Vehicle, trailer or camper bought by a nonresident and removed under a trip permit

A nonresident who takes delivery of a motor vehicle, trailer or camper in Washington pays no Washington sales tax if the vehicle is taken from the point of delivery directly out of the state under a vehicle trip permit. The permit can come from the Washington Department of Licensing or a similar agency of another state. The dealer records the permit number on both the buyer's affidavit and its own seller certificate.

Who qualifies

• A buyer who is not a resident of Washington and buys the vehicle for use outside Washington.
• The rule's example: a buyer with proof of Idaho residency, no contrary facts, a completed affidavit and a trip permit qualifies for the sales tax exemption (but not the B&O deduction).
• An out-of-state corporation buying through a Washington-resident employee qualifies, if the vehicle will be used and garaged out of state, payment is by corporate check, and the vehicle leaves under a trip permit.
• A Washington corporation buying for a nonresident salesperson or an out-of-state office qualifies if the vehicle leaves with a valid one-transit permit (or foreign plates) at delivery and the nonresident affidavits are completed.
• Armed services members temporarily stationed in Washington are presumed nonresidents unless Washington residents at enlistment; the dealer also keeps a copy of their orders.

What qualifies

• Any vehicle of a type that may be licensed under chapter 46.16A RCW for use on a public highway: cars, trucks, campers, trailers, buses, motorhomes, and motorcycles equipped for road use.
• Delivered in Washington and taken from the point of delivery directly to a point outside the state under a trip permit issued by the Department of Licensing under RCW 46.16A.320, or by any agency of another state with authority to issue similar permits.
• Use tax: RCW 82.12.0254(3) also exempts the use of a vehicle while it is operated under a Department of Licensing trip permit, moving on the highways from the point of delivery in Washington to a point outside the state.

Not covered

• A vehicle removed without a trip permit or other-state plates. The rule's example: an Oregon buyer who loads a road-equipped motorcycle into a pickup to take it home does not qualify.
• Farm tractors, bicycles, mopeds, motorized scooters, snowmobiles and vehicles made only for off-road use.
• Any sale where the seller licenses or registers the vehicle in Washington on the buyer's behalf.
• A buyer with dual residency in Washington and another state.
• A vehicle bought by a Washington corporation that is later used in Washington: use tax is due on its value at the time of first use here.
• The retailing B&O tax. No B&O deduction is allowed for in-state delivery.

What the buyer gives

The Buyer's Affidavit for In-State Delivery of Motor Vehicles, form REV 27 0002 (5/25/21). The buyer gives name, resident state and home address; the purchase date, seller name, make, model, year and VIN; ticks the first option ("The vehicle will be driven from the seller's premises under the authority of a trip permit which has been issued to me by the Washington State Department of Licensing or any agency of another state that has authority to issue similar permits.") and enters the trip permit number; adds a service number if in the armed services; and signs and dates before a witness, who prints a name, signs and dates. The buyer also hands over a copy of a currently valid out-of-state driver's license or other official picture ID issued outside Washington, and a copy of one document with an out-of-state address (a current rental agreement, a property tax statement from the current or previous year, a utility bill within two months, last year's state income tax return, a voter registration card, a current credit report, or another document the rule accepts). A corporation shows it is the purchaser: corporate check and registration in its name.

What the seller keeps

The seller completes the Seller's Certificate for In-State Delivery, form REV 27 0003 (5/25/21): it certifies that the Washington plates were removed before final delivery, ticks "A trip permit authorizing the vehicles transit was issued" with the trip permit number, enters the buyer's resident state, ticks at least one address document (column A) and the driver's license or picture ID number (column B), and signs with title and date. RCW 82.08.0264(2)(d) requires "a seller's certification ... that either a vehicle trip permit was issued or the vehicle was immediately registered and licensed in another state." With the ID copy, the address document and the witnessed affidavit, these must be kept and "made available upon request of the department." A seller that sells without them, or does not keep them for the RCW 82.32.070 period (five years), is personally liable for the tax (RCW 82.08.0264(5)(a)). WAC 458-20-177: if the vehicle bears Washington plates, remove them before delivery and keep evidence of that removal; keep the documents five years and do not send them to the department. RCW 82.04.470 governs reseller permits and wholesale sales; it is not the documentation rule for this sale.

Common mistakes

• Letting the buyer haul the vehicle away without a trip permit or other-state plates. The statute requires one or the other.
• Leaving the Washington plates on. The seller must remove them before delivery and keep evidence of removal.
• Leaving the trip permit number blank on the affidavit or the seller certificate.
• Treating a trip permit as proof of nonresidence. The rule says the buyer merely claiming to be a nonresident, or using the vehicle elsewhere, does not by itself earn the exemption; the dealer still needs ID and an out-of-state address document.
• Missing the witness. The affidavit must be witnessed.

Common questions

Does the trip permit have to come from Washington?

No. RCW 82.08.0264(1)(a) accepts a trip permit from the Washington Department of Licensing or from any agency of another state that has authority to issue similar permits.

Can a buyer put a new motorcycle in a truck bed and drive it home to Oregon tax-free?

No. The rule's example says that sale does not qualify; the buyer needs a trip permit or plates from another state before the vehicle leaves Washington.

Our buyer is a Washington resident buying a company car for his out-of-state employer. Does the exemption apply?

It can. The rule's example says the sale qualifies if the vehicle will be used and garaged out of state, the company pays by corporate check, and the vehicle leaves under a trip permit. The employee's Washington residency does not block it.

Does the dealer still owe B&O tax on the sale?

Yes. For in-state delivery to a nonresident, no B&O deduction is allowed even when the sale is exempt from sales tax. A deduction is possible only when the seller delivers the vehicle outside Washington.

Sources

• RCW 82.08.0264 (1)(a), (2)(a)-(d), (4), (5)(a)
• RCW 82.12.0254 (3) use under a trip permit
• RCW 46.16A.320 (1)(a) vehicle trip permits
• WAC 458-20-177 (2), (3), (3)(a)-(d), (5), (7)(b), (10)(b)-(c), (10)(g)-(h)
• DOR form REV 27 0002 (5/25/21), Buyer's Affidavit for In-State Delivery Sections 1-3
• DOR form REV 27 0003 (5/25/21), Seller's Certificate for In-State Delivery Page 1
• RCW 82.32.070 (1) five-year record retention
• RCW 82.04.470 (1), (7) reseller permits and wholesale sales