[LouieNet]

ARG! I can't locate the money paperwork from when I bought my 2004 Prius in August. I bought it in Stockton, but I'm guessing that I had to pay the taxes and registration costs of a Santa Clara county resident since that's where I live.

Would someone please look at their receipts and tell me what it was that you paid? I'm assuming that all residents in the same county pays the same amount to register the same model vehicle that's in operation. This is for tax purposes, and I believe that I will also need to know the VLF amount because that's the deduction portion.

To make matters complicated, someone early in 2004 may have paid something different from when I paid for my car in August due to the Arnold effect.

Please help if you can. Thanks,
Louie

 

[Roger V]

VLF

I think the VLF portion of license fees is the same regardless of the county in which the vehicle is bought or registered. It is based on the selling price, and stays the same for the first two years, if memory serves. The registration fee for cars is $40, and the individual counties tack on their fees. (Ventura's is an extra $7). Neither of those is deductible, as you know. I took the VLF in my case, $129, and divided it by the price of the vehicle, $22,000. It came out to .0058636. If you don't get any better ideas or help, multiply the purchase price by that figure, and you will be pretty close. The Arnold Factor takes care of itself, as they show how it was deducted from the original VLF, listed as VLF Offset. You could probably look at any current registration for your area to see what the other fees are for your county. Good luck.