New bill would refund drivers for unused car registrations

SALT LAKE CITY — A bill before the Legislature would allow refunds for people who sold their car or haven’t used all 12 months of their car registration.

Under HB277, car owners could go online, cancel their registration and get a refund “for any whole month remaining in the 12-month registration period after the date of the cancellation,” according to current bill language.

Bill sponsor Rep. Katy Hall, R-Salt Lake City, told Dave & Dujanovic that current Utah law overtaxes people.

“What’s been happening is that we’ve been taking those tax fees twice because if you register your car and then you sell it, then someone else registers it… we’ve taken double fees for some of those months,” she said.

 

Possible impacts of allowing car registration refunds

Hall said the border states around Utah have car registration refund or transfer policies to avoid charging double the fees.

Utah already has a problem with residents illegally registering their vehicles in other states to avoid sales tax, and Hall said her bill would help curb the problem. 

“This will help that problem as well because, you know, there’s no excuse. You’re going to get a refund if you end up not using your full year.”

Hall admits the bill could slightly impact the tax money that maintains Utah’s roads, if people choose not to seek a refund with just a few months left on their registration.

But, she said the impact would be minimal.

“You’re still getting those taxes and fees for roads. You’re just not double-taxing the people … In a state where we pride ourselves on fairness and not overtaxing people, we need to change policy when we can.”

The bill passed the Utah House and now goes to a Senate committee.

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