CA registration renewal is EXPENSIVE

[DB-EV]

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.

Got it. Net the cut is better for me now. My situation may change in a few years.

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[seatosummit]

$1123 for me for third year of reg in CA. Ouch!

 

[Treebeard]

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.

In VT they go by weight and by power type. So I got hit with weight and full EV. I got them to lower my weight class by one category. So I paid 245 instead of 285. My gas car is 96 bucks.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

Hey OP thanks for posting this.
You reminded me that the state never sent me new stickers

 

[Nine_One_Six_R1S]

CA uses an 11 year depreciation schedule for the value of the vehicle. That portion is a value tax and can be deducted on your taxes. Here is a good explanation of how it is calculated. By the way states that handle registration like this is why discounts work better than interest rate buy downs or credits as they lower the purchase price.

Thanks!! today I learned something new. I knew that as time goes on it would get cheaper based on other cars I own. But for my 2008 last year I think I still paid the License Fee {goes to find out}.

Does being fully depreciated means you pay no fee (VLF) ?

 

[Nine_One_Six_R1S]

Why do you think so many exotic car owners register in Montana.

My other vehicle is far from exotic, but initial registration when I got it was like $2200 or so. It is a few years old now but still in the $1500 range.

I'm not an accountant but at what point does that make sense? Seems like registering an LLC is a few hundred bucks.

Could you register your exotic car and still drive it in CA for extended time or would the CHP/Local Police give you a hard time?

 

[Nine_One_Six_R1S]

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

Problem is that it only will go up from there but you are in a good spot at this time!!

 

[SANZC02]

Thanks!! today I learned something new. I knew that as time goes on it would get cheaper based on other cars I own. But for my 2008 last year I think I still paid the License Fee {goes to find out}.

Does being fully depreciated means you pay no fee (VLF) ?

No, if you look at the graph the amount on year 11 is the amount moving forward Year 12 on.

 

[shamoo]

I'm not an accountant but at what point does that make sense? Seems like registering an LLC is a few hundred bucks.

Could you register your exotic car and still drive it in CA for extended time or would the CHP/Local Police give you a hard time?

Well think about sales tax and registration on a car that's $200-400K. If you register it in Montana, you don't have to pay any of that.

I'm not condoning it and I believe you should play by the rules, but I understand why people do it.

And yes, you can get hassled by law enforcement. I believe in CA you are supposed to transfer insurance after moving here within 10 days. Even if you show a "home" in Montana or somewhere else if they keep seeing you here, they could investigate.

 

[mkg3]

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.

If the current tax rates expire.

There is high likelihood that it will be extended or be permanent beyond 2025. Those of us that live in high tax states (e.g., CA, NJ, MA), removal of SALT would benefit us. That said, I still welcome lower marginal tax rate AND capital gains tax rate structure as is.

The one most impactful is the estate tax, or death tax on inherited assets. It's currently an inflation-adjusted $13.61 million for individuals and $27.22 million for married couples in 2024. If that rolls back to Obama-era limits (With inflation adjustments, this will be approximately $7 million for individuals and $14 million for married couples), almost all small business owners and higher end home owners in metropolitan areas will be impacted significantly.

At least in CA, there is no estate tax so there is one thing that potentially offsets the good climate taxes we pay in CA....

 

[ekirkpatrick]

Yea $1200

Yes, I paid around $1100 here in southern Cal. They also label it a heavy commerial vehicle due to it's weight.

 

[Zeusy Zeus]

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.

Yeah normal back when I was there I was paying more than that for my car. So glad I left California would never go back. It’s crazy you work your butt off to afford nice things but because you have these nice things you have to pay way more than everyone else. Should be a flat rate for everyone.

 

[tk21]

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.

Time to change states!

 

[TigerWuxia]

part of the price for living in CA.......

 

[Technowizzard]

I live in the LA suburbs, Walnut is the city. The renewal notice on my 2022, R1T is $1,147. Here is the breakdown:

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