Within 60 days of establishing a permanent residence in North Carolina, new residents who plan to operate a motor vehicle must get a North Carolina driver license and title and register their vehicles with the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles.
Unless you are itemizing enough deductions to exceed your standard deduction, your car registration will have no effect on your refund or tax due.
Your itemized deductions have to be more than your standard deduction before you will see a change in your tax owed or tax refund. The deductions you enter do not necessarily count “dollar for dollar;” many of them are subject to meeting tough thresholds—medical expenses, for example, must meet a threshold that is pretty hard to reach. (Only the amount that is MORE than 7.5% of your AGI counts) The software program uses all the IRS rules that apply to the expenses you enter, and it tells you if you have enough to use your itemized deductions or if using the standard deduction is more advantageous for you. Under the new tax laws, some deductions have been capped—there is a $10,000 limit to the itemized deductions for state, local, property and sales taxes.
Your standard deduction lowers your taxable income. The standard deduction makes some of your income “tax free.” It is not a refund. You will see your standard or itemized deduction amount on line 12 of your 2024 Form 1040.
2024 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS
SINGLE $14,600 (65 or older/legally blind + $1950)
MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $14,600 (65 or older/legally blind + $1550)
MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $29,200 (65 or older/legally blind + $1550)
HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD $21,900 (65 or older/legally blind + $1950)
Car registration fees are generally not deductible. In some states, a portion of the registration fee is a tax based on the value of the car -- only this part of the fee is tax deductible.
If you pay a car tax to any state that is considered a deductible state or local tax, it is deductible even if you don't live in that state. The amount of actual tax reduction will depend on all the other factors discussed above.