A North Carolina law passed in 2005 is going into effect this year that will make sure vehicle owners pay their auto taxes before they can renew their registration.

Marge Howell, spokesperson for the Division of Motor Vehicles says “In the past, vehicle Property taxes could be paid along during the year and they were not required to be due in order to renew your vehicle registration. With this new law, the property taxes have to be paid in full at the same time your vehicle registration is renewed.” 

With the new “Tag and Tax Together” program in place, the annual vehicle inspection, the registration renewal and the vehicle property tax now are all due in the same month, even though you can have some of these completed in advance.

Howell says vehicle taxes can range widely depending on the age of the automobile, the county you live in and various other factors.

The North Carolina DMV is getting the word out now, to help taxpayers plan in advance. The state is posting a special web page to answer questions about the new Tag & Tax program. Howell encourages all vehicle owners to take a look.

“We intend to be adding some more information as time goes on. We hope to have a tax calculator on their and a section on how to read your new bill that will be coming in the mail. Right now, there is a way to contact all 100 county tax offices on the website as well,” says Howell.