Certified used vehicle appraisals
Certified appraisers
Accepted in all 50 states and DC
Same-day available
Texas taxes private-party sales on "standard presumptive value," a statewide average that has never seen your actual truck. A certified Form 14-128 appraisal lets you ask the county to tax the documented value instead. $200 flat, and the window is generally 30 days from purchase.
When the state's guess isn't your truck
The standard presumptive value (SPV) is computed from statewide sales data. It doesn't know about the hail dents, the blown head gasket, or the 240,000 miles; it just presumes. When you title a private-party purchase, the county tax office taxes you on the higher of what you reported paying or 80% of SPV. So if you paid $4,000 for a truck the SPV table pegs at $9,000, you'd be taxed on $7,200 unless you correct the record. Those figures are illustrative; your own numbers will differ.
Form 14-128 is the state's own correction mechanism: a certified appraisal, completed by a licensed appraiser and filed with your title paperwork, that replaces the presumptive number with a documented one. Timing matters. The appraisal must be obtained within 30 days of the purchase date, so call before you head to the county tax office and we'll tell you straight whether the math is worth it. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with your county.
WHAT'S INCLUDED: $200 FLAT
- Certified Comptroller Form 14-128, signed and stamped
- Condition-based valuation of the actual vehicle
- VIN verification and photo documentation
- Filing guidance for the county tax office
- In-person inspection in Texas, 100% online everywhere else
- Fast digital delivery, same-day where available
- Straight answer up front if it won't save you money
Before the tax office, not after
Call before you title
Tell us the price you paid and the vehicle's condition. We'll do the SPV math with you on the phone, including whether the appraisal pays for itself.
We come to it, or you send photos
In Texas, a licensed appraiser documents the vehicle as it actually sits (condition, mileage, defects) and completes the certified 14-128. Outside Texas the equivalent work runs online from your photos.
File it with your title work
The certified appraisal goes in with your title and registration paperwork, inside the 30-day window, and the county reviews the appraised value for the tax calculation.
Every 14-128 appraisal: $200, flat
$200 flat. Texas motor vehicle sales tax runs 6.25%, so the arithmetic is simple: the tax follows whatever taxable value ends up on the paperwork. On the call we'll compare that $200 against the likely difference in your case; if the appraisal would cost more than it saves, we'll tell you to skip it. That's the whole pricing policy.
From $200
Certified used vehicle appraisals across Texas
Form 14-128 is a Texas mechanism, filed with your county tax office at titling.
14-128 and SPV questions
[faq-start]
- What exactly is standard presumptive value?
- How much can a 14-128 actually save me?
- Can anyone fill out a 14-128?
- Is there a deadline?
- What about gifted or inherited vehicles?
- SPV is the value Texas assigns your vehicle from statewide sales data. When you title a private-party purchase, the county taxes you on the higher of your reported purchase price or 80% of SPV, regardless of what you actually paid, unless you file a certified appraisal that documents otherwise.
- That depends entirely on the gap between SPV and your vehicle's documented value, so we can't promise a figure. As an illustration: if SPV pegs a truck at $9,000, you'd be taxed on 80% of that, $7,200, at 6.25%. An appraisal documenting a lower value shifts the tax to that number instead. On a small gap the appraisal can cost more than it saves, which is why we run your actual numbers with you first and tell you if it isn't worth doing.
- No. The Comptroller requires the certified appraisal to come from a qualifying licensed professional. That's the service we provide, with the documentation to back the number if anyone asks.
- Yes, and it's tight. The appraisal must be obtained within 30 days of the purchase date, and it has to be in before the title work is processed. Call us the day you buy and you'll be comfortably inside it. Military exceptions may apply; we'll confirm for your specific case.
- Different paperwork: gifts between qualifying family members use a gift affidavit rather than SPV. If your situation is in the gray zone (inheritance, divorce, out-of-state relative), call and we'll point you at the right form before you pay for anything.
[faq-end]
Do bankruptcy courts require a professional appraisal?
Often filed together
Bonded title
The certified value that sets your surety bond, documented to what your Texas county motor vehicle office expects.
Insurance total loss
Storm season totals thousands of cars a year, so bring your own ACV number to the claim.
Estate & probate
Certified vehicle values for probate filings, including date-of-death valuations. $250 flat.
Do bankruptcy courts require a professional appraisal?
Tell us what you're solving.
Lost title, lowball offer, tax bill that doesn't match the truck. We've filed a thousand of each. 281-709-3436, or send the form.
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