you. Had same question. It will make leasing then buying in MD more palatable which is what I’m hoping to do with an Acura MDX (and looks like you doing the same with your good questions on Edmunds forum).
I just bought out the lease on my BMW X5 and I did not have to pay any excise tax. Of course I did pay tax when I leased the vehicle and it was rolled into my lease payment as I did not put anything down. With the crazy used car prices it made sense to buy it as it is worth over $10k more than the lease buyout.
Edit: was able to create a new topic after posting this question here Maryland Tax & Title Company Recommendations for lease end buyout titling/registration?
Can someone recommend a Tag and Title company in MD (close to Baltimore, preferably) that can handle the lease buyout re-titling and registration? A few places I’ve called either have no idea how to handle this, or want to charge me more excise tax (the MVA has told me no excise tax should be required because it was paid up front on the selling price at lease inception in MD). I’d go to the MVA directly, but they still require appointments that are several weeks out, hence looking for a registered tag&title company.