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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 7811L2019A06 Motor Vehicle Tax 1978-11-15

Was a mobile-home buyer's Texas tax liability satisfied when the dealer collected money for tax but did not remit it?

Short answer: No. The purchaser remained responsible for the historical motor vehicle sales tax until the State actually received it. The dealer's collection of money, accompanied by the false impression that the dealer would handle the payment, did not satisfy the buyer's tax liability.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1978. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1978
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is a November 15, 1978 taxpayer-response letter. Purchaser liability, dealer collection and remittance duties, mobile-home classification, proof of payment, recovery against a seller, enforcement, and administrative remedies may have changed. The letter decided only that payment to the dealer had not satisfied the State when the dealer failed to remit; it did not address the buyer's remedies against the dealer. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Names are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The mobile-home buyer still owed the State even though the dealer had collected money while promising to handle the tax.

The letter placed historical motor vehicle sales-tax responsibility on the purchaser. Until the tax was actually paid to the State, that obligation remained unsatisfied.

The response described the dealer's impression as false but did not decide what claim or recovery the buyer might have against the dealer.

What this means for you

Under this letter, handing a seller money labeled as tax was not the same as proving that the State received it.

Common questions

Q: Did payment to the dealer discharge the buyer's tax liability?
A: No.

Q: Did the letter decide the buyer's remedies against the dealer?
A: No.

Citations and references

  • No statute or rule was cited in the letter.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

November 15, 1978

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of October 30, 1978, regarding motor vehicle
sales
tax on your mobile home.

While I regret very much your unfortunate situation, nevertheless, as I
informed you by telephone on November 3, 1978, the law makes you as the
purchaser of a motor vehicle responsible to pay motor vehicle sales tax
to the State. Despite the fact that the dealer who sold you your mobile
home
collected money from you by giving you the false impression that he would
take care of this obligation for you, until the tax has actually been
paid
to the State your tax liability as purchaser of a motor vehicle has not
been
satisfied.

If you have any questions you may write the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax
Division
or call toll free 1-800-252-5555.

Yours very truly,
Patricia Brockway
Division Attorney
Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Division

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