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VA Highway Use Fee
- Thread starter scaesare
- Start date
Law passed back in June. Basically a 25% reduction in registration fees, a 5 cent increase in gas tax in 2020, another 5 cent increase in gas tax in 2021 and introduction of the new highway use fee. $88.20 for electrics (who don't pay gas tax), less for vehicles that are not as efficient as pure electrics and use some gas, zero for vehicles that get less than 25 mpg (presumably because they buy so much gas). Details on it here:
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
New law means lower vehicle registration fees in Virginia, but added highway use fee
Gas tax in Virginia is now 21.2 cents/gallon of gasoline, so the $88.20 highway use fee equates to buying ~416 gallons of gas for a vehicle that pays no highway use fee.
Only part of this which is unfair is that the gas tax fluctuates with usage (people who drive more, pay more), while the use fee is a flat fee you pay whether you drive the car 50,000 miles in a year or 0 miles in a year. So not ideal but it is a method of making up for lost tax revenue due to more efficient vehicles being on the road (electric or not). Others may disagree with this, but at the end of the day, I'm willing to pay $88/year to ensure roads are maintained in good shape. I only hope these funds go right to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and not the General Revenue Fund (couldn't find the answer).
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
New law means lower vehicle registration fees in Virginia, but added highway use fee
Gas tax in Virginia is now 21.2 cents/gallon of gasoline, so the $88.20 highway use fee equates to buying ~416 gallons of gas for a vehicle that pays no highway use fee.
Only part of this which is unfair is that the gas tax fluctuates with usage (people who drive more, pay more), while the use fee is a flat fee you pay whether you drive the car 50,000 miles in a year or 0 miles in a year. So not ideal but it is a method of making up for lost tax revenue due to more efficient vehicles being on the road (electric or not). Others may disagree with this, but at the end of the day, I'm willing to pay $88/year to ensure roads are maintained in good shape. I only hope these funds go right to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund and not the General Revenue Fund (couldn't find the answer).
Reddy Kilowatt
Active Member
I would think that would be fare as part of a "Road use tax". But what is the personal property tax we are paying for?? two ways to look at it.
Personal property tax is a different thing altogether. Virginia does charge a personal property tax for cars, boats, planes, etc. Amount paid is based on the value of the item, so those who buy expensive things (and presumably can afford them) pay more taxes than those who buy more inexpensive things. Property tax goes into the general revenue fund and pays for things like state and county and city services, schools, etc. A road use tax goes to the transportation fund and pays for road improvements. Since you live in Northern Virginia, you also pay an extra bit of sales tax over the rest of the state which goes to the Northern Virginia transportation fund providing additional funds for more roads and maintenance up there.
Yes there are states that don't have personal property tax, but often they hit you with other kinds of taxes (higher gas taxes, higher income taxes, higher sales taxes, etc.). At the end of the day, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch and things have to be paid for somehow.
Having spent over 25 years in uniform and moved 17 times in that career, I've gotten to see a bit about the different ways states tax people and the different levels of service you get. To put things in perspective, when I lived in Illinois (near Chicago), the sales tax was about 3% higher than Virginia and the property tax on my house was 400% higher (that's correct...it was four times what it would be in Fairfax country for a house of similar assessed value). So when I moved here, my property tax on my house dropped by over 50% (I bought a more expensive house)...the cost of the personal property tax on my car in Virginia is minuscule compared to the amount I paid for a house half the value. And I live in Fairfax county with some of the best schools in the country while Illinois' schools were average at best. All in all, my anecdotal opinion is that taxes in Virginia are about average but much lower than other high income, major metropolitan areas and that money actually goes to things like roads and schools that make my life better (as compared to going to pork projects and corruption and "hire everyone jobs programs" like I saw in Chicago. I also believe the taxes are much lower than Maryland pretty much across the board. Just my opinion of course.
Yes there are states that don't have personal property tax, but often they hit you with other kinds of taxes (higher gas taxes, higher income taxes, higher sales taxes, etc.). At the end of the day, there ain't no such thing as a free lunch and things have to be paid for somehow.
Having spent over 25 years in uniform and moved 17 times in that career, I've gotten to see a bit about the different ways states tax people and the different levels of service you get. To put things in perspective, when I lived in Illinois (near Chicago), the sales tax was about 3% higher than Virginia and the property tax on my house was 400% higher (that's correct...it was four times what it would be in Fairfax country for a house of similar assessed value). So when I moved here, my property tax on my house dropped by over 50% (I bought a more expensive house)...the cost of the personal property tax on my car in Virginia is minuscule compared to the amount I paid for a house half the value. And I live in Fairfax county with some of the best schools in the country while Illinois' schools were average at best. All in all, my anecdotal opinion is that taxes in Virginia are about average but much lower than other high income, major metropolitan areas and that money actually goes to things like roads and schools that make my life better (as compared to going to pork projects and corruption and "hire everyone jobs programs" like I saw in Chicago. I also believe the taxes are much lower than Maryland pretty much across the board. Just my opinion of course.
Thanks @drklain , coupleof the reasons I think this is OK thing is that:
1- It's "fair", in that if we use the road, we should have a share in paying to maintain it (issues of equitability and and how taxes are used aside)
2- It removes the "EV's are just subsidized luxury items for the rich" types of arguments
1- It's "fair", in that if we use the road, we should have a share in paying to maintain it (issues of equitability and and how taxes are used aside)
2- It removes the "EV's are just subsidized luxury items for the rich" types of arguments
Totally agree. To be honest, having done a tour working in the Senate and seeing how the sausage gets made, tax law is really hard. There are always cases where someone is getting screwed and getting something that is fair across the board is darn near impossible. I am also fully cognizant of the fact increased fuel efficiency and Electric vehicles have decreased fuel tax revenue states depend on for road improvements. Virginia does a pretty good job of maintaining its roads (especially compared to some other states I could mention but won't) and I think ensuring they have the revenue to maintain and build our transportation infrastructure is critical to the state's economy and "quality of life" for residents. But then again, I'm also in favor of bond referendums to build or improve schools (even though they mean slight tax increases for me and I'm one year away from having no school-age kids). Schools support the community and add value to my home, so I'm in favor of good schools....plus our kids deserve them! Of course I'm not the guy in charge! 
DFibRL8R
Active Member
EV drivers should pay their share to support the road network but I don't support a flat tax. It should be milage based, easy to verify milage every year at the State inspection and charge a road use fee based on that number. Charge more for higher weight vehicles too since they cause more damage to roads. Personally, I believe the fee for EVs should also be less given the many negative impacts of drilling oil, refining and burning gas. The road wear from an 80,000 lb fuel tanker is significantly greater than that from a passenger vehicle not to mention the claen up costs when they crash and burn. That said, I do understand why folks don't want to provide another reason for EV haters to single out EV drivers not paying their fair share.
Thank you for the math. I was wondering what it would equate to. So for the average SUV at 20mpg it would be about 8500 miles and for an efficient sedan as much as 14500 miles.
Seems to me we are paying a bit too much. Especially as I only average 6500 annually (before covid). But maybe I'm splitting hairs
Seems to me we are paying a bit too much. Especially as I only average 6500 annually (before covid). But maybe I'm splitting hairs
I agree that the flat rate issue doesn't address the "how much are you really using it" factor...like you I am a very low use driver. Pre-covid, my car was parked at either the house or the airport ~3 weeks/month. I'm just coming up on 24,000 miles on a March 2017 delivered car, which puts me at under 8,000 miles per year, but in fact it's lower than that because about 4,000 of those miles occurred in two road trips...but for $80 bucks a year I'm willing to live with it. To be honest, Virginia residents are lucky compared to some of the stupid fees/taxes paid in places like California or Arizona (take a look at a car registration bill there and you'll be shocked...on a $30K vehicle you are paying about $400/year!)...
beatle
Active Member
Just found this thread after logging in to renew my car's registration and seeing how jacked up it was. Agree that it is disproportionate to the gas tax on the equivalent amount of gas. At 93 mpge combined and an average of 12,000 miles, that's only 129 gallons, or an effective equivalent gas tax rate of $27.35. If you take a comparable car to the MS of say 18-20 mpg, you're in the 600-667 gallon range, bumping that to $127.20/year.
But wait, there's more. If your car gets below 25mpg, you don't even pay a highway use tax! Clearly you still save money on fuel by using a pure electric car, but the tax is incorrectly levied against the wrong vehicles. DFibRL8R's idea made the most sense as highway wear is done mostly by heavier vehicles, so the weight of the vehicle and the mileage driven would be the factors of Now, the MS and most EVs are heavy cars, and therefore would pay more tax, but so would all other heavy vehicles.
But wait, there's more. If your car gets below 25mpg, you don't even pay a highway use tax! Clearly you still save money on fuel by using a pure electric car, but the tax is incorrectly levied against the wrong vehicles. DFibRL8R's idea made the most sense as highway wear is done mostly by heavier vehicles, so the weight of the vehicle and the mileage driven would be the factors of Now, the MS and most EVs are heavy cars, and therefore would pay more tax, but so would all other heavy vehicles.
[QUOTE=" To be honest, Virginia residents are lucky compared to some of the stupid fees/taxes paid in places like California or Arizona (take a look at a car registration bill there and you'll be shocked...on a $30K vehicle you are paying about $400/year!)...[/QUOTE]
Was surprised at the annual car bill when we first lived in Scottsdale! However, the property tax was super cheap, and the roads were in way better shape than here around the DC beltway.
Was surprised at the annual car bill when we first lived in Scottsdale! However, the property tax was super cheap, and the roads were in way better shape than here around the DC beltway.
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