Tenn Tri-City Total $ Picture (Knoxville, Greeneville: sales, vehicle registration, homes)

[garth]

Hi all,

I've been reading & researching much of this forum and have found lots of valuable information. Many folks have been very helpful so, even though I didn't ask the original questions, thank you for your participation.

My wife and I are planning on visiting the general Tri-City area of NE Tenn. We have laready fallen in love with the Smokey Mountain region down near Asheville, but for various reasons Asheville, NC, isn't for us. That's why we're considering looking a little further north.

My query involves the various tax costs in Tenn. I'm still trying to get a handle on the tax structure of Tenn. Many of my questions have already been answered. For example, I understand that only dividends and interest are subject to an income tax. Otherwise, pensions, qualified plan distributions, etc., are untaxed.

I also have a handle on the property tax issue. The fact that only 25% of a homes value is subject to tax and that the rates vary with the county and whether it's located within the additional taxing authority of a city or fire district. A very good link to the various millage rates was provided in an earlier thread.

However, I have yet to find any information about whether a personal property tax exists in Tenn. These are taxes that are paid each year on things like vehicles, watercraft, RV's, and/or other personal property. It is seperate from vehicle registration fees. I've found that some states have them and other don't. How about Tenn, does it have a personal property tax? If it has it, at what rate is it figured?

Also, I haven't found any definitive answer on vehicle registration fees. How expensive are they in Tenn for cars, trucks, and RV's? I've found that it can vary significantly between the states where the same vehicle might cost $50/year in one state and maybe $1500/year in another.

Thanks for any experiences or directions you can provide.

Regards,
Garth

[garth]

To add to my post, I've tried jumping around the Tenn DMV site. It, along with a few other revenue-related sites, doesn't give clear information on registration costs. So, does anyone have the scoop on the previous registration question and if a personal property (as opposed to real property) tax exists?

[insanesmooch]

The amount for vehicle registration varies by county. I just moved up to the Tri-cities and have not had to change tags yet, so I am not sure what it is in my county. I think the minimum is $24 or maybe it is up to $30. But then many counties add wheel taxes. I was living in Middle TN and there tags cost around $100 because you also had to pass an exhaust test to get your tags. Originally I am from Knoxville and I know tags there now cost $60 because of the wheel tax. I have been searching the internet for the taxes up here and I cannot find them. I would venture to guess that $60 per car per year would be the most you would pay in the Tri-cities.
I know there is no other personal property tax levied on cars, but I am not 100% sure about boats and other watercraft. I do not think there is one, but don't quote me on that one.
The tax you mentioned that only applies to interest income and that sort of think is the Hall Income tax (I haven't seen the other posts yet so I don't know if the name of it was mentioned).
Hope that helps some.

[garth]

That helps a lot! Heck, I'd be glad to pay only $100 to register a car. At twice that rate I'll be coming out way ahead. It looks good so far.

Thanks again!

[mich2fla]

Did you see JoeP's thread on property taxes? Here's the link at: http://www.city-data.com/forum/tenne...Property+taxes

Also here's some info on vehicle registration and taxes. The county collects the taxes on the vehicle then the state collects another taxes on top of it. It depends on the county. Here's the link for the TN DMV: http://www.onlinedmv.com/TN_Tennesse...r_vehicles.htm Check out the County Clerk link and figure out your costs.

[insanesmooch]

I looked at the link about the vehicles and if you go to the county clerk page it shows at the bottom the Privilege tax that the county adds on. Usually it is refered to as the wheel tax. The state tax must still be $24 because my tags are from Knox County and they cost $60. According the the site Knox has a $36 privilege tax. My now husband has tags from Davidson County and his cost more than what the site says so there must be another tax on it locally. There you pay an extra $10 for a marta test (the exhaust test), but I know he paid at least $90 something. If your vehicle does not pass the test, you must repair your car. The first retest is free, but if you must test again you must pay again. As of now, that is in Middle TN. We don't have that in the East side of the state so far.

[lizbeth0807]

We live in Greeneville, TN and we paid 88.00 for tags plus wheel tax every year since we moved here 6 years ago.

[mbmouse]

There is no personal property tax in TN. To be honest, moving here from CT and FL...there are not much of anything in the way of taxes in TN. hahhahaha
There is no state income tax, property taxes are CHEEP! Even if you have city and county taxes. The one bad thing is that you do pay property tax on not only your house, but any other structure on you property, such as a barn, shed, ect and they charge by sq ft, but it is so low anyway, that is really not a big deal. Tags for your car, RV or any other viehical is really not that bad either, $50 in tri-cities. No emmisions inspections or fees there either. The one draw back, tax wise is that there is an almost 10 % sales tax which is a combination of county and state that is on everything, including food. Now if you do buy a large item, (over $1,600) the rate is figured a bit lower over the $1,600 so it's not like you are paying 10% on a car, it is more like 6.5% total.
If you need more info on East TN or TN as a whole, email me, I have compiled a list of links to lots of info but the moderaters will cut most of them.
Just ask away, I will do my best to help get you the info.