Sales tax question

[P_ziggles]

So I want to get a new phone, note 4, and my dad wants me to buy it from walmart because he says that AT&T makes you pay sales tax on the full retail price of the phone, $850, as opposed to tax on the 2-year contract price. Is this true? Sorry if this is a stupid question. Thanks for help. In the U.S. Btw

[P_ziggles]

Ok that's what I was thinking. It just sounded weird. Thanks for the help.

[SMURG]

Well the sales tax will be the same in Walmart anyway? Basically you're not "buying" the phone for $100 or whatever it is they want as a down payment, you're entering into a contract where you have the phone effectively on a lease from the carrier. At the end of the 2 year term, the phone is then yours. If you buy the phone outright in Walmart, they'll charge sales tax on the full $850 because you're buying the phone outright, and if you buy from AT&T, they might and they might not - if they do, you've not paid any more, and if they don't they'll probably be charging the same % of tax on the total value of the contract anyway, either at the start or on each monthly payment. If there's a difference, it's small compared to the total >$1000 value we're talking here.

On a related note, buying a Note 4 myself tomorrow