I bought my car out of state. Why do I have to pay a tax to Glendale?

Both the City and State collect a Vehicle Use Tax on vehicles purchased out of state if there was no tax paid previously. The State’s portion is listed with your registration fees as a DOR fee. The State notifies cities that bill for their portion of the tax up to 6 months later.

Why doesn’t the State collect the tax?

The City and State are separate taxing authorities. The State collects only for cities in the State collection program (mostly smaller cities). However, the State provides the
registration information to the “non-program” cities for billing.

I no longer own the car. Do I still have to pay this tax?

Yes. The tax is based on the purchase of the vehicle like any other retail sale. Subsequent sale or destruction of the vehicle does not preclude the liability for the tax.

I did not know about this tax before and I don’t have the money to pay it all at once. Can I make payments?

To establish a payment schedule, please call 623-930-3190 and request to speak to the representative handling your use tax account.

I used my office address or P.O. Box for registration purposes, but I don’t live in Glendale. Why do I have to pay this tax?

Generally, the Glendale use tax applies because you first registered the vehicle to a Glendale address. If the vehicle was not located in Glendale, written documentation must be presented such as property tax records indicating a permanent address where the vehicle is garaged. As most Arizona cities have a similar tax, you will owe a vehicle use tax if this address is in another city.

The value of my vehicle is wrong. How can I fix that?

The information the City receives comes from the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles, and is based on the DOR fee listed on your Title and Registration application. That fee is computed at 5.6% of the purchase price of your vehicle. If the State use tax has been computed incorrectly, you may want to contact DMV at 602-255-7011 for clarification. The City of Glendale will accept copies of the bill of sale or purchase invoices as sufficient documentation submitted in writing to correct the billing.

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