Personal property taxes on cars

[grdnrman]

Originally Posted by xz2y

A few cities in upstate New York are on my short/medium list for retirement. Does New York have a personal property tax (or fees) for cars? If so, what is the rate, and how is the value of the car determined? Thanks!

There is no personal property tax on vehicles in NYS. There might be a p.p. tax closer to NY City or Long Island; I don't know for sure. A personal property tax on MANY things you own especially in southern states & some others, is just a SCAM; they charge you hundreds of dollars EVERY year=they like to TRICK you into thinking, "our southern State has low or no income tax", while at the same time they have their collection hand in your OTHER pocket taking personal property charges.

If you move into NY State and bring your currently owned (NOT a newly purchased vehicle) with you, there is no tax on that vehicle. There is only a sales tax if while living in NY State you buy a vehicle in another state (maybe trying to avoid a NY State sales tax) and bring it into NY State. But of course, you may be charged a sales tax if while you live in another state you purchase a vehicle a week or month or two, just before you move permanently into NY State=that would appear like you were purchasing the vehicle just to avoid NYS sales tax. If you've owned the vehicle "long-term", there's no tax.

In New York State you pay for licensing/registering your vehicle and that is based on several factors; also depends on whether YOU request basic/standard (orange/black) license plates or YOU request "special" license plates like: antique vehicle plates, veterans plates, "personalized" or "vanity" plates=your name or a word or sports team logo or some sort of emblem or similar.

You said that you have been considering retiring to someplace in New York State. Let me give you the following information.

Upstate New York State, especially westwardly in the state, has a lower Cost Of Living than most of the New England States except possibly far northern New Hampshire and far northern Maine.

In New York State there seems to be about 4 "Cost of Living" regions.

1.) NY City, Long Island, & Lower Hudson River/Lower Delaware River region.
2.) Mid-Hudson River Valley(Newburgh, Monticello, Liberty, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, & Saugerties.
3.) Capital District(Albany), Eastern Mohawk River Valley, Saratoga - Lake George region.
4.) The remainder of westwardly New York State>>>Binghamton to Little Falls to Plattsburgh and all areas WESTWARD have the lowest Cost of Living in New York State.
XXX=Definitely a "Good Quality of Life/Living" in above areas outlined/listed in Numbers 3 & 4.

1.) New York City & Long Island and the several counties in Downstate New York/Lower Hudson River Valley are very expensive in every way.
2.) Cost of living is slightly more-moderate from Newburgh to Liberty to Kingston to Saugerties.
3.) Just south of Albany to Lake George and westward to Amsterdam/Fonda, that area becomes a little more reasonable.
4.) In general, from Little Falls-NY westward to Utica-Syracuse-Rochester-Buffalo AND Binghamton-Syracuse-Watertown-Massena-Plattsburgh have the best Cost of Living and Quality of Life/Living ratings and opportunities.

Property taxes are high all across New York State.

The cost of homes and properties are among the most affordable property buying prices in the whole U.S. in the Upstate NY regions outlined/listed in Number 4 above.

If you want the lowest property taxes, in general, a very rural area (maybe 50-60 miles away from any city of 30,000+ population) with a small student-population school district will offer you the lowest property taxes. That might include >> SOME LOCATIONS << in NYS counties like: Lewis, St. Lawrence, northern Herkimer(Old Forge), Hamilton, Franklin, Clinton, & Essex. Also >> SOME LOCATIONS << in counties like: Otsego, Chenango, Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, & Wyoming. Some of these rural counties are a reasonable drive to a small size city.

Remember that New York State is a "large" state with many separate atmospheres/areas; "Downstate" NY (the Lower Hudson River Valley counties-New York City-Long Island) do not overwhelm the rest of "Upstate" New York State. Example: Syracuse-Rochester-Buffalo-Utica-Binghamton-Watertown-Plattsburgh are nothing like Metro NY City.

Good luck to you in finalizing your retirement relocation plans. If you choose New York State = Welcome!

grdnrman

[unagi]

Hi, thanks for your detailed info below. I have a follow up question on vehicle registration. I bought a BMW when I was stationed abroad from BMW diplomatic sales. Now, I'm moving to NY. It has never been titled/registered in the US. It is a legal import, US version, with all EPA and customs paperwork and a certificate of origin from the manufacturer proving I own it, rather than a title.

Since I bought it two years ago when I was stationed abroad and have never lived in NYS before, do I pay taxes on it when I register it -- even though it has never been registered in any state and no sales taxes have ever been paid on it?

Thanks!!

Originally Posted by grdnrman

There is no personal property tax on vehicles in NYS. There might be a p.p. tax closer to NY City or Long Island; I don't know for sure. A personal property tax on MANY things you own especially in southern states & some others, is just a SCAM; they charge you hundreds of dollars EVERY year=they like to TRICK you into thinking, "our southern State has low or no income tax", while at the same time they have their collection hand in your OTHER pocket taking personal property charges.

If you move into NY State and bring your currently owned (NOT a newly purchased vehicle) with you, there is no tax on that vehicle. There is only a sales tax if while living in NY State you buy a vehicle in another state (maybe trying to avoid a NY State sales tax) and bring it into NY State. But of course, you may be charged a sales tax if while you live in another state you purchase a vehicle a week or month or two, just before you move permanently into NY State=that would appear like you were purchasing the vehicle just to avoid NYS sales tax. If you've owned the vehicle "long-term", there's no tax.

In New York State you pay for licensing/registering your vehicle and that is based on several factors; also depends on whether YOU request basic/standard (orange/black) license plates or YOU request "special" license plates like: antique vehicle plates, veterans plates, "personalized" or "vanity" plates=your name or a word or sports team logo or some sort of emblem or similar.

You said that you have been considering retiring to someplace in New York State. Let me give you the following information.

Upstate New York State, especially westwardly in the state, has a lower Cost Of Living than most of the New England States except possibly far northern New Hampshire and far northern Maine.

In New York State there seems to be about 4 "Cost of Living" regions.

1.) NY City, Long Island, & Lower Hudson River/Lower Delaware River region.
2.) Mid-Hudson River Valley(Newburgh, Monticello, Liberty, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, & Saugerties.
3.) Capital District(Albany), Eastern Mohawk River Valley, Saratoga - Lake George region.
4.) The remainder of westwardly New York State>>>Binghamton to Little Falls to Plattsburgh and all areas WESTWARD have the lowest Cost of Living in New York State.
XXX=Definitely a "Good Quality of Life/Living" in above areas outlined/listed in Numbers 3 & 4.

1.) New York City & Long Island and the several counties in Downstate New York/Lower Hudson River Valley are very expensive in every way.
2.) Cost of living is slightly more-moderate from Newburgh to Liberty to Kingston to Saugerties.
3.) Just south of Albany to Lake George and westward to Amsterdam/Fonda, that area becomes a little more reasonable.
4.) In general, from Little Falls-NY westward to Utica-Syracuse-Rochester-Buffalo AND Binghamton-Syracuse-Watertown-Massena-Plattsburgh have the best Cost of Living and Quality of Life/Living ratings and opportunities.

Property taxes are high all across New York State.

The cost of homes and properties are among the most affordable property buying prices in the whole U.S. in the Upstate NY regions outlined/listed in Number 4 above.

If you want the lowest property taxes, in general, a very rural area (maybe 50-60 miles away from any city of 30,000+ population) with a small student-population school district will offer you the lowest property taxes. That might include >> SOME LOCATIONS << in NYS counties like: Lewis, St. Lawrence, northern Herkimer(Old Forge), Hamilton, Franklin, Clinton, & Essex. Also >> SOME LOCATIONS << in counties like: Otsego, Chenango, Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, & Wyoming. Some of these rural counties are a reasonable drive to a small size city.

Remember that New York State is a "large" state with many separate atmospheres/areas; "Downstate" NY (the Lower Hudson River Valley counties-New York City-Long Island) do not overwhelm the rest of "Upstate" New York State. Example: Syracuse-Rochester-Buffalo-Utica-Binghamton-Watertown-Plattsburgh are nothing like Metro NY City.

Good luck to you in finalizing your retirement relocation plans. If you choose New York State = Welcome!

grdnrman

[ckhthankgod]

There isn't any personal property tax on vehicles in NY State. You pay for the registration which is every 2 years and the $21 yearly car inspection.