Car tag prices

[golden eagle]

For being such a poor state, tags in Mississippi tend to be quite high and how much you pay depends on the value of the car you drive and where you live. When I renewed my tag, it cost me around $115 for an '05 Honda Civic. I can't imagine the tag for a Bentley registered in Jackson. A lot of people get around this by claiming residence in another county (usually a less populated, poorer county or may claim residence in that county but in an unincorporated locale), though they truly live in a more populated, wealthier county. But what makes this form of cheating a little bit harder is that the standard tags have county names on them and you're required to register the car in the county where you live. Because people are peeved about paying high tag prices while others beat the system, people are encourage to turn in violators. So, if you actually live in Hinds County but driving with a Monroe County tag, watch out. Your neighbors may turn you in.   

[corco]

I'm actually in the process of (finally) purchasing my car from my parents and I'm in the same sort of boat since tags can't transfer across owners in Idaho. Do I get the title and claim to live at my parents address in Idaho (I do live there three months out of the year and still have some legal ties to the area), or do I give register it at my Wyoming address?

While I really want Wyoming license plates, a quick call to Albany County where I live tells me that it would cost $150 to register my 02 Jeep Liberty. If I register it in Valley County, Idaho I can do it for $43, so it's really a no-brainer.

A lot of folks in Ada County, Idaho (Boise) who have second residences will register their cars in the county of their second residence because Ada County has emissions tests, which are a pain in the butt as well as significantly higher registration fees.

A couple years ago I had a car registered in Washington State, and that was surprisingly cheap at $72 per year- I would have expected an anti-car, high debt state to charge a lot more.

[Chris]

Do you guys have to pay other fees for owning a vehicle every year / month, or is the tag fee it?

I don't pay a tag fee, but I do pay a road tax of ~ $ 800 per year.

[agentsteel53]

I don't pay a tag fee, but I do pay a road tax of ~ $ 800 per year.

I'd equate the two to be the same - it's your money, being paid to the government!

in the US, it's gasoline that is taxed; actual vehicle use cost per year is fairly minimal for the registration compared to how much you pay in gas tax.  19.4 cents federal tax, as high as 44 cents state tax (New York) and driving 30000 miles a year at 30 mpg is suddenly $600+ a year in taxes!

[J N Winkler]

Do you guys have to pay other fees for owning a vehicle every year / month, or is the tag fee it?

The "tag fee" being talked about here is basically the same as road tax in the Netherlands, vehicle excise duty in the UK, etc.  In all cases these are charges which have to be paid to make the car legal on the public highway, regardless of how far it is driven in the licensing period.

BTW, Dutch tax sounds quite a bit higher than British VED.  It used to be £155 for all cars in the PLG class (basically, all passenger cars), but about five to ten years ago charging by emissions band was introduced, and it is possible to pay significantly less than that amount in annual tax if you have a really "green" car.

In Kansas vehicle registration fees are charged by the county and are generally considered among the nation's highest.  As golden eagle describes for Mississippi, some people try dodging high taxes by registering in low-tax counties or out-of-state, and are subject to being grassed up by their neighbors.  The tax does have a substantial ad valorem component, so it is quite cheap to register a really old car.  I think it cost less than $50 to register my Nissan Maxima (then about 20 years old) the last year I had it.

[Duke87]

I'm not sure of the tag fees in Connecticut, the dealer did it when I bought my car and I haven't had it long enough to need to renew the registration yet.
I do know this, though: in Connecticut, cars (and boats) are subject to property tax. I had to write the City of Stamford a check for about $300 a couple weeks ago.

[Chris]

in the US, it's gasoline that is taxed; actual vehicle use cost per year is fairly minimal for the registration compared to how much you pay in gas tax.  19.4 cents federal tax, as high as 44 cents state tax (New York) and driving 30000 miles a year at 30 mpg is suddenly $600+ a year in taxes!

Hmm, quite cheap. If you drive 30,000 miles per year in the Netherlands you'll end up paying approximately $ 3,700 in gas tax.

Not to mention the sales tax on new cars in the Netherlands is a whopping 61%.

[agentsteel53]

Hmm, quite cheap. If you drive 30,000 miles per year in the Netherlands you'll end up paying approximately $ 3,700 in gas tax.

Not to mention the sales tax on new cars in the Netherlands is a whopping 61%.

yep, European gas prices are crazy and most of it is taxes.  Didn't know the tax on a new car was that high!  In the US, we just have a sales tax (same as any other item sold), and the registration fees, which tend to be very small compared to the sales tax.

[golden eagle]

I found a receipt to my old '93 Geo Storm when I had to renew the tag in September '07 and I had a county tax of $3.91, a municipal tax of $5.60 (which I don't understand why since I didn't live in an incorporated area at the time), something called an S.S.D. tax of $7.60 and a road & bridges privilege tax of $15.00. The actual cost of the tag was $8.75 and I was given a legislative credit of $5.00. All this for a total of $35.86.

One weird thing was that a year later, I had to pay $42 total to renew the tag, but the tag on my mom's Nissan Murano that she bought in '07 went down when she had to renew in '08.

[golden eagle]

In Kansas vehicle registration fees are charged by the county and are generally considered among the nation's highest.  As golden eagle describes for Mississippi, some people try dodging high taxes by registering in low-tax counties or out-of-state, and are subject to being grassed up by their neighbors.  The tax does have a substantial ad valorem component, so it is quite cheap to register a really old car.  I think it cost less than $50 to register my Nissan Maxima (then about 20 years old) the last year I had it.

Is it easier to get away with registering a tag in a lower-tax county in Kansas or in any other state where county names don't appear on tags?

fix-a-quote, now in regular and orange flavor!

[Brandon]

Tag fees in Illinois are $99 this year, up from $79 least year.  This regardless of type of car or age.  IIRC, pickup tags are similar.

[J N Winkler]

Is it easier to get away with registering a tag in a lower-tax county in Kansas or in any other state where county names don't appear on tags?

I can't speak for other states, but in Kansas the county does appear on the license plate, as a two-letter abbreviation in the upper left-hand corner, and people often play "I spy the county" on the highway.  SG = Sedgwick, SN = Shawnee, DG = Douglas, JO = Johnson, WY = Wyandotte, etc.  I'm not sure I would even want to try the register-in-a-different-county ploy in Nebraska, since there the county is part of the number itself and people can probably tell right away if your lead number is different from theirs.

[NJRoadfan]

Man all of this is making the $84 I paid to NJ for the new car look down right cheap. Here is the rate chart, flat rate based on vehicle age and weight. My other car is only $46.50 to register for the year.

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Vehicle/Fees.htm

Unlike most states, NJ doesn't collect a vehicle "property tax" based on the book value of the car. We still have a problem with fare evasion though, mostly because of our higher insurance premiums. You will see an awful lot of illegal North Carolina and Maryland plates on cars in the state... most of them driven by illegals.

[corco]

Unlike most states, NJ doesn't collect a vehicle "property tax" based on the book value of the car. We still have a problem with fare evasion though, mostly because of our higher insurance premiums. You will see an awful lot of illegal North Carolina and Maryland plates on cars in the state... most of them driven by illegals.

It amazes me how insurance fares work- as of today I am, with the full knowledge of the insurance company, registered and driver's licensed in Idaho and insured in the state of Wyoming. Being a college student is weird though- I pretty much get to pick and choose which state to claim as residency. I'm not allowed to pay in-state tuition to Wyoming (and wouldn't be without a ton of work that's almost impossible), so I can legally maintain some Idaho ties (driver's license, car registration) while my billing address, voter registration, insurance, and a few other things are in Wyoming. Wyoming considers me an Idaho resident and Idaho considers me an Idaho resident, but my primary address is in Wyoming (and therefore a lot of services in my name are tied to a Wyoming address) which allows me to pick and choose pretty freely.

I do wonder if it will pose a problem if I ever get pulled over though- my registration is Idaho with an Idaho address and my proof of insurance is Wyoming with a Wyoming address. The VINs match and the insurance company is fully aware of the situation, so there's no question it's the same car, but I wonder if they may consider me to be engaging in illegal activity.

[NJRoadfan]

I do wonder if it will pose a problem if I ever get pulled over though- my registration is Idaho with an Idaho address and my proof of insurance is Wyoming with a Wyoming address. The VINs match and the insurance company is fully aware of the situation, so there's no question it's the same car, but I wonder if they may consider me to be engaging in illegal activity.

Really should have an Idaho policy with Idaho address (card will say what state the policy was written for). Makes life a lot easier in the case of needing to take a claim. They may be "fully aware" but some adjusters will be more then happy to say your policy isn't valid when you need it the most.

[corco]

Really should have an Idaho policy with Idaho address (card will say what state the policy was written for). Makes life a lot easier in the case of needing to take a claim. They may be "fully aware" but some adjusters will be more then happy to say your policy isn't valid when you need it the most.

The problem is the car is primarily housed in Wyoming, so they won't let me take a policy out in Idaho. But yeah, that does concern me. Fortunately I'm moving in six months and plan on consolidating myself entirely into whatever state I move to.

[SP Cook]

If your DL or vehicle tags are not from your actual residence, then under the laws of most states, you have NO DL and NO registration.  You can be arrested and you vehicle can be impounded.  Yes, many, maybe most, cops will take a less severe action, but they can do this and it has happened.

In any event the fines and back tax interest is far greater than you might think.  Can be thousands.

As to insurance, an insurance policy written for a different state would probably be held to be invalid in such a situation.   You could end up with the ins co disclaiming liability and stuck holding the bag.

Its best to normalize your relationship with the DMV in every case.  I can tell you stories.