If they're made in the US, then it would be WA sales tax (8.5%?) and GST and PST. No duty.

Discount Tire would be the same. Tire Rack would just be PST and GST and no WA sales tax because they have no physical presence in WA. (but you'd be paying shipping for it)

Yea Costco prices already beat tire rack as far as I can tell and when they have the $70 off sale it's that much cheaper

Also so is Washington sales tax on top of the tax you are already paying in store?
Posted via RS Mobile

You hit the nail on the head. I already have a similar BMO US$ mastercard but the probelm I run into is that it is a canadian card. Stores like finishline and foot locker will not accept a canadian credit card.

The Sales Tax will be charged in store - but you might possibly be charged HST on top of that at the border.

Does Costco include free Mount/Balance?

Nah Costco is $15 per tire, so was thinking I could buy them there then have it done for cheaper locally or maybe even free if I get an alignment from somewhere that can mount as well

The $15 per covers all the lifetime rotations flats etc
Posted via RS Mobile

Yep. That's my only reason for keeping my US bank account. I'm not sure if you need a SSN to open a bank account in the US, but you can try walk into the US Bank in Blaine and ask them. I've been told yes and no from different people so it's probably best to go in and check. That along with a mailbox at one of the parcel receiving places and you're good to go.

Amazon seems to really be the only online store that I've seen that's Canadian friendly for their US store. Only disadvantage is that most of the time, you're charged WA state sales tax because they're based out of Seattle. (though still ends up being worth it even after taxes most of the time)

You'll pay WA sales tax first at the store. If CBSA feels like it, they'll charge you PST+GST on the total price at the border. I have a feeling though you'll still end up ahead.
I see TireRack usually has the same promos from time to time on tires. If you choose to buy in store, check out Discount Tire as well. They will generally price match any store and based on their web page they do free mount and balance. There's one in Bellingham.

But why would CBSA tax you for tires on the car? I know they usually do but I mean what makes it different from gas that you filled up thats also in your tank?

How woudl they know that you didnt put the tires on last week or something? Like is there a law that says gas in tank is not taxable but everything else is or whatever?

You do not question the CBSA lol.

I bought tires in Bellingham, declared at border, and paid tax on my final bill - including the tires, enviro levies, WA tax, labour for install, etc etc. I asked the guard why it didn't apply to just the goods, and he didn't answer me. That was ~$600.

Today, I picked up a set of coilovers in Blaine, declared full value at border ~$800, and was waved through.

You all know what you're getting into when you shop for such items down south - go down, buy it, and if you pay tax, you're going to pay tax here anyway, and it shouldn't that big of a deal anyway. If you don't get taxed, count yourselves lucky, and spend that money on something else.

Did CBSA charge you Canadian tire levi as well or just tax?

^Just tax. Straight 12% on total invoice amount.

They don't even bother with currency rates lol.

If your bill sais $800 (US of course), they'll do 800 x 0.12 and charge you 96 in canadian lol

Thanks for clearing that up. I got some tires coming this week.

I wouldn't want to be the one to find out how they can tell if you are sneaking fresh tires across the border, lol. Figure you save $100+ buying tires in the US already. To save an additional $50-100 in taxes, which I
would have paid had I bought in Canada anyways, isn't worth the anal probing they can subject you to.

They let you bring gas across tax free as a courtesy. They can actually tax you for gas that is not carried in your car's gas tank, but once again they usually let you through as a courtesy. If you bring back 10 jerry cans full of gas, don't expect to just drive through.

It's not a given that they don't charge tire levies. I think its $5/tire enviro fee which they are able to collect. Usually when they get to that point they will also charge you duty if the tires are not made in NA. I think duty is 5-6%, so another thing to keep in mind. If they are lazy they will just collect GST+PST, I don't understand why if they bring you in anyways to pay why they don't do that extra step--gov. efficiency at its finest.

I buy a lot of things in the states and at first I was worried I would be charged all the extra Tarriffs from non- North America manufactured items. I think for tires, they can technically charge you another 7% tax.

I've been pulled in to pay taxes a few times now, but I've always only been charged the 12%. I think the border guards are too lazy to try to figure out the country of manufacture and couldn't be bothered to look up the different tarriff rules.

^ or they are extended you a courtesy. If you read thru this thread, you'll notice that ppl are rarely charged duties. I'm sure if you tell them you want to pay duties and tax on eligible stuff, they won't refuse you.
Posted via RS Mobile

Your two points are contradictory.

Making you pay tax is a 5 second calculation and printing up an invoice.

Finding out the country of origin, finding if it's covered under a trade-agreement or not, and doing all that would be incredibly inefficient.

So they're being lazy, and that's making them efficient, and saving you money. Like ^ said, you can always be adamant that you really want to pay all the appropriate duty.

When I went to pick up tires with a friend, the guard charged us the tax, but told us for future reference, that if we pick up 2 at a time, they're less likely to tax you. If you bring back all 4 at once, they'll tax you 90% of the time.

Worth a shot if you don't live too far, or go down often anyway

How do they know if something is GST+PST, or PST only? It's all in their system. They don't have to 'look' anything up these days, its all in their system what is duty free, where its duty free from. Finding out country of origin is as simple as asking. Years past when they were more anal about taxing and dutying on a routine basis, they would also come out and check/verify the declared items and search the vehicle that nothing is being hidden/smuggled at the same time.

I'm not sure how you can justify laziness with efficiency, or are you? It's the border guards' job to collect the appropriate tax/duty, and make sure there is nothing illegal crossing the border. They aren't supposed to be just cashiers, otherwise you can recruit them for minimal wage from Walmart lol. If you are pulled in to pay tax, they should ding you with duty as well if its applicable. I'm not complaining that they don't as a consumer, but as a taxpayer I'd like to see these guys doing the jobs they are paid to do--collect the revenue so the money I have to pay on income/property tax can be offset in the big picture.

Probably due to the revenue they would generate if they were to tax you. I find under 24hr trips, you can usually bring back ~$300/person and generally safe bet that they don't care and just waive you straight through. Once you hit $400+/person on a day trip, it can go either way. If you bring in 4x $50 tires, I doubt they would care. 2x $250 tires, yeah expect to get pulled in.

The guys that sit behind the Cashier counters, are actually cashiers. The sign above them even reads "Cashier". They're not CBSA agents, or at least not field agents. The few times I've been inside to pay tax, it was the same guy, over the span of 2 years. His job is to collect money, not to ensure the safety of our border. He'll ask you what you have, and if any clothing are for children. If you don't have any, he'll look through the receipts, and just run straight tax.

At the airport, they are more anal, because the country of origin is so large, and there is a genuine concern over what is being brought into the country.

At US land crossings, duty is generally not a big deal.

When funds are being cut left to right and CBSA agents are being laid off, I'd much rather see the bulk of MY taxes going to stop illegal items coming across the border, rather than having them scramble to collect the "proper" amount.

I'm not equating laziness to efficiency; it seems in this case efficiency is being mistaken for laziness.

I've never noticed a 'cashier' at the Pt Roberts crossing, which is the one I use 90% of the time. The guy working the register is also the same guy that goes out to inspect your car if he so chooses. Maybe it's changed in the last year or two, because I haven't been pulled in to pay taxes for a bit.

At the Blaine crossings, I've never noticed a specific cashier either, but its been even longer since I've been pulled in at that crossing. So I'll just take your word for it.

I still don't buy that its more efficient for them not to care about duties, like I mentioned, their system should pull up what is taxable, PST exempt, duty-free, more or less all at once. In the same 5 seconds it takes him to calculate the tax amount, should take no longer to figure out duty, and should require no scrambling or hassle. Maybe if they collected properly, they could generate enough funding so they don't have to worry about funding cuts? :D

For anyone who's ever dealt with shipping, you will know that things in customs aren't very black and white. There are thousands of different codes for different products - some being insanely specific, some being very vague. Asking a customs officer to interpret those regulations would be very, very inefficient.

It's easy to say for tires - that they're a large ticket item that you can find. What about someone who spends $1000 on 100 different small items? do you expect a customs officer to sit there for an hour and look up each and every item? would it be fair for the guy who buys tires to be charged duty, but the guy with 100 small items to be waived through just because one would take longer than the other?

When I tell them I am bringing back $500+ worth of stuff, 80% of the time they would tell me to go in and pay taxes.
The taxes makes driving there and waiting in line not worth it... I sometimes lie now because of this, I know I shouldn't but it has worked every single time.

Another note, I have never been taxed when I bring ~$400 worth of stuff in my common silver sedan. Every time I drive there in a brand new BMW courtesy car, they would tax me even if I am bringing back $250.
Moral of the story: Don't drive nice cars there, look as low-class as you can.

Also, avoid the middle aged chinese man if possible. (idk, bring a binocular or something) He has taxed me every single time I tell him I am bringing back auto parts.

Just brought back $1100 worth of appliances, and got taxed HST only.
Wasn't asked country of origin for anything.

There was a separate cashier, definitely not a customs agent.

I don't usually single people out, but yes. Avoid this guy.

Got him twice, he checked my trunk both times, and taxed me on ~$200.

He hassled my friend real hard once too.

Guard: Open your trunk.
[Friend pops trunk.]
Guard: What's this?
Friend: My jacket.
Guard: This is new.
Friend: It's not new.
Guard: It looks new. How long have you had it for?
Friend: Like a year
Guard: This is new.
Friend: It's not new. Check the pockets.
[Guard checks the pockets, pulls out coins, headphones, gum, etc]
Guard: How do I know you didn't just put these things in there?
Friend: It's not a new jacket.
Guard: I know you're lying, but I'll let you go just this time. Next time declare everything.

:rukidding::rukidding::rukidding::rukidding:

Me and my dad went to PR yesterday to pick up a bunch of my things.

I had around ~$800 in goods in my vehicle, fully declared it and it was obvious I had to go inside to pay
(I generally don't mind paying taxes, I consider them before buying anything and if I get waved through it's just a freebie)

The other portion of goods went into my dad's vehicle (he declared $350), and he got waved through

I'm assuming there's a better chance of getting waved through when you got <$400 in goods and the border lineup is extremely long - we went there at around 3pm yesterday

-


I'll be back later this week... with almost $3k worth of stuff to declare :okay:
I haven't dealt with the Chinese guy yet, but I'll bring binoculars next time