California DMV Registration

[Major Dawg]

Many of us are so excited to buy a new vehicle we often overlook the little things during the purchase process.
Sept 29th, 2022 I took ownership of my 2022 F-150 Lightning Lariat ER. Puffy Proud Ford Owner.

My wife has a 2012 F-150 XLT that has just gone over 110,000 miles and she still loves it.
We just received the California DMV registration for both vehicles.

2012 F-150 XLT (3.5L EcoBoost)
Registration Fee $157
License Fee $35
Weight Fee $154 (GVW 7100)
Special Plate Fee $0
County/District Fee $9
Owner Responsibility Fee $0

Total $355

2022 F-150 Lariat ER
Registration Fee $412
License Fee $467
Weight Fee $266 (GVW 8550)
Special Plate Fee $0
County/District Fee $9
Owner Responsibility Fee $0

Total $1154

The license Fee is based on the Values of the truck and goes down each year of ownership.
The Registration Fee is high because California has added Road Taxation to the value.
* this is because in California like other states tax gasoline to fund the state road maintenance.
Since EV's don't pay for gasoline the state needs to tax the vehicle owners to cover the same cost.

Is this fair. Yes, EVs are heavy and use the roads, so the weight fee and use fee need to be assessed.
Unlike ICE vehicle owners that pay at the pump EV owners pay once a year vs. each time they fill up.

Example:
My wife's vehicle gets about 18 mpg and has 23 gallon tank. California gas tax is $0.57 per gallon.
Average driving in California is 12,500 to 14,450.
Using 14,450 miles / year and 18 mpg - collected gas tax for her vehicle $457.59

14,450 / 18 = 802.78 gallons * $0.57 = 457.59
457.59 / 14,450 = $0.031 per mile driven

Using DMV cost
412 / 14,450 = $0.028 per mile driven

Pretty close.
My wife and I are lucky and both work within 5 miles of where we live so we drive much less than the typical California drivers.
For us the cost is more like $0.051 for my EV and $0.057 per mile for my wife's truck.
We just don't drive that many miles per year.

Summary: If you have or are buying an EV, just be aware that your new DMV bill will be a bit of a shock.
I hope this anaylsis makes sense and helps someone better prepared.

BTW: other states are also instituting a similar program, Texas, I'm talking to you. (July 27, 2023 news)

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[Avocadodude]

The tax is fair, if they actually used it to fix roads. Our roads suck. I’ll only pick on San Diego, it is looking to add a mileage tax as well. Our roads suck and they keep wanting to invest in public transportation. I knew the registration bill was coming, but am still frustrated by the total fiscal mismanagement of our tax dollars. Hopefully your post will be educational to those that didn’t know the TIF, RIF and other crap was coming in there CA purchase.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Summary: If you have or are buying an EV, just be aware that your new DMV bill will be a bit of a shock.

I note this thread is located & addressed to the California audience of the forum.

Not in Mass..... no EV related BS when registering my Lightning last summer.
$25 Registration transfer fee
$75 Title fee
$3718 sales tax net of trading my 2012 F250 at 6.25% [All vehicles pay this tax]
$35 safety inspection

--BUT--

Towns and cities assess a personal property tax on registered vehicles, trailers & campers, the taxes are based on a $25 per thousand of vehicle value, which diminishes incrementally over five years to a minimum tax for as long as the RMV plate has been issued, how the vehicle is powered is not relevant. Tax revenue is used locally to supplement the city/town budget covering the gamut of road maintenance, schools and public services.

$750 for prorated excise tax for 5 months based on value was $72,000 in 2022

--AND--

A EV rebate of $7500 for owning a specific version of the F150 Lightning which needs to be valued at over $50,000 and have a GVWR of 8501# (NOTE this rebate is over and above the $7500 federal credit I received off our personal income taxes)!!!!!!!

Net cost (REBATE) to move from diesel to electric ($2897) money in my pocket

Year two of ownership
$1200 for full year excise tax based on residual taxable value of $48,000 in 2023
$80 for vanity plate
$35 safety inspection

Moral of my story, with 50 states and multiple territories having a variety of fee & tax schemes, your experiences will vary based on where you live and how generous the EV incentives happen to be.

I'm not aware of any local or state assessments to supplement the road repair costs in Mass, though public retail charging networks charge a 6.25% sales tax on the costs to charge, in theory the department of revenue to could earmark these funds to Mass Highway's road maintenance budgets and/or share a fraction of the revenue to the cities and towns for what is missing in the fuel excise taxes I'm no longer paying.

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

I won't be happy when the registration comes due on my 2023 Lightning Pro, but I believe that a Road Tax of some kind is necessary and fair if I am not paying gasoline taxes.

As for the condition of California's roads... in 2023, I've driven through 13 states (essentially coast-to-coast on I-40, plus some) and my assessment is that California's roads - especially interstates - are among the best that I have driven, which is an especially difficult task given their level of usage. By comparison, Arizona's suck and Florida is not much better, and the latter adds insult to injury with its numerous toll roads (because the state refuses to tax itself to maintain a decent road system). If I am paying a few hundred dollars a year through annual registration fees to support road construction/maintenance in California, I think I am getting my money's worth.

 

[CRAIGC540]

Funny story. I applied for a California car pool sticker and received it with no problem, then applied for the 91 fwy FasTrack EV discount and was refused because my registration MP "mode of propulsion" was Diesel. No one wants to admit the mistake the dealer,lender or DMV marked my Lightning as a diesel truck, my bet is the DMV who gave me a carpool sticker for a diesel truck listed on my registration. I had to go to DMV who told me I needed the title from my lender and a VIN verification from DMV. I hade to wait 3 weeks for the lender to request a physical copy of the title and send it to me, and was told i had 60 days to return it or my loan would be changed to a unsecured loan. I took the VIN verification and title to DMV and they sent it to Sacramento DMV, 3 weeks later they send all paperwork back saying i need a weight certification. I get that done and went to DMV and was told they can complete this today and i would leave with my new correct registration and tags, after a couple supervisors and some phone calls to Sacramento i was told to come back next Day because they had to clear something up on there computer. Two days later DMV calls me to come in and pick up the registration. I was waiting to pay my renewal fees untill close to due date or when this day came with my new registration, the cost was originally $994 but now was $1119 which was more because of the wieght of the truck increased somehow. So all is good now with the correct registration and fees paid. Imagine me getting a renewal notice with a smog check needed one day which would have happened if the FasTrack didn't catch the mistake. All this to say check your registration for the correct MP, should be E for electric not D for diesel.

 

[ExCivilian]

Using DMV cost
412 / 14,450 = $0.028 per mile driven

Your wife's weight fee should be $257 if she's got an open bed:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/handb...tration-procedures-manual-2/appendix-1f-fees/

I'm not sure how they calculate her registration fee of $157 but your EV cost per mile should be the difference between $412 and $157 (at least) divided by miles driven.

your actual gas tax is only $255 / 14,450 = $0.018 per mile driven

 

[_jeff]

Thank you for the breakdown @Major Dawg. I would have been a lot less upset opening up that envelope had it included some sort of explanation. I was convinced someone at the DMV or dealership had goofed.

And you all are much too reasonable when it comes to paying taxes, I'm over here searching for a pitchfork

 

[No Oil HaHa]

As someone who drives 50,000 miles a year on California roads, I concur: our roads are horrible.

Caltrans has already had a pilot program studying how to tax drivers based on the miles driven per year. EV owners will still be ahead, as all drivers will pay per mile, but the gas tax will not be completely eliminated.

Also, thanks for the heads up on DMV fees. I bought out of state and the dealer paid the taxes but I’m responsible for the DMV fees after I take possession of the truck. I would have choked hearing that from the lady at the counter! Haha! way more than my wife’s Lincoln…

 

[Old Aviator]

Problem is if you look at what is spent on roads and deduct the federal funds states get for highways, I'm pretty sure less than half of what they collect ever touches a road. Most goes from your pocket into someone else's. As with all your tax dollars. Just a thought. So while we are calculating a fair the EV highway tax, its is just another piggy bank for government to spend from. And not just California, but the multi-billion dollar high speed rail from South CA to LA (which begins and ends nowhere near any useful location) is a good example government largess, but certainly not the only one.

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