Are car registration fees different than personal property taxes?

[jenwilliamson1]

In Virginia, we get a bill annually for personal propterty tax but also pay an annual registration fee.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

Yes, they are different.  In some states, the registration fee is based on the value of the car, that counts as personal property tax.  But a registration fee that is the same for all similar cars (all passenger cars, for example) is not deductible.  The personal property tax is deductible, but you have to look at the bill and you can't deduct a fee that is charged to everyone, only the part that is based on the car's value.  (In my county, the county charges $20 for every car plus an amount based on value.  The value part is deductible but not the flat fee part.)

[MaryK4]

What TurboTax calls "Car Registration fees" are the Personal Property Taxes.  If you itemize deductions, the IRS allows you to deduct the personal property taxes.

Deductible personal property taxes are those based only on the value of personal property such as a boat or car. The tax must be charged to you on a yearly basis, even if it's collected more than once a year or less than once a year.  Topic no. 503, Deductible taxes

---

---

See Is Your Car Registration Deductible?

You can enter as Persona Property Taxes in TurbTaxes.

[Edited 03/07/26|7:45am PST]