Hooray for car property taxes

Paid my "poor people shouldn't be able to save up and buy nice cars" tax today. Nearly $700 to the city of Fredericksburg. I better not hit one fucking pot hole in this goddamn town.

I hate this car tax nonsense. Only complaint I have about this state. It's a bit Marylandesque for my taste.

its asinine. Next Lobby day I'm going for gun rights, AND to ask my delegates to push to eliminate this unfair tax. If we all start pressuring them, maybe in a year or two we could be done with it.

That's why I prefer to have nice vehicles with over 100K; at least the taxes are discounted and you can get some crazy purchase deals.

I have to call on Monday to try and figure out why the car I sold last August is still showing up on my taxes....

Yeah, I was told I had that going on, but a bill never showed up. Fredericksburg told me on the phone last August that my old Saturn (totaled in 2010) was still listed and if I didn't work with the DMV to get it removed I'd get a tax bill. DMV had all the paperwork for what happened, so I figured I'd burn this bridge when I got to it.. I never got a bill for the Saturn. So I figure it's okay.

The only thing I hate about this state is this tax but sad to say you know if this tax ever goes completely away they will only make it up somewhere else

Hey, guys..... the state needs money to operate, and the money has to come from its' citizens. If you eliminate the "car tax" (actually the "Personal Property Tax"), then the state will have to figure out some other way of raising the money it needs.

A lot of Maryland folks poke fun at us because of our car tax, but their "excise tax" on new cars is much higher that our "Titling Tax", and they pay a higher rate of state income tax. They also have a county income tax that is equal to 60% of their state income tax.

Like I said, the money has to come from somewhere.

That's fine. Come up with something better than a property tax. I hate property taxes. I bought it, I own it. If I have to pay rent on it to the state/city then I don't really own it.

Just wrote a check for almost $1k for my car tax. I get to do that fun twice a year.

I have no problem paying a vehicle tax, after all my car uses roads and all of the associated infrastructure that goes with it. I'd much rather see the tax be a flat tax or a use based tax though. I put fewer miles on the roads than a person who schleps to DC every day in their 1997 Toyota, yet I pay 6 times the taxes because I chose to own a nicer car. Anytime someone tells me "the rich" need to pay their fair share, I just laugh....and I'm nowhere close to rich.

I'm in the early process of moving from MD to VA and the personal property tax is a small price to pay to escape from The People's Democratic Republic of Maryland. The income taxes are about to go up here for anyone making over $100k or $150k if married. Here in MoCo there is an energy tax that they won't let expire, a county income tax rate of 60% of whatever you pay in state income tax, talk of a several hundred dollar ambulance fee despite the same proposal being shut down by the voters a few years ago, and the stupid bag tax. Paying PPT on a couple nice cars will suck but I will sleep well knowing that not a cent of it will go to the fools in Maryland.

I am all for a flat tax there is no need for half the fees and taxes the counties put on the people who live there. All for schools but the schools never see a dime. I do not have kids yet why do I have to pay for other kids to go to school? Lower my taxes until I have school age kid and then add the tax back in. But what do I know I am just a divorced about to get married again person who is against all income taxes. You can get rid of my Income tax then I will pay the property tax.

I paid less than blue book for my Truck and they charge me blue book. WTF is up with that?

Where does the car tax money go? Is it used for a specific purpose? I never really like the idea as it punishes, in a way, those that buy nice vehicles.

Two words....Flat. Tax. Some of your taxes will always pay for stuff you personally don't use, there is really no way around that, but the concept of "nice cars get taxed more" is flawed because it somehow implies that people with nice cars consume more of the resources that cars require than others. In a flat tax system, "the rich" still pay more overall, but as a percentage, they pay the same as everyone else, which is the way it should be. We need to stop punishing the top 10% in this country.

God forbid that you use your car for business purposes.......found that one out the hard way the other year.

Now let's go that far Many MD counties have a piggyback tax - "The local income tax is calculated as a percentage of your taxable income. Local officials set the rates, which range between 1.25 percent and 3.20 percent for tax year 2012."

So if your MD state tax is 6%, you get the privilege of paying an additional 1.25 to 3.20% of your income to your county, depends on your situation, but 1.25 t0 3.20% of income may exceed the car tax

No defending the car tax, but it could be worse.

WV has the "car tax" also. Unlike an income tax, I can choose to not pay it by driving old(er) cars.

As someone who LOVES vehicles, this tax annoys the hell out of me as well. I will probably have 5 or 6 vehicles at a time when I'm "grown up". I have 3 already.

It's retarded that, even though I can only drive one at a time, I have to pay 3 times the tax that someone else does to use the same services. And it's equally retarded that I have to carry insurance on all three as if all three of them can drive themselves into another car on their own.

The system is biased against me and my personal interests. And I hate that.

Not trying to play devils advocate, but you choose to have that many cars knowing what the tax and insurance is.

Because of the car tax here in Loudoun County I sold my 08 Range Rover and told them why (they didn't give a shit). Now I drive a Shelby Cobra with antique plates and pay NO property tax on it. I'd rather drive my old Jeep and Cobra (when it's sunny), than have the comfort of my Rover. You tax too much and the smart people find ways to stop paying them.

What I pay in income taxes every year should more than cover that.

How does that work, I need another car, I have already decided im not buying a new one, I just dont see the benefit anymore, my last 3 cars were all bought new, one developed an oil leak and the engine blew, one blew a cylinder, had the fixed under warrenty and then traded that in on the car I have now that has 360k on it.

WV is going to want tax up front just to get plates on anything I buy right?

And you're correct. It's what's keeping me from buying the AWESOME vehicles that I want.

But that doesn't change the fact that it's wrong. Why should one person pay three times as much for the roads, schools, police departments, fire departments, water authorities, and whatever else the personal property tax is SUPPOSED to pay for, just because they own a few nice vehicles and live in a shitty house?

As usual, the system is set up to attack a minority instead of being a fair system of taxation where people pay for what they use. In this case, the minority are the people who are car people.

I would love to see exactly how much it costs to administer the system to collect all of these extra taxes. I bet at come point it becomes very expensive to collect some.

Here locally that they used to charge for a county sticker that was $18 each to prove that you paid your local taxes. When you factor in the cost of the sticker, the paperwork, postage, staff salary, benefits, and the cost to prosecute those that fail to obtain one, it became a joke. They finally got rid of it.

The downside is that now the trash collection site operators have no easy way to determine if you are a county resident allowed to dump your trash. They have to ask for ID. Some people asking for a sticker to indicate you are a county resident as they don't like having to prove they are.

Whether new or used, you will pay sales tax when you do the title/registration. The county will assess personal property tax based on what you own as of July 1 each year. So, if you can wait until July 2nd to make your purchase, then do it.

Just paid my $444.88 for a car, a truck, a suv, a 12ft jon boat, and the trailer for the boat. The damn suv, which is a 2011 Chevy Equinox, was around $260 of the total bill.

What items besides cars and trucks are subject to the VA personal property tax? I see boats and trailers are included. How about ORVs, personal watercraft, riding mowers, etc?

Motorcycles.

I don't think riding mowers are taxed, but I've never owned one. It has been many years since I've owned a jetski, but I think it was taxed. I was told that if I hadn't registered my jon boat, which I had to do in order to use a motor, it wouldn't have been taxed. I'd need to check with some friends, but that brings to mind canoes. I wonder if they would tax a canoe if you registered it in order to run an outboard with it?

This tax is the one thing I hate about this state. Otherwise I think Va. is a darn good place to live otherwise. Certainly better than where I grew up in Pa.

My problem is I have a van that can gross over 7500 pounds. (E350) You get that 7501 pound thing on your registration card and you get NO discount on the taxes like folks with lighter vehicles get. Most vehicles get a 60% discount on the real tax. Few folks seem to realize that. That '09 ex-rental van will run me $612 in taxes this year. Cost me $650 last year. Yeah, I paid for weighted plates. It was the honest thing to do. I do occassionally haul a serious load in it.

I have looked at getting a E250 van. But their tow limit is 6000 pounds. We have a toy hauler trailer that weighs about 6k loaded. I like the extra margin of safety the E350 gives us towing that barn like trailer (Only 18' long but it is tall!) in tight mountain roads and on steep grades. The E250's come with cheaper tires, smaller brakes, lesser suspension............ Not worth trading down IMO. The E350 is the best trailer hauler I have ever owned. My older Chevy vans used to overheat and warp their brakes on some grades. You'd feel the shake as they got hot! Never an issue with the 350 class Ford.

Looking at the big picture, if that is the worst issue in my life I just ought to relax and roll with it.

I've never seen riding mowers taxed. Farm tractors may be depending on which county you reside in.

Most every county taxes water craft but with canoes you only register them if you propel them by any type of motor Without it being registered the county really won't know you have it. However get caught with a trolling motor on an unregistered canoe and you're gonna run afoul of the fish cops.

Yes, if it is registered with DGIF for use with a motor then that boat (canoe/kayak/jon boat/pwc) will be subject to personal property taxes.

Riding mowers are not taxed. Neither is farm equipment.

Maybe not in your county but it is in others. There is no exemption for farm equipment in VA code and it is considered business related material and taxed as such in some counties .

atvs are taxed. If you title them.....

That's interesting. Farm equipment used directly in the production of agricultural materials for market is exempt from the sales tax (or at least it was when I worked for the Tax Depaartment. I just checked the state code, and cannot find anything that exempts it now. It seems that the entire tax code has been changed since I left the department.).

Amen-voluntary carrot and stick taxation that's at least easy to avoid is my kind of taxation.
My Honda daily driver has over 200k miles. I paid something like $50 in car tax for the entire year,IIRC. I pay almost as much for registration and inspection as I do on car tax. But then, I hate vehicles and see them as a necessary,expendable evil. I repair and maintain my own, but have no attachment to them, or interest in them.

Is there any place you can get a guesstimate of the tax you'll be required to pay? I've got a couple vehicles with a blue book value of around $17k each and will be registered in the Fredericksburg area. Knowing how much to budget would be helpful.

Best bet is to call the county, or city if you will be in the city limits, and ask since each one has a different tax rate. You have like three counties and one independent city within the Greater Fredericksburgs area.



eta: Commisioner of Revenue's Office in each locality is who you need to call.

Thanks!

Y'all would have croaked in the era before the Gilmore era tax relief...

You could lend them out.

Or have other drivers living with you.

Most of the insurance companies look at how many drivers vs. how many cars, then assign the worst driver to the most expensive car, and so on down the line.

Cars without a driver usually get a pretty low rate.


It still beats Maryland.

They are about to raise state income taxes again.

I know nothing about you or your income or lifestyle, but the generalization I'm getting here is, to keep the government out of my wallet, let them dictate the car I drive. Perhaps this should be my next car:

As I noted earlier Antiques don't collect property tax...I saved myself 1000 bucks a year by ditching my Range Rover and getting an Shelby Cobra. Tax the smart too much and they'll find a way out.

It's funny I paid 21k for my Nissan titan 4x4 in 2010 and the blue book value is more than I paid for it. what is it 5 years you don't have to pay a tax or something?

WV goes by "blue book", which is nil on a 43 year old car.
ETA: Dang it, what a waste of post 20,000.

My income is perhaps sufficient for a slightly better car, but there are disincentives for me to purchase one (accelerated depreciation, higher taxation, higher insurance rates, lack of any desire to have one, etc). Perhaps you should go with the classic VW. You'll never have another coolant leak for certain. That's also a good way to legally avoid (some) taxation and stick it to the .gov. Heck, you can probably drive a Mercedes if you want. Just make it an old one, and you'll see a cheaper tax bill.

You all should have been around many years ago.

They taxed furniture, as in how many beds, couches, bookcases, tables, and chairs etc. you had in your house.


And we though t King George was bad at one point.

If you are still get billed for a car you have sold it is because the person you sold it to or place you traded to has not registered it with DMV yet or not in Va. This is actually pretty common and you can fix it with your bill of sale. The DMV express that is at most county offices was suppose to make this better but if it isnt registered it thinks you still have it. The titling company did something similar to my house and the old owner is still getting the property tax bill.

Most people don't even realize that they're supposed to itemize and pay "use tax" on personal property that they buy out of state (basically a sales tax).

This was not use tax (AKA sales tax).

This was an actual personal property tax on just about everything you owned.

It stopped sometime in the early to mid 1960s.

The county assessor kept track of home furnishings to asses tax annually.

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