re: sales tax on a leased car

T**M Honda is shady as shite. They straight cock blocked me from buying a car with another dealer by securing the only car in the region before I ever came close to an agreement (test drove there and that's it) and refused to deal with any other dealers. Would not match price or trade in I agreed to with other dealer. While completely legal, I was pissed.

And yes, everything said above is correct. Like I said it's the same as purchasing the vehicle but with a balloon payment (some credit unions actually offer this form of lease-similar financing). You trade it in and may receive the same tax credit. Your trade in value is compared against your lease payoff (typically residual + remaining payments + disposition), and any extra applied as a down payment.