Sales Tax on Out-of-State Purchases

When a trailer is purchased from a business or dealer outside Georgia, sales tax is due. The Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) has determined 6% as the sales tax for Gwinnett residents. The sales tax must be paid before you can receive a tag for the trailer. The fee for a trailer tag is $12.

If you buy a trailer online from an out-of-state source, and the site or company collects a fee for processing the sale, they become a broker for the sale and sales tax is due. This can also apply to online purchases from individuals. 

Sales tax can be paid in the following ways:

  • If the out-of-state business or dealer is authorized by the DOR to collect Georgia sales tax and does so, you may have nothing further to pay at the tag office. Provide a bill of sale indicating the amount of sales tax collected.
  • If you pay sales tax to an out-of-state business or dealer that is not authorized by the DOR to collect sales tax, you may receive credit based on the reciprocal agreement that Georgia has with that particular state. If the reciprocal agreement does not allow for full credit of the sales tax amount you paid to the unauthorized out-of-state dealer, you are responsible for the difference. In some cases, this could result in your paying sales tax twice on the same trailer. In these situations, contact the out-of-state dealer to resolve the sales tax payment.
  • Payment for any sales tax due can be made directly to the DOR at any Georgia DOR regional office.
  • You may also pay sales tax at any Gwinnett County tag office. Tag offices accept cash, personal checks, money orders and cashier’s checks as well as VISA, MasterCard and Discover.

When visiting either a DOR office or a tag office, bring an itemized bill of sale for the trailer. If sales tax was collected at the time of sale, this must be reflected. We are unable to determine the amount of sales tax due over the phone. 

Notes: Vehicles do not qualify for reciprocal tax credits. We cannot accept checks made out to either “Georgia Department of Revenue” or “State of Georgia.” When paying sales tax at a tag office, make checks payable to “Gwinnett County Tag Agent.” 



Updated 1/25/2023

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