CA registration renewal is EXPENSIVE

[ironpig]

Welcome to California. There is no way around this for Rivian or any other car. It's based on the cost of the car and you bought an expensive car. It sucks, but we it's a small price to pay to drive PCH and the So Cal canyons with over 300 days of sunshine.

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[909phillyman]

There are only three fees that total my R1Ss $936 CA registration due in June:
Reg fee: $451
License fee: $473
County/district fees: $12

Expensive, but seems to be in line with everyone else's around here. R1Ss don't have a weight fee, so perhaps the R1Ts are getting hit with that fee, sending registration over $1k??? ??‍

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I have California DMV registration renewal sticker shock. The cost to renew my CA registration is $1,035 which the DMV explained is based on the value of the RIvian. Has any other CA owner had this experience? Has anyone challenged the fee? I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Your registration fee at time of purchase would have given you a clue on renewal cost already.

 

[Cycliste]

Thank goodness I’m not responsible or I would have had to pay a fee for that.
$1182

 

[Lisa & Bob]

California is going to be $850 (DMV est). Utah is $350. Guess we’ll switch registration in November

 

[shamoo]

Dumb how it seems to be completely random. Mine was $82k with pre march pricing and my reg. was ~$1200

There are a lot of people who paid less than $100K due to have a pre-price hike vehicle. My MSRP was low $80s and after taxes and all that was $89K I think. Some of the newer ones at normal price end up in the $109K range.

That's a $20K difference, significant enough to show on your California registration bill.

 

[harkco]

I'll stop complaining now about my $200 renewal in Texas this year, that was $65 last year.

 

[SANZC02]

There are a lot of people who paid less than $100K due to have a pre-price hike vehicle. My MSRP was low $80s and after taxes and all that was $89K I think. Some of the newer ones at normal price end up in the $109K range.

That's a $20K difference, significant enough to show on your California registration bill.

That 20k would add about $118 to the first year renewal. They do an 11 year depreciation schedule and charge .65% of the value as a tax.

 

[fjn7]

I have California DMV registration renewal sticker shock. The cost to renew my CA registration is $1,035 which the DMV explained is based on the value of the RIvian. Has any other CA owner had this experience? Has anyone challenged the fee? I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

That sounds about right. A portion of the fee called “license fee” may be deductible on your California taxes.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

I have California DMV registration renewal sticker shock. The cost to renew my CA registration is $1,035 which the DMV explained is based on the value of the RIvian. Has any other CA owner had this experience? Has anyone challenged the fee? I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Are you asking if anyone's had luck NOT paying what is essentially property tax and road use taxes? I'm sure some have tried, but I don't recommend it...

 

[Gee Bee]

I suggest purchasing property in Oregon and start a llc in Wyoming.

Oregon registration is simple

with your new business all is deductible, no income tax in Wyoming for your lemonade stand or whatever.

I too purchased land in 1993 as I didn’t want a large tax bill on my new aircraft.

GB

 

[shicks]

Same in Utah, but it's because you're not paying for the roads through gas tax. It's actually too cheap when you consider that. I drove my R1T 40,000 last year and only paid a few hundred dollars.

 

[HaveBlue]

Yea $1200

 

[DB-EV]

At least you’re able to deduct the property tax portion of your tags from your Federal taxes. Unfortunately, for this year and next year, your SALT (State And Local Tax) tax deduction is limited to $10k, so you’ve likely exceeded that already and not able to itemize on your taxes to claim the deduction.

Vehicle tags are similar in Kansas. 2024 property tax on a 2023 R1T for my county is $1383. All in, close to $1550 for the 2024 tags. At least the property tax on vehicles has an accelerated depreciation on it.

Does the SALT loss of deduction sunset? Did not realize that if so. Yay if so.

 

[DeafPug]

Does the SALT loss of deduction sunset? Did not realize that if so. Yay if so.

Major portions of the TCJA (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act - aka Trump Tax Cuts) expire at the end of 2025. The $10k cap on the SALT deduction is one of those items. At the same time, the lower tax brackets expire and we revert to the older tax brackets for the 2026 tax season.

Depending upon your tax situation, the expiration of those two items may or may not be a good thing.

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