• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

Taxes and older Rangers


snoranger

Professional money waster
TRS Event Staff
TRS Forum Moderator
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
RBV's on Boost
ASE Certified Tech
VAGABOND
TRS Event Participant
GMRS Radio License
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
13,043
Reaction score
13,494
Points
113
Location
Jackson, NJ
Vehicle Year
'79,'94,'02,'23
Make / Model
All Fords
Engine Type
2.3 EcoBoost
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
I didn't ask for your life story, just answer the question!
Holy Cow! I will never move to Virginia. That is insane that you can be taxed on a vehicle AFTER you buy it. Don't get me wrong, I know in NJ we pay between 60-75 per year for registration, but that is at least manageable. I could not imagine being told that I would have to pay roughly $700 PER YEAR to use my truck. At that point I would only drive beaters worth $1000, maybe.
These guys need to shut up before NJ hears that they can tax you EVERY YEAR on the same vehicle.

I think my Ranger cost $64 to register.
 


85_Ranger4x4

Forum Staff Member
TRS Event Staff
TRS Forum Moderator
Article Contributor
V8 Engine Swap
OTOTM Winner
TRS Banner 2010-2011
TRS 20th Anniversary
VAGABOND
TRS Event Participant
Joined
Aug 7, 2007
Messages
32,130
Reaction score
17,341
Points
113
Location
SW Iowa
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
5.0
Transmission
Manual
Nebraska does that personal property tax crap too. It is really shocking that any American would stand for that type of tax... would have been the basis for a revolution in the good old days.
Omaha does a wheel tax if you live within so many miles of Omaha.

They tried to rope in Council Bluffs (across the river in Iowa) a few years ago and got their hand slapped.
 

franklin2

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2019
Messages
3,340
Reaction score
1,699
Points
113
Location
Virginia
Vehicle Year
1984
Make / Model
Bronco II
Transmission
Manual
These guys need to shut up before NJ hears that they can tax you EVERY YEAR on the same vehicle.

I think my Ranger cost $64 to register.
Don't worry, you have more problems in New Jersey and pay more taxes than we do. It's just taken from a different area. I wonder how much tax they put on fuel per gallon in New Jersey? I think it's 18 cents per gallon in Va.

The personal property tax on vehicles is not uniform all over Va. It's done by the localities. I lived in Augusta County and the newest vehicle I have is a 99 Tahoe. I might have paid $70 per year on it. But it goes down every year, and most of my older vehicles were down to zero. Then I move to Shenandoah county, there taxes are much higher. They tried to value my wife's 94 Honda Accord at $5000 and tax me on that. I called and complained on that one and they reduced it.

You can't run Antique tags down here for regular use. When I was in Augusta county they had the sheriff stationed out at the landfill. Anyone hauling their trash to the landfill with antique plates got a ticket.

Farm use tags is another one that is abused. In July it will be illegal to run a Farm Use tag that you can buy at Tractor Supply in Va. You will now have to go to DMV and get your farm use tag and before you get it you have to prove you have a farm and have some sort of insurance on the vehicle.
 

Shran

Junk Collector
TRS Forum Moderator
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
V8 Engine Swap
Solid Axle Swap
Joined
Mar 4, 2008
Messages
8,617
Reaction score
4,680
Points
113
Location
Rapid City SD
Engine Type
V8
Engine Size
5.0
Omaha does a wheel tax if you live within so many miles of Omaha.

They tried to rope in Council Bluffs (across the river in Iowa) a few years ago and got their hand slapped.
Almost all or maybe all of the counties in SD now have a wheel tax but it's BS because there is some state rule that says that in order to use money from gas taxes for bridge repairs, we have to pay a wheel tax as well. My county voted against that tax and then two of the county commissioners declared an emergency session and passed the wheel tax anyway a year later. That was like 3 years ago and I am still irate about it. Must pay a tax to access other tax dollar that have already been paid... anyway... I went into this before on TRS and I better quit talking about it before I have a stroke.
 

Uncle Gump

Token Old Guy
TRS Event Staff
TRS Forum Moderator
Supporting Member
VAGABOND
TRS Event Participant
Joined
Sep 17, 2018
Messages
13,608
Reaction score
13,060
Points
113
Location
Ottawa IL
Vehicle Year
2006/1986
Make / Model
Ranger/BroncoII
Engine Size
4.0L SOHC/2.9L
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
Lead follow or get out of my way
That is one thing Illinois did right... or better at least. There is an antique plate and the expanded antique plate. The expanded version is good 24 hours a day from April 1st to October 31... no mileage limits or to from kind of rules. Worked well and save me a$100.
 

Roert42

Well-Known Member
RBV's on Boost
TRS Event Participant
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
4,728
Reaction score
4,863
Points
113
Location
Kintersville, PA
Vehicle Year
2011
Make / Model
Ranger XLT
Engine Size
4.0 SOHC
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
I was pissed when I found out truck tags had a $48 price vs car tags at $35. Of course it seems to keep going up, I think last time I paid it was $78.
 

lil_Blue_Ford

Well-Known Member
TRS Forum Moderator
Supporting Member
V8 Engine Swap
TRS 20th Anniversary
TRS Event Participant
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
8,180
Reaction score
5,927
Points
113
Location
Butler, PA, USSA
Vehicle Year
95
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4.9L
Transmission
Manual
That is one thing Illinois did right... or better at least. There is an antique plate and the expanded antique plate. The expanded version is good 24 hours a day from April 1st to October 31... no mileage limits or to from kind of rules. Worked well and save me a$100.
PA used to be more along those lines. Antique had limited mileage (like 3k a year) and was dawn to dusk only for vehicles without proper lighting, the rest were ok and no inspections. Had to be over something like 30 years old. Classic plates had some mileage limit like 8k a year, 20 years old, no inspection but had to meet the safety requirements for that model year if there was ever a spot inspection done (like if it had cats and seat belts from the factory and you straight piped it and removed the seat belts, it’s in violation). Now there’s no advantage to having those plates anymore because they changed it all to be highly restrictive and there’s no way to go back to a regular plate once you change to one of those short of selling the vehicle to someone else.

To further make matters worse, the inspection code has changed so that any vehicles modified from their original form (not suspension yet, but things like hot rods or old cars that have been tricked out and the roof lowered or whatnot, or my choptop) have to be changed to a Modified Vehicle title and be subject to yearly “enhanced” inspections. Don’t want to do that? That’s ok, but you better keep it in a garage all the time or you will be subject to fines for not having it registered and inspected and on your property.
 

Rimjam

Active Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
264
Reaction score
114
Points
43
Location
Huntsville,AL
Vehicle Year
1988
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
2.9 V6
Engine Size
2.9
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
Health is wealth
Not trying to make any of you guys cry BUT..................... in Alabama; no personal property (vehicle) tax, no vehicle inspections (convertors? What the heck's a Cadillac convertor?), one-time registration fee on new vehicles. Total cost for my '88 Ranger's 2021 tag - $26.33.
 

racsan

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
TRS 20th Anniversary
TRS Event Participant
Joined
Aug 17, 2007
Messages
4,909
Reaction score
4,310
Points
113
Location
central ohio
Vehicle Year
2009
Make / Model
ford/escape
Engine Type
2.5 (4 Cylinder)
Engine Size
2.5/151 I-4
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Tire Size
235/70/16
My credo
the grey-t escape
wow that is some (insert vulgar/obscenity of your choice) In ohio car tags yearly are $35, $50 for non-comm truck, 3/4 ton or less. 1-ton or larger is considered a commercial tag so $90, If I needed a 1-ton Id just roll a dullay axle under a 3/4 ton. You can renew for multiple years , but not transferable and you dont save anything by buying multiple years. Trailers are based on weight. The biggest crap in ohio is the surcharge for a hybrid/electric vehicle. No inspections (except for a couple of cities, cleveland maybe?, not sure of the other) Im not sure “farm” plates are in existence anymore, antique plates are but you are limited on driving, maybe parades? idk.
My ranger is literally worth nothing, when I bought it the dmv (license beauru) asked the seller milage, the kid I bought it from said 424,000. it was really 142,000 but I let it be put that way, knowing a divorce was ahead of me and having a vehicle worth nothing would be in my best interest. Its a 94 anyways, even if it was 42,000 original miles it wouldnt be worth much. I think any kind of property tax is (obscenity again), If you own it, you own it, shouldnt be any tax. But I know to stay outta pennsylvania!
 

TDI Ranger

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2020
Messages
70
Reaction score
87
Points
18
Location
Birmingham,AL
Vehicle Year
2003
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My trucks have hit the bottom of their taxable value. I'm here in Alabama also. This past year the total on the 02' F250 and 03' Ranger were 26.85 each. No inspections or emissions.
I don't buy trailer tags either. I'm not sure if they are even required. No trailer lights sometimes, whatever. No one cares around here.
In 04' when I bought my first Ranger new, I think they got me for around $300 or so. The 2nd year I think it was about $100 and it decreased from there.

Low property taxes, no building permits, nothing. But the roads are bad at this end of the country. I'm ok with it though. I am nervous the country is going to raise our property taxes again soon. They did re-access it last year. It was roughly $465 this past year. The wife just got a house under contract in our neighborhood for just over $300k. When we bought ours 8 years ago in the same neighborhood, the average was around the $125- $150k's.
 
Last edited:

snoranger

Professional money waster
TRS Event Staff
TRS Forum Moderator
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
RBV's on Boost
ASE Certified Tech
VAGABOND
TRS Event Participant
GMRS Radio License
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
13,043
Reaction score
13,494
Points
113
Location
Jackson, NJ
Vehicle Year
'79,'94,'02,'23
Make / Model
All Fords
Engine Type
2.3 EcoBoost
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
I didn't ask for your life story, just answer the question!
I am nervous the country is going to raise our property taxes again soon. They did re-access it last year. It was roughly $465 this past year.
Add a zero to the end of that and it’s still less then my property tax.
 

ekrampitzjr

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 28, 2021
Messages
752
Reaction score
1,035
Points
93
Location
Virginia
Vehicle Year
2011
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
PA used to be more along those lines. Antique had limited mileage (like 3k a year) and was dawn to dusk only for vehicles without proper lighting, the rest were ok and no inspections. Had to be over something like 30 years old. Classic plates had some mileage limit like 8k a year, 20 years old, no inspection but had to meet the safety requirements for that model year if there was ever a spot inspection done (like if it had cats and seat belts from the factory and you straight piped it and removed the seat belts, it’s in violation). Now there’s no advantage to having those plates anymore because they changed it all to be highly restrictive and there’s no way to go back to a regular plate once you change to one of those short of selling the vehicle to someone else.

To further make matters worse, the inspection code has changed so that any vehicles modified from their original form (not suspension yet, but things like hot rods or old cars that have been tricked out and the roof lowered or whatnot, or my choptop) have to be changed to a Modified Vehicle title and be subject to yearly “enhanced” inspections. Don’t want to do that? That’s ok, but you better keep it in a garage all the time or you will be subject to fines for not having it registered and inspected and on your property.
Pennsylvania and some other states in the Northeast have been making a lot of changes like that. Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have recently begun revoking registrations and tags for Japanese mini-cars imported under the federal exemption from safety and pollution rules for vehicles over 25 years old. There's been a big stink about the revocations for what had been legal vehicles. The feds passed the exemption, but nothing requires the states to register the vehicles.

Back to Virginia's personal property tax: yeah, it seems like garbage, but overall the tax burden in most of Virginia is lower than that of many other states. I know of too many people who moved to Florida or Texas thinking they were going to save big bucks because neither state has a state income tax, but they quickly found out those states more than make up for it elsewhere. Florida taxes services, such as labor on auto or house repairs. Texas allows school taxes that can exceed the actual real estate tax, and yes, you have to pay both bills on your house there. Both have jacked-up real estate taxes in cities.
 

bilbo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2016
Messages
784
Reaction score
903
Points
93
Location
South Florida
Vehicle Year
1983
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Engine Size
2.3L
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Total Lift
0
Total Drop
0
I know of too many people who moved to Florida or Texas thinking they were going to save big bucks because neither state has a state income tax, but they quickly found out those states more than make up for it elsewhere. Florida taxes services, such as labor on auto or house repairs. Texas allows school taxes that can exceed the actual real estate tax, and yes, you have to pay both bills on your house there. Both have jacked-up real estate taxes in cities.
I hear that a lot. I've been looking at moving down there, and it was said cost of living was much lower due to no state income tax. However, ND's state income tax is so low it's almost negligible. I think the highest bracket is less than 3%. I never thought about the tax on labor, does that just get paid with whatever labor you had done or is it something you track and pay yearly? Weird either way. Also, I wonder what it will cost to register our 'fleet' there vs. North Dakota.
 

superj

Well-Known Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
Joined
Oct 1, 2021
Messages
2,955
Reaction score
2,449
Points
113
Location
corpus christi, texas
Vehicle Year
2004
Make / Model
ranger edge
Engine Type
3.0 V6
Engine Size
3 liters of tire smoking power
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Total Lift
none
Total Drop
none
Tire Size
235s
My credo
Grew up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s
texas is very expensive to live in. if its not bad in your state, i would stay there.

each county here sets their own vehicle emission requirements. like my county doesn't do anything more than a visual inspection for emissions and if you pass that and the safety inspection, the inspector logs in and approves you so the state will renew your vehicle registration. some counties in san antonio, houston, austin, dallas (basically all the democrat cities) require you to get your car hooked up to a machine and checked for emissions and then if you pass that and safety, they log in and you can register your vehicle each year.

and the school district adds more to my yearly property taxes than anything else on the list. their cost is about 65% of my property tax. i am zoned for a college too so i also get taxed for texas a&m corpus christi. than i have the normal emergency services, county roads, etc etc. and the appraisal district sets your houses value on what comparable houses in a 5 mile radius of yours sell for, or if they can't find a similar house, they just give you average of the houses in your area. my house was built in 42 so since they couldn't find a similar one, they just based mine off the late 80s houses which sucks since mine was a two bedroom, 1 bath and all the 80s houses are 3/2 with two car garage. so i am being taxed like my house is a 200k house when i bought it for 42k.

if you are ok in your current state, don't think the grass is greener here in texas. its just sand and stickers down here in south texas.
 

ekrampitzjr

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 28, 2021
Messages
752
Reaction score
1,035
Points
93
Location
Virginia
Vehicle Year
2011
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
2WD
I hear that a lot. I've been looking at moving down there, and it was said cost of living was much lower due to no state income tax. However, ND's state income tax is so low it's almost negligible. I think the highest bracket is less than 3%. I never thought about the tax on labor, does that just get paid with whatever labor you had done or is it something you track and pay yearly? Weird either way. Also, I wonder what it will cost to register our 'fleet' there vs. North Dakota.
I believe in Florida the sales tax on a labor charge is just added to the bill. If a plumber makes a repair to your house, you pay sales tax on the entire bill including parts and labor. On a lot of auto work the real cost is labor, such as nearly $1,000 in labor to replace a $50 rear main oil seal, and you get to pay tax on top of all of that there.
 

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Staff online

Today's birthdays

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Latest posts

Truck of The Month


Kirby N.
March Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

Check Out The TRS Store


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Top