Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Legislation Colorado Question about "Ownership Tax"

While researching what I need to do to move to CO (which is eventual one way or another), I stumbled across a sneaky little fact. I always assumed vehicle property taxes were mostly an East Coast thing, since I never had that problem in the midwest. Then I finally stumbled across the info I needed (and talked to my grandfather in Littleton), and found out there IS a vehicle property tax in Colorado, but is named an "Ownership Tax"! Sneaky ******!!! OK, fine, I have to pay for my cars when I move, but what about Motorcycles, are they taxed at the same rates? I'm assuming the answer is yes (rather be surprised to find out I DON'T have to pay it, right?) but wanted the straight-up from you guys out that way.

Yeah, but it's not too bad, although I forget at the moment what the tax is based on when you register. I don't recall what it cost us when we first moved here to register our vehicles, but they were both older and would have been dirt cheap in taxes anyway.

Don't know how it works where you are, but here if you buy a new car from a dealer, the dealer does not work out all the various taxes, registration, etc. I think they only collect sales tax. So when you get the paperwork in the mail saying you can go register your car, you show up at the DMV to register, they collect a bunch of other fees and taxes, which on our $16k car we bought, was an additional $600 or more.

We came from Utah, where if you buy a car from a dealer, they calculate all the fees, taxes, etc. with the price of the car, so all you have to do is pick up the plates when they're ready. So the additional $600 for us was a shock and out-of-pocket, rather than with the loan.

Thanks Matt. I've found a website with the actual rates and the formula, so have a rough estimate of what it should be for each car already figured up. The biggest variable of course will be what they value the car at, vs the Kelly Blue Book values that I used, as well as length of ownership (one of my cars is a 2006, but I bought it in mid-2007 as a leftover) I'll assume worst case so that there shouldn't be too much "sticker shock" at the DMV! I should know if it's even going to happen this year by the end of next week, if not, I'm putting of searching further until late this spring when I'm almost out from under my current relocation contract (the big fly in the ointment in my last interview i think, which otherwise would have been a done-deal)

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I always assumed vehicle property taxes were mostly an East Coast thing

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Looks like CO is similar to NV.

Example. My '04 Speedmaster's last registration:
Actual registration fee (the same for all vehicles): $33.00

Basic Govt' services tax: $76.00

Supplemental Govt. Services tax: $20.00

Motorcycle safety fee: $5.00


The motorcycle safety fee is only applied to motorcycle registrations.

The taxes decrease with the age of the vehicle to a minimum of $15.00 total (at around ten years old) for a total fee of $48.00 cars and pickups; $53.00 for bikes.

My '06 Tacoma and my wife's '06 Pontiac each had about $400.00 in taxes.

Politicians will tax our bowel movements when they have the technology to do so.....live free or die !

Here in Iowa, license plate sticker fee every year is calculated on what the vehicle is worth, depreciating year by year. I once stood in line behind an older gentleman who was getting plates for his and her, one year old cadilacs. Each car plate cost him $800!!! I was glad I was getting plates for my old 71 el camino at $35!