Is there anything I can claim for car sales tax I paid last year on my taxes?

You didn't mess up at all! The IRS actually gives you two options when it comes to deducting state and local taxes (SALT) on Schedule A: you can either deduct state and local income taxes OR sales taxes, whichever benefits you more. For the sales tax deduction, you don't necessarily need all your receipts. The IRS provides a Sales Tax Deduction Calculator on their website where you can estimate your sales tax based on your income, family size, and state. Then you can add the sales tax from big purchases like your car on top of that estimate! Keep in mind though, there's currently a $10,000 cap on total SALT deductions, and you'd need to itemize rather than take the standard deduction. The standard deduction for 2025 is pretty high ($14,150 for single filers and $28,300 for married filing jointly), so unless your total itemized deductions exceed those amounts, the standard deduction would still be better.

I was in almost exactly the same situation last year and found this awesome AI tool that helped me figure out all my deduction options. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze all my documents (including my car purchase paperwork) and it identified that I could itemize and use the sales tax deduction even though I hadn't kept most receipts. The tool showed me how to use the IRS sales tax calculator to estimate my regular sales tax, then add the car purchase on top. It also analyzed all my other potential deductions to confirm whether itemizing made sense in my case. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to figure out whether the sales tax deduction works for your situation!

Just wanted to update after trying https://taxr.ai that profile 7 recommended. I was super skeptical but decided to give it a shot. I uploaded my car purchase documents and last year's tax return and it immediately identified that I could benefit from the sales tax deduction. What really surprised me was how it walked me through using the IRS sales tax calculator and then explained exactly where to add my car sales tax on top of that estimate. It even calculated whether itemizing made sense given my mortgage interest and charitable donations. Turns out I was leaving about $940 on the table by not itemizing! Now I'm waiting for my refund and feel way more confident that I'm not leaving money with the IRS.

If you're having trouble figuring out whether you should itemize for the sales tax deduction, you might also need to actually talk to someone at the IRS for guidance. That was my situation and it was IMPOSSIBLE to get through to them. After being on hold for hours multiple times, I tried https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been failing for weeks. The agent walked me through exactly how to handle my car sales tax deduction and confirmed I was doing it right. Turns out there were some specific rules about my situation that weren't clear from just reading online. Having an actual IRS person confirm my approach gave me total peace of mind.

I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to talk to the IRS about my sales tax deduction question, so I tried it anyway. I literally got connected to an IRS agent in 15 minutes after struggling for weeks on my own. The agent confirmed that I could use the IRS sales tax calculator for my basic sales tax, then add my car purchase tax on top without needing any other receipts. She also explained exactly which form and line to use. What a relief! I've been stressed about this for weeks and now I know exactly what to do. Definitely worth it just for the peace of mind.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this yet, but make sure you check if your state has any additional tax benefits for vehicle purchases. I'm in Colorado and we have a specific state tax credit for certain vehicle types that's separate from the federal deduction issues. You might be leaving state-level benefits on the table!

It sounds like most people here are forgetting you can only claim the car sales tax if you itemize, and with the standard deduction being so high now ($14,150 for single), it probably doesn't make sense unless you have a ton of other deductions like mortgage interest, charity, etc. Don't waste time on this if your total itemized deductions don't exceed the standard deduction amount!

Did nobody mention that if you use your car for business, you might be able to deduct a portion of the sales tax as a business expense on Schedule C rather than as an itemized deduction? That's what my tax guy told me. Might be worth looking into if you're self-employed or have a side gig.