How to Fill Out and Submit Texas Form 14-318: Handicapped Vehicle Exemption

Texas Form 14-318, the Motor Vehicle Orthopedically Handicapped Exemption Certificate, lets you buy a vehicle without paying the state’s 6.25 percent motor vehicle sales tax when the vehicle has been or will be modified for someone with a qualifying orthopedic disability.¹ You hand the completed form to the selling dealer or your county tax assessor-collector at the time of sale or title transfer. There is no separate application to the Comptroller and no waiting period. On a $40,000 vehicle, the savings come to $2,500.

Who and What Qualifies

Two tests have to line up: the person’s condition and how the vehicle will actually be used.

Under Texas law, an orthopedically handicapped person is someone whose limited movement of body extremities or loss of physical function makes them unable to operate or reasonably ride in a vehicle that has not been specially modified.² A bad back or a sore knee does not clear that bar. The impairment has to be severe enough that an unmodified vehicle simply will not work.

The vehicle then has to be used primarily by or for that person, and Texas defines primarily as at least 80 percent of the vehicle’s operating time.¹ A family that buys a modified van and then mostly uses it for errands without the handicapped person aboard would not meet that threshold.

Individuals, partnerships, corporations, and associations can all be purchasers. Healthcare facilities and retirement communities that transport multiple handicapped passengers can claim the exemption too, with a slight paperwork shortcut noted below.³

Modifications That Count

Qualifying changes are the ones that actually adapt the vehicle for a disability. For a driver, that includes alterations to the brake, accelerator, clutch, or steering system (hand controls being the common example), a relocated or extended emergency brake, and a modified accelerator pedal. For a driver or a passenger, it includes wheelchair lifts, hoists, raised roofs, permanently attached ramps, wheelchair hold-down clamps, and special seat restraints that go beyond conventional seat belts.⁴

What Does Not Count

The Comptroller specifically excludes comfort and convenience features. None of the following will support a Form 14-318 exemption:¹

Factory options such as automatic transmission, power seats, power windows, and adjustable pedals
Weight-bearing grab bars or handicap assist handles
Running boards or steps
Steering wheel spinner knobs
Non-powered bicycle or wheelchair racks
Standard trailer hitches
Detachable ramps, including bi-fold ramps, that are not permanently attached to the vehicle

The permanent-attachment rule catches buyers off guard. A portable ramp you fold out of the back of a van will not qualify. The ramp has to be built into the vehicle.

You Can Buy Before the Modifications Are Done

Texas Tax Code Section 152.086 lets you claim the exemption at purchase whether the modifications have already been made or are still to come.⁵ The administrative rule then gives you two years from the purchase date to finish the work.⁴ The need for the modifications has to exist at the time of purchase. You cannot buy a standard vehicle, develop a disability a year later, and reach back for the exemption.

Filling Out the Form

Form 14-318 runs two pages and downloads from the Comptroller’s website. Section 1 is for the purchaser, Section 2 is for a licensed practitioner, and in many cases Section 2 can be skipped entirely.

Section 1: Purchaser Information

You provide:¹

Name of purchaser (the person or entity buying the vehicle, which may or may not be the handicapped person)
Name of the eligible orthopedically handicapped person who will drive or ride in the vehicle
Purchaser mailing address, city, state, and ZIP code
Phone number with area code
Seller’s name, Texas dealer number if applicable, and mailing address
Vehicle make, VIN, year model, body style, and license plate number

At the bottom of Section 1 you sign and date. Your signature certifies that the vehicle is or will be modified, that it will be used at least 80 percent of the time by or for a qualifying handicapped person, and that you are providing either a copy of a restricted Texas driver’s license or a completed practitioner statement in Section 2.¹

Section 2: Practitioner Statement (Or a License Copy Instead)

If the handicapped person holds a restricted Texas driver’s license showing a vehicle-modification restriction, attach a copy and leave Section 2 blank.³

Otherwise, a licensed practitioner of the healing arts fills in their name, professional license number, and mailing address, then signs and dates the form. Their signature certifies that the named person is orthopedically handicapped and that the vehicle must be modified with qualifying adaptive devices for the person to drive or ride in it.¹

Where to Turn It In

Form 14-318 goes to whoever is handling the sale or the title transfer, not to the Comptroller.

If you are buying from a dealer, give the completed form (and the driver’s license copy, if that is your route) to the dealer. Once you present a properly completed certificate, the dealer cannot collect motor vehicle sales tax from you.⁵ The dealer keeps a copy and forwards the original with the title application to the county tax assessor-collector, who includes it in the packet sent to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.³

If the seller is a private party, you bring Form 14-318 and any supporting documentation to your county tax assessor-collector when you apply for the title transfer. The assessor-collector adds the certificate to the title application forwarded to TxDMV.³

Healthcare Facilities and Similar Entities

Healthcare facilities, retirement communities, and comparable organizations that transport multiple handicapped passengers do not have to name a specific handicapped person on Form 14-318, and they do not have to provide a restricted driver’s license or a practitioner statement. The rest of Section 1 still has to be completed, and an authorized representative signs and dates the form.³ The modification and 80 percent usage rules still apply. Only the individual-identification paperwork is waived.

What Goes Wrong If You Get It Wrong

Signing a false Form 14-318 is a felony, not a paperwork slip. Under Texas Tax Code Section 152.101, a person who signs the certificate knowing it contains a materially false statement commits a third-degree felony, which carries two to ten years in prison in Texas.⁶ The warning is printed directly above the signature lines on the form, so neither the purchaser nor the practitioner can claim they were not on notice.

The Comptroller can also claw the tax back. If a review shows the vehicle does not meet the modification requirement or is not being used at least 80 percent of the time by or for a qualifying person, the full 6.25 percent tax becomes due as if the exemption had never been granted.⁵ On a $50,000 vehicle that is $3,125, plus any interest and penalties. The dealer’s acceptance of the form is not the last word.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Motor Vehicle Orthopedically Handicapped Exemption Certificate
2
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 152.001
3
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Orthopedically Handicapped Persons – Motor Vehicle Tax Guide
4
Cornell Law Institute. 34 Texas Admin Code 3.84 – Exemption for Orthopedically Handicapped Person
5
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 152.086
6
Texas Public Law. Texas Tax Code Section 152.101 – Penalty for Signing False Statement