Texas Form 14-312: Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Exemption Certificate

Texas Form 14-312 is the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Exemption Certificate you give to a Texas seller when you’re buying a vehicle to take out of state. A properly completed form lets the seller skip the 6.25 percent Texas motor vehicle sales tax on the sale. You hand it to the dealer or private seller at the time of purchase. It does not go to the county tax office and it does not go to the Comptroller.¹

Who Can Use Form 14-312

Texas Tax Code Section 152.092 waives the motor vehicle sales tax when a vehicle is transported out of Texas before any in-state use other than driving it across the state line. Two conditions have to both be true: you can’t use the vehicle in Texas for any purpose besides that trip out, and you can’t register it in Texas. Register it here and the Comptroller will presume the exemption is invalid.²

The buyer’s residency doesn’t matter. A Texas resident buying a car for an out-of-state property, an out-of-state buyer who found a better price in Texas, and a business buying fleet vehicles for operations elsewhere can all use the form. What matters is that the vehicle leaves and stays gone.¹

One boundary worth flagging: Form 14-312 covers only this specific exemption. Nonprofits, government agencies, volunteer fire departments, and buyers of vehicles modified for orthopedic disabilities use different Comptroller forms. If that’s you, 14-312 is the wrong document.

What to Put on the Form

Download the current version of Form 14-312 from the Texas Comptroller’s website. It’s a single page. Fill in:

The full 17-character Vehicle Identification Number, matched exactly to the manufacturer’s plate and the title.
The make and model year of the vehicle.
The state or country where you’ll use and register the vehicle after taking it out of Texas.
The seller’s full legal name and street address.
Your name, address, phone number, title (if you’re signing for a business), and the date of purchase.
Your signature, which certifies that the vehicle will leave Texas and be used exclusively outside the state.

You don’t need a Federal Employer Identification Number or a Texas Taxpayer Number. The form’s own instructions say so.¹

Your signature also authorizes the Comptroller to share a copy of the certificate with the state where you plan to register the vehicle, so that state can verify the purchase and figure any tax it may charge.²

Where the Form Goes

Give the completed, signed certificate to the seller at the time of sale. The seller keeps it on file as proof the transaction was legitimately exempt. The form’s instructions are direct: “This certificate should be furnished to, and retained by, the seller. Do not send the completed certificate to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.”¹

If the Comptroller audits the seller and finds no certificate in the file for an exempt sale, the seller can be held responsible for the uncollected tax. That’s why dealers ask for it before they close the deal, not after.

Blanket Certificates for Repeat Buyers

If you regularly buy vehicles in Texas for out-of-state use, you can give the seller a single blanket Form 14-312 instead of a new one for every purchase. Write “Blanket Certificate” in the VIN, make, and model year fields. The blanket stays in effect until you revoke it in writing.¹

The seller still has to record the VIN, model year, make, and destination state or country for each vehicle bought under the blanket, because Texas Tax Code Section 152.063 requires those records. Expect the dealership to ask for that information at every purchase even though it isn’t on the blanket form itself.¹

When the Destination Requires a Texas Title First

Some states and countries won’t issue their own title and registration until you show them a title from the state where you bought the vehicle. Texas allows a workaround. Bring documentation of the other jurisdiction’s title requirement to your county tax assessor-collector and file a Form 130-U (Application for Texas Title and/or Registration) for a certificate of title only. No motor vehicle sales tax is collected on a title-only transaction.³

The distinction between title-only and full registration matters. Register the vehicle in Texas and the exemption collapses; the full 6.25 percent tax applies.⁴

If You End Up Bringing the Vehicle Back

Plans change. If you bought a vehicle tax-free with Form 14-312 and later bring it into Texas for use, you owe motor vehicle use tax under Texas Tax Code Section 152.028. The tax falls on the original purchaser, at the same 6.25 percent rate applied to the purchase price.⁵

If you already paid sales or use tax to another state when you registered the vehicle there, Texas may credit that amount against what you owe. Confirm the specifics with your county tax assessor-collector when you register. Bringing the vehicle back and skipping the use tax can trigger penalties and interest on top of the base amount.

Tax in the Destination State

Avoiding the Texas tax doesn’t mean the vehicle escapes taxation. Most states impose their own sales or use tax at registration, and each state handles credit for taxes paid elsewhere differently. Some give a dollar-for-dollar credit for motor vehicle tax paid to another state, some give partial credit, and a few give none. Contact the taxing authority in the state where you plan to register the vehicle before you buy, so you know the real total cost.

Penalties for a False Certificate

Signing a Form 14-312 when you know the vehicle will actually be used in Texas is a criminal offense. Texas Tax Code Section 152.101 makes it a third-degree felony to sign an exemption certificate under Section 152.092 knowing it is false in any material fact.⁶

The form itself states the range of punishment: imprisonment for two to ten years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.¹ If your plans are genuinely uncertain, the safer route is to pay the tax at purchase and pursue a refund later if the vehicle turns out to be used exclusively outside Texas.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Texas Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Exemption Certificate – For Vehicles Taken Out of State
2
Texas Public Law. Texas Tax Code Section 152.092 – Motor Vehicles Transported Out of State
3
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Motor Vehicles Transported Out of State
4
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle – Sales and Use Tax
5
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Motor Vehicle Tax Guide – Motor Vehicle Use Tax
6
Texas Public Law. Texas Tax Code Section 152.101 – Penalty for Signing False Statement