What do you pay for the KY car property tax? (Louisville: home, buying)

[totallyfedup]

It's very interesting how differently things are done in different states. We are SUPER excited about no longer dealing with the DMV (NJ's statewide motor vehicle department -- actually it might now have a different acronym, I can't keep up). The concept of NOT having to deal with NJ's DMV anymore is almost unbelievable.

Thanks for the tip about KY license before reregistering/retitling cars -- will definitely keep that in mind!

I'd love to hear more about motor vehicle insurance -- I feel like I've heard glimmers about how it can be higher in KY. Feel free to message me if it's outside of the scope of this thread.

Originally Posted by Outer_Bluegrass

You are most welcome.

For your information, KY does not have a centralized, statewide bureau or department that handles all matters related to operating motor vehicles, as many other states do. All KY driver licensing is conducted at "Driver Licensing Regional Offices," which are located in all of the major cities and towns throughout the state. Although these offices have walk-in appointments available every day of the week, they eventually stop accepting walk-ins after a certain time, which is usually 1-2 hours before closing time. If you arrive at your local Driving Licensing Regional Office at 8:00 or 9:00 AM, then you don't need to worry about being turned away by office staff.

If possible, I highly recommend obtaining a KY driver license before attempting to reregister and retitle your motor vehicles at the local county clerk's office. Interestingly enough, it cost me more money to obtain a driver license ($48 for a Real ID that is valid for eight years) than to reregister and retitle my vehicle in the state ($21 for tags + $7.00 for title + $5.00 for inspection).

Don't get me started on motor vehicle insurance premium rates out here, though.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

The average cost of car insurance ranges from $28 per month in South Dakota to $196 per month in Michigan, based on the price of a minimum-coverage policy.

That's a difference of $168 per month, or $2,016 per year, depending on the state where you live. Car insurance rates vary by location because of state regulations and road risks of different places...
Nationally, average car insurance rates are $58 per month for minimum coverage.


(you can see a state by state chart here
https://www.valuepenguin.com/car-insurance-by-state

^The monthly costs for full insurance would be on average 159 a month for a vehicle in New Jersey and a 170 dollars per month in Kentucky.
(Weirdly enough liability alone would cost 86 a month in New Jersey and 73 a month in Kentucky)

So if you just have liability it will cost you a tiny bit less in Kentucky and if you have full coverage it will cost you a tiny bit more in Kentucky.
(^We pay a lot less though, about 100 dollars a month, of course we are older and never have had an accident.)Even though our cars paid off I do keep complete coverage on our 2019 Chevy.

Here is a second chart comparing car insurance cost state by state.
https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/states/#rates

[Crazee Cat Lady]

^Annual cost for full auto coverage is only 940 dollars a year in Maine?
https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/states/#rates

I am starting to get the urge to move to Maine!

[totallyfedup]

Originally Posted by Crazee Cat Lady

^Annual cost for full auto coverage is only 940 dollars a year in Maine?
https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/states/#rates

According to this chart, the average cost in TN is way lower than in KY. Does anyone know why there is such a difference?

[Crazee Cat Lady]

That's a good question. It is much more expensive here than in Indiana too.

This lady moved to Kentucky from Indiana and then had to pay as much for her auto insurance in one month that she paid in Indiana for one year.

Kentucky is much more expensive due to their insurance laws. Indiana only requires you carry liability insurance. KY has a law that requires you to carry Personal Injury Protection. This covers medical costs regardless of fault in an accident. You may hear people call it "no-fault" Insurance. This coverage tends to cost a lot more than standard liability insurance. This is the increase you are seeing on new quotes.
https://www.thezebra.com/ask/car-ins...sive-kentucky/

^So maybe over Government regulation and Political decisions in Frankfort is the reason. (although I am thinking that full insurance is the wisest move for most people.)

But then I found this:

Car insurance in Kentucky is expensive because of state-specific factors including high rate of car thefts, high numbers of uninsured motorists, high traffic density and mandatory PIP coverage required by state car insurance laws...In Kentucky, up to 14% of motorists are uninsured, higher than the average national rate of uninsured motorists, which is 12%.

https://www.moneygeek.com/insurance/...sive/kentucky/

^Which is interesting because I had no idea that we had a high rate of car theft or
high traffic density...for the last part, I thought everyone had to have car insurance here, why are so many uninsured? It looks like it can vary greatly depending on where you live, Lexington is a lot cheaper than Louisville.
My guess is that Bowling Green would be cheaper than both, but I am not for sure. It looks like the more rural you live the less it is....which makes sense, it would seem the less traffic you are in, the less likely an accident would happen, and the less likely of your car being stolen.


And Wallethub says that it is because we have more auto fatalities than most places and it costs above the national average here for Insurance (which contradicts the other sources that I listed....so....your guess is as good as mine!

https://wallethub.com/answers/ci/why...ve-2140709631/

[kygman]

Went back to Union County yesterday where I used to live and stopped by to visit a friend. He'd just come home from the courthouse where he had to license a car, 2 trucks, 2 boats, and a camper. He said so much for that $1200. lol But he's ready for their summer camp on the river now.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

Originally Posted by kygman

Went back to Union County yesterday where I used to live and stopped by to visit a friend. He'd just come home from the courthouse where he had to license a car, 2 trucks, 2 boats, and a camper. He said so much for that $1200. lol But he's ready for their summer camp on the river now.

But darn that's a lot of money for most folks.

[Oldhag1]

Originally Posted by Crazee Cat Lady

But darn that's a lot of money for most folks.

That’s $200 per vehicle, which seems about right and not too outrageous. But, yeah, together - ouch.

[Outer_Bluegrass]

Originally Posted by totallyfedup

According to this chart, the average cost in TN is way lower than in KY. Does anyone know why there is such a difference?

KY is a "choice no-fault" state, similar to NJ and PA, whereas TN is a "tort" state, consistent with most other states. As far as I know, the state of TN does not assess personal property taxes on motor vehicles, either. However, TN has much higher sales taxes than KY, which means you're going to pay the piper one way or another.

[Crazee Cat Lady]

^In Frankfort they are talking about lowering and getting rid of state income tax, but if they do they are considering raising the sales tax, from what I understand. So you are right, they get their money one way or the other.


I know Tennessee and Florida charge no state income tax, so it can be done, but I have heard that they just raise the sales tax to make up for it. I would imagine Florida and Tennessee make a lot more money through tourism than we do too, though.