Tax benefit in bringing leased car in vs. selling?

Hi,

I have positive equity in my Honda Pilot lease. Suppose I go to carmax and they offer me 3K more than the buyout.

Is there any benefit to bringing it in to Honda or another dealer instead if they are willing to buy out or trade it in for the same amount. Isn’t there a tax benefit of trading it in since you paid tax on it already that you wouldnt pay tax again on a new car ?

Also at somepoint I only heard this is true of you get another Honda (or same company you currently finance with.

Ant truth to this or better to sell to carmax , pocket the money, and walk into a lease negotiation without that variable ?

In Maryland you get a tax break on the new car you are buying equal to the trade-in value of your old car. So if you traded in a car for $15k, and bought a new car for $20k, you would only pay tax on $5k. Trade a $20k car and buy a $20k car? 0 sales tax.

Leased cars are more quirky. Once again, in MD you can get a tax break towards a new LEASE if you trade-in the old lease AND the leasing company for both leases is the same .

If you typically hire someone to do your taxes every year, give them a call and ask them.

You may get lucky and find out that your state will still give you the tax break if you get a new vehicle within x amount of days of selling the old one.

Do you mind sharing the numbers on your pilot lease? MSRP, residual and payment?