California vehicle registration fee

[amelia-populis]

I paid my 2015 registration in 2015, but also paid my 2016 registration in 2015. Does it count the year that I paid it, or the year of the registration? (should I count both payments made in 2015?)

[ChelsiE2 · Accepted solution]

You can deduct the amounts actually paid Jan 1, 2015 - Dec 31, 2015.  If you paid both your 2015 and 2016 amounts during the 2015, then deduct both on your 2015 return.  

Please note: the amount deductible from your California Vehicle Registration Billing Notice is only the amount titled California motor vehicle license fee, not the entire amount you pay to the CA DMV.

[fester69]

Agreed.  Most all deductions are considered such during the year the expenses were incurred/paid, not when they were actually due.

[gyounghwa]

is the same rule applicable for leased car?

[ChelsiE2]

Yes, same rules apply to leased cars.

[boogershome]

I paid $357 total to register my small business vehicle. Shouldn't the whole amount qualify for a deduction? It is all a business expense not just the license fee portion.

[ChelsiE2]

@boogershome Taking a deduction for registration fees under the Taxes Paid section of Schedule A has different rules than taking a deduction for a car used for business purposes.  When you are entering your actual car expense for a car related to your business, you would want to include all expenses you actually paid for the car.  This would include your entire vehicle registration fee.

[rk1]

But if you take standard mileage rate, (rather than actual expenses), I think only the license fee can be added separately (in california). And then it is pro-rated if you also use the vehicle for personal use (though it's unclear if TT actually prorates it).

[hireanea]

You can get the deductible portion at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/FeeCalculatorWeb/vlfForm.do - The VLF is deductible in the year PAID, regardless of what registration year it might be for. 

[R123z]

What does this mean? TY n's taxes are filed in TY (n+1). By your logic, car owners would never be able to claim deductions for TY n's registration because the taxes are never filed in TY n.

Could you please confirm?

Also, there is no separate line item for 'taxes' when paying the Registration fee every year. And CA DMV charges to view the registration fee breakdown. Is anyone aware of the approximate tax percentage/ VLF that gets applied to the Registration fee?

Thank you.

[RogerD1]

The year of the registration does not determine when it is deducted, but it is deducted in the year it is paid.  For example, if you paid a $200 tax on your car registration for 2024 in January 2025 and you paid another $200 tax on your car registration for 2025 in December 2025, you would be able to deduct the total amount of $400 on your 2025 tax return because you paid both amounts in 2025.  This also holds true for real property taxes as well.

Did you see the link in a prior post to the California DMV website to get the VLF for your vehicle?  Give that a try for getting the amount of tax you are able to deduct on your 2025 tax return.

[R123z]

@RogerD1, thank you very much. I was able to view the VFL amount via the link you shared now.

However, I am not sure I understood what you meant by "The year of the registration" - are you referring to when the car was first registered? The 'registration renewal' email from the DMV did not say which year the registration renewal was for, so I am assuming it was for the year the e-mail arrived in (ie. 2025).

In any case, based on the example you shared, I am preparing my tax return for tax year 2025, NOW, ie., in the year 2026, and should be able to claim the VLF I paid as part of my car's registration renewal LAST year, (ie., in 2025). Please let me know in case I misunderstood.

Thank you!