California Vehicle License Fee (VLF) for Non-Operation?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 4, 2021
1 reply
20 views

TurboTax says "Enter the deductible portion of your registration fee. In California, you can deduct the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) portion of your registration fee."

On the DMV renewal notice, it shows the dollar amount for this "License Fee." However, in 2020 I renewed as non-operational, & I'm not sure if this VLF portion is still included in what I paid, or if it's considered part of the full operational fee (aka I paid $0 for this, by paying the lower non-operational renewal fee), or if it's prorated between the two. I tried to get in touch with the DMV to find out, but had no success.

After registering as non-operation, is VLF $0, or the same as it would've been for operational registration, or just a portion?

TurboTax Home & Biz Windows

Best answer by LenaH

I still don't see where that states the breakdown (composition) of the PNO fees.

The registration fee (non operational fee) is different from the license fee, as shown in screenshot above. Since the PNO fee of $21 is considered a "registration fee" to keep your car off the road, there is no license fee in that amount.

@taxes4739

LenaH

Employee Tax Expert

It depends. Usually, when you register your vehicle as non-operational, you will only pay registration fees and there is no VLF assessed. The Vehicle License Fee (VLF) is the only portion of your fee that is tax deductible.

As shown below, the deductible VLF fee (License Fee) is listed separately from the registration fee. When you registered it as nonoperational, what fee what were you mandated to pay? If only the registration fee, then you did not pay a license fee.

You can also use the CA VLF Fees Calculator to determine if you paid a license fee.

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taxes4739Author

Level 5

Look just slightly below where your screenshot cuts off - the box shown has the full breakdown, then below it, one line that just says "or $xxx to file planned nonoperation." It doesn't give a breakdown for nonoperation, thus, I don't know what "nonoperation" is composed of.

LenaH

Employee Tax Expert

Per the California DMV, the non-operational status appears to be a registration fee, which is separate from a license fee. This would not be deductible for California tax purposes.

@taxes4739

CA DMV PNO Status

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