This is the latest edition of Curious Mississippi, a service to the readers of the Clarion Ledger. Other questions answered by Curious Mississippi have surrounded potholes,cicadas,the international nature of Jackson's airportandwater availability charges.This story looks at the expense of registering a car in Jackson.
If you are looking to register your new or slightly used vehicle in Mississippi, or more specifically Hinds County, you might want to ensure you have more than $600 to spare before heading to the tax collector's office.
It's no secret that Mississippi has some of the most expensive registration and tag renewal fees for vehicles younger than 10 years old in the nation. But what makes car tags so expensive in Mississippi and in Jackson? And does this create a challenge for vehicle owners in Mississippi?
Well, the Clarion Ledger has compiled some of this data for the public to know why car tags are so expensive and what new car owners can expect to pay in the Jackson area.
Mississippi has very high rates for vehicle registration
In Mississippi, for vehicles younger than 10 years old, owners pay ad valorem taxes on the car based on 30% of its assessed retail value, which can be recalculated every year. You multiply that value by the local county millage rate, and that will be your vehicle registration cost.
Mills are the unit of measurement counties use to determine the tax on property within the county, such as land, vehicles and even crops, to name a few. One mill is equal to every one dollar per $1,000.
If your car is older than 10 years, your tag fee will be a little over $40.
What are car tag fees in Hinds County?
For a vehicle manufactured in 2024, selling for about $25,000, registering in Hinds County would run about an $800 tag fee. Just a year later, if the county millage rate remained the same, that cost would be about $670, and one dollar less if the tag was being renewed instead of bought for the first time.
According to the Hinds County Tax Collector's Office website, as long as the millage rate doesn't change, the cost would go down for that vehicle by about $100 or less per year until it reaches the 10-year mark.
A Hinds County Tax Collector's Office employee told the Clarion Ledger there is no clear depreciation rate for car tags because of changing state laws and the county millage rate. If the millage rate were to increase enough, it could result in a vehicle owner actually paying more in subsequent year than they did the previous.
How long after purchasing a vehicle do I need to obtain a tag?
According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, new car owners have seven business days to acquire a car tag before accruing penalties.
Those penalties will increase the overall cost of registering a newly purchased car the more time you wait to register, starting at a 5% increase from the initial registration cost to 25%. You can also receive a ticket from law enforcement for driving without one or with an expired tag.
Would sales tax be factored into my tag fee if I purchase out of state?
According to the DOR website, people who purchase a new vehicle out of state are not exempt from sales tax fees associated with registering the vehicle. Out-of-state buyers will pay a 5% use tax on the car's assessed value to register it in Mississippi.
Is this a problem in Jackson?
Hinds County Tax Collector Eddie Fair said his office sees many people shocked by the price to register or renew a relatively young vehicle.
"(Especially) if they come from another state, a lot of them will be shocked (at the tag price)," Fair said.
Fair added that the county offers no relief for car owners who might struggle to come up with the cash for such an expensive tag, but at the end of the day, it isn't the county's responsibility to make sure consumers budgeted enough to purchase and register that vehicle.
"There are a lot of people who buy vehicles and can't afford the tag, that means you shouldn't buy the vehicle," Fair said.
Why is Jackson more expensive than other areas?
Fair told the Clarion Ledger the tag fees in Jackson are so particularly high is because of a higher mill rate, which is used in part to fund a budget for both city and county school districts.
In the Jackson area, there two school districts that use that money, those being the Jackson Public Schools and the Hinds County School District. Fair said Hinds County has many more public schools to fund than other counties do, hence the higher tag fees.
How does Hinds compare to some of its neighbors?
As a comparison, the Madison County Tax Collector's Office, according to a tax clerk, would charge about $213 for $25,000 vehicle manufactured in 2023.
To register in Rankin County, it would cost $335 for the same vehicle to be registered.
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why is registering a car so expensive in Mississippi?
