Ben Szalinski
JUNE 27, 2019<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = "[default] http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" NS = "http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" />
Illinois license plate sticker will be among most expensive in the nation
Illinoisans will be paying among the nation’s highest vehicle registration fees as part of a $45 billion infrastructure proposal pushed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the General Assembly.
Illinois drivers will pay the nation’s highest base fee and fifth highest overall fee for vehicle registration to help fund Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s $45 billion infrastructure plan.
The General Assembly passed the infrastructure proposal June 2, and Pritzker is expected to sign it. The legislation also includes a doubled gas tax expected to cost a family with two cars $300 more a year.
Under the proposal, Illinois drivers of standard vehicles weighing 8,000 pounds or less will see registration fees jump from $98 to $148 in 2020.
All other large vehicles, including trailers and buses, will see registration fee increases of $100. The registration on electronic vehicles will increase from $35 every two years to $248 every year. Motorcycles will not see a change in the $38 registration cost.
Illinois’ registration fee will be substantially higher than other states’ fees. Among neighboring states, Illinois is the only one to charge a flat rate over $100 for registration.
Illinois Policy Institute research showed no other state charges residents a base fee as high as Illinois. However, some states use a formula based on factors such as age, weight, and value to determine renewal fees, meaning some of their residents may pay more than Illinois residents for the same vehicle. For example, Iowa charges drivers $0.40 for every 100 pounds a passenger vehicle weighs multiplied by a percentage of the list price of the vehicle, which depends on its age. Other states such as Florida charge their residents a large tax the first time they register a vehicle, and then impose small age-related fees in the following years.
The Institute based calculations on a standard sedan weighing about 2,500 pounds that was sold in 2018 at a value of about $20,000 to determine fees in states with variable rates. The calculations showed that Illinois still has the fifth-largest vehicle registration fee in the nation, even when comparing it to drivers in other states who are registeringa newer, lighter car.
Illinois in 2019 was again ranked as having the nation’s highest overall tax burden, at just shy of 15% of median household income. Adding another superlative by having Illinois residents pay the nation’s highest base vehicle registration fees is another reason for drivers to head for the state line and keep on going, just like 313 people a dayon average have chosen to do for the past five years.
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