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As I understand it, the 3% Use Tax on cars is paid by new residents coming into the state, based on the value of your car, up to $250 max. It's a one-time charge for new residents, bringing in a car owned more than 90 days.
$20,000 car = $250 Use Tax for new resident coming into state for 1st time
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However, for current residents, if a new car is purchased in NC, in Buncombe County, for example, the 3% Use Tax is due, but there is no cap on the amount paid.
$20,000 car = $600 Use Tax for current resident at time of purchase
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Question:
Do current NC residents pay both a Use Tax and a sales tax on a car purchase?
Or is the Use Tax paid instead of sales tax on a car purchased as a resident of NC?
Sales tax in Buncombe Cty is 7%, so buying a car at $20,000 would be an additional $1400 in sales tax.
Is that in addition to the 3% Use Tax of $600?
Excerpt:
Highway Use Tax
North Carolina collects a Highway Use Tax (HUT) on vehicles instead of a state sales tax. The tax is assessed each time a title is transferred.
Money that is collected for the Highway Use Tax goes to the NC Highway Trust Fund and the State's General Fund. That money is then used to improve the roads of North Carolina.
Excerpt:
Highway Use Tax
North Carolina collects a Highway Use Tax (HUT) on vehicles instead of a state sales tax. The tax is assessed each time a title is transferred.
Money that is collected for the Highway Use Tax goes to the NC Highway Trust Fund and the State's General Fund. That money is then used to improve the roads of North Carolina.
GREAT! Good news! The Use Tax is lower than the state and county sales tax. Thanks again!
Looks like the 3% (up to $250) highway use fee is the maximum amount one would be charged for bringing their vehicle in from out of state. Glad it was capped at $250! Lol. Multiple vehicles though will incur a fee for each vehicle and a vehicle purchased here in NC will have the fee built into the purchase price.
As new residents, we recently had to register our 6 month old 2016 Honda Pilot which we had brought in from out of state. Price of the Pilot was just under $50k and we had to pay the following to legally get it on the road - $90 for two licenses (annual fee), a $250 highway use tax (one time fee), $337 for personal property tax on the Pilot (annual fee) and $60 for a plate (annual fee). We got a NC State Parks specialty plate which was $30 more than a standard plate.
Each year we will have to renew our licenses ($5 each), our tag ($60) and pay the personal property tax on the Pilot (@ $300). The property tax on the Pilot will decrease every year going forward as the vehicle ages. We will also have to have the vehicle inspected, but since we are new residents the inspection is at the end of our first year of being here, around the time we renew our tag for year two. Hoping that our 20% all around window tint won't be a problem ...
They also "shame" you here if you don't pay your personal property tax on your vehicle within a certain time frame, giving you a white registration sticker for your plate instead of a normal color one until you pay it. Guess that tactic keeps image conscious people on their toes somehow. Lol. We are glad that our car insurance has dropped by over 50% when moving to the area though, which will more than offset any of the above annual costs.
Hope that helps!
Last edited by VinceTheExplorer; 07-01-2017 at 08:24 AM..
Looks like the 3% (up to $250) highway use fee is the maximum amount one would be charged for bringing their vehicle in from out of state. Glad it was capped at $250! Lol. Multiple vehicles though will incur a fee for each vehicle and a vehicle purchased here in NC will have the fee built into the purchase price.
As new residents, we recently had to register our 6 month old 2016 Honda Pilot which we had brought in from out of state. Price of the Pilot was just under $50k and we had to pay the following to legally get it on the road - $90 for two licenses (annual fee), a $250 highway use tax (one time fee), $337 for personal property tax on the Pilot (annual fee) and $60 for a plate (annual fee). We got a NC State Parks specialty plate which was $30 more than a standard plate.
Each year we will have to renew our licenses ($5 each), our tag ($60) and pay the personal property tax on the Pilot (@ $300). The property tax on the Pilot will decrease every year going forward as the vehicle ages. We will also have to have the vehicle inspected, but since we are new residents the inspection is at the end of our first year of being here, around the time we renew our tag for year two. Hoping that our 20% all around window tint won't be a problem ...
They also "shame" you here if you don't pay your personal property tax on your vehicle within a certain time frame, giving you a white registration sticker for your plate instead of a normal color one until you pay it. Guess that tactic keeps image conscious people on their toes somehow. Lol. We are glad that our car insurance has dropped by over 50% when moving to the area though, which will more than offset any of the above annual costs.
Hope that helps!
Nooooope. 1) You do not have to renew your license every year. It's good for 7-10.
2) The white tags are temporary for cases of new cars etc due to paperwork taking time.Not to shame people. Eye roll.
Sorry for the confusion. It seemed to be explained that you would receive a white sticker for your tag if you failed to pay your vehicles property tax at your registration renewal (plus accrued interest and a late fee), not only when first registering a vehicle in the state.
And in regards to a NC drivers license, it show $5/yr on their website so I assumed it was an ongoing annual fee rolled into the above. Either way, it's the cost of being on the road here and a lot different from what we were used to, but it's still no big deal.
The 'white tag' Vince is a white cardboard printed in black that fits in your license plate frame, that says temporary on it across the top; and has an future date on the bottom until your new tags arrive.
Each year you need to have the car inspected, where you will receive a Vehicle Inspection Receipt/Statement showing that your car has passed inspection.
Also, each year you will receive a NC Combined Vehicle Registration Renewal and Property Tax Notice/Bill from your County which has your VIN # and Title # on it. That bill contains your yearly Inspection Fee and your yearly Registration Fee.
Many states call them 'license plates', here they are called 'tags'.
The 'white tag' Vince is a white cardboard printed in black that fits in your license plate frame, that says temporary on it across the top; and has an future date on the bottom until your new tags arrive.
Each year you need to have the car inspected, where you will receive a Vehicle Inspection Receipt/Statement showing that your car has passed inspection.
Also, each year you will receive a NC Combined Vehicle Registration Renewal and Property Tax Notice/Bill from your County which has your VIN # and Title # on it. That bill contains your yearly Inspection Fee and your yearly Registration Fee.
Many states call them 'license plates', here they are called 'tags'.
Thanks QC. I understand what a temporary tag is and what I was referring to is the 1" square registration sticker that goes in the upper right corner of the tag.
When in person getting our new tag, we were offered two options on our vehicles registration, property taxes and its "sticker". First option was to pay the registration fee and property tax together, which would have given us a normal colored white sticker to put on our plate. This is the option that we chose.
Option two was to defer our vehicles personal property taxes for up to 60 days without penalty and receive an orange colored sticker with a "T" on it in the meantime, indicating to the public that our property taxes are due (or delinquent) for our vehicle. Even the DMV teller made a joke about it, saying it was NC's way of shaming you in public into making paying your property taxes a top priority. Seemed very odd and a bully like tactic.
I was under the impression that it was an annual renewal penalty (receiving the orange sticker) as it came straight from the horses mouth. Also thought it was odd that the state would make you "advertise" your personal business like that. To me it's kinda like the state putting a large yellow sticker on your homes front door saying "Deadbeat" when you miss paying your homes property taxes on time. IMO, the stickers "T" on your plate makes no sense to me. That's all ...
Been here 15 yrs; never heard of these things. I would have thought, if anything, the T would mean 'temporary'. Evidently the clerk wasn't kidding. At least you don't have to renew your driver's license every year. The expiration date should be on your license.
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At least you don't have to renew your driver's license every year. The expiration date should be on your license.
