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Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8309L0530E06 Motor Vehicle Tax 1983-09-15

Did Texas apply sales tax or motor vehicle tax to vehicles designed for off-road use after September 1, 1983?

Short answer: Vehicles not designed for public-highway use became subject to limited sales and use tax instead of motor vehicle sales tax on September 1, 1983. If an off-road vehicle was nevertheless titled, the title application, tax affidavit, and tax receipt were to say “designed for off-road use.” Motorcycles and mopeds titled and registered for street use remained subject to motor vehicle tax.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1983. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1983
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 general September 1983 Comptroller guidance, also indexed by STAR as Sales Tax document 8309002L. It describes a legislative change effective September 1, 1983 but does not cite the bill or statutory section. Vehicle-design classifications, title notations, affidavits, sales tax, and motor vehicle tax rules may have changed. STAR's broad subject metadata lists several vehicle examples not individually analyzed in the body; this page reports only the body rule. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Historical forms and phone numbers are obsolete. 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

As of September 1, 1983, a vehicle not designed for public-highway use was subject to limited sales and use tax rather than motor vehicle sales tax.

If an off-road vehicle was titled, the phrase “designed for off-road use” went in the motor-vehicle-tax exemption space on the title application and tax affidavit and on the tax receipt.

Motorcycles and mopeds titled and registered for street use remained subject to motor vehicle tax.

What this means for you

The intended design and street registration status controlled the historical tax category. A title alone did not necessarily make an off-road unit subject to motor vehicle tax.

Common questions

Q: Did all titled vehicles owe motor vehicle tax?
A: No; the guidance provided a title notation for off-road units.

Q: Were street motorcycles and mopeds included in the change?
A: No.

Citations and references

  • STAR Sales Tax accession 8309002L — duplicate index entry noted by the source
  • Legislative change effective September 1, 1983 — no bill or section cited

Source

Original ruling text

Note: This document is also indexed as a Sales Tax document, STAR 8309002L.

September 15, 1983

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Dear ____:

I just want to remind you that as of September 1, 1983, motor vehicle sales

tax is no longer due on vehicles not designed for use on public highways.

Instead, because of a change in the law made by the Legislature, vehicles

designed for "off-road" use will be subject to the limited sales and use

tax.

Some "dirt bikes" and "off-road" vehicles will be titled. When they are, the

notation "designed for off-road use" should be inserted in the space for

claiming an exemption from motor vehicle tax on both the application for

title and tax affidavit and the tax receipt.

Motor vehicle tax is still due on motorcycles and mopeds titled and

registered for street use.

If you have a question, please call 1-800-252-5555 toll free to reach the

Motor Vehicle Tax Division. The regular number is 512/475-1935.

Richard Montgomery

Director

Motor Vehicle Tax Division

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