Title a Used Car in Your Name Within 30 Days in Galveston County

Buy a car in a private Texas sale and you generally have 30 days to apply for title. Bring the signed title, Form 130-U, ID, and payment to the Galveston County tax office. Bring proof of insurance if you are also registering it.

The usual tax base is the higher of the sale price or 80 percent of the car's standard presumptive value. It is not the full presumptive value. A $6,000 sale with a $10,000 presumptive value has an $8,000 tax base. Eligible gifts and some other transfers use different rules.

A timely certified appraisal may lower the tax base, but not below the sale price. Ask the tax office about Form 14-128 and its deadline first. Sellers should file a Vehicle Transfer Notification within 30 days. It helps protect them from the buyer's parking tickets and toll violations.