Which state do we pay our vehicle sales taxes in?

Question

We bought the car in MI and brought it home to TN to register it. The dealership made us pay sales taxes there. Now that we're in TN we were told that we're tax exempt when registering here because of being active duty military. The lady at the clerk's office said that we shouldn't have paid Michigan taxes at all. Should Michigan have charged us the tax? If not, how do I go about getting my money back? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Sales tax exemptions are a state question, and active military are not exempted by FEDERAL law.

However, reference 1 below (with any luck) states "vehicles which are purchased by nonresident active military personnel for titling in his or her home state" are exempt, so the TN dealer was correct  

Your next step should be to contact the MI dealer or the appropriate Michigan government agency at [e-mail] .

Answer 2

The Tennessee DMV clerk should not be expected to be familiar with Michigan sales tax laws.  You could call the dealership in Michigan and ask there if you were overcharged.

Answer 3

iF YOU JUST BOUGHT THE CAR AND THEN DIRECTLY TOOK IT TO TN, THEN YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY ANY TAXES EXCEPT THE ONES YOU PAID AT THE PUCHASE. BUT IF YOU RESIDED THERE FOR AWHILE,M AS IN MONTHS/ETC. YES YOU HAVE TO PAY THE TAXES FOR THE DAYS YOU WERE THERE.