Question: How do I determine the car registration fee from taxes on the total cost of registration?
Answer: State and county weight taxes are specified on a Hawaii vehicle’s certificate of motor vehicle registration. If the vehicle is registered in Honolulu County, you can calculate estimated renewal fees at the Honolulu Motor Vehicle Fee Inquiry site, mvinquiry.hnl.info. You’ll need to input the last four digits of the vehicle identification number, the license plate number and other information.
To do or check the math yourself, you’ll need to know your vehicle’s weight and the state and county vehicle weight tax rates that apply to a vehicle of that weight and class (passenger or commercial). State vehicle weight tax rates are listed in Hawaii Revised Statutes 249-33, 808ne.ws/3X4A9u4. Honolulu County vehicle weight tax rates are listed in Revised Ordinances of Honolulu 15A-3.1, 808ne.ws/41kcmsQ.
The state vehicle weight tax for passenger and commercial vehicles is as follows, according to the HRS: 1.75 cents per pound for vehicles weighing up to 4,000 pounds, 2 cents per pound for vehicles over 4,000 pounds up to 7,000 pounds, and 2.25 cents per pound for vehicles over 7,000 pounds up to 10,000 pounds. There’s a $300 flat rate for vehicles over 10,000 pounds.
County vehicle weight taxes are additional and vary by county. On Oahu the rate is 7 cents per pound for passenger vehicles and for trucks or noncommercial vehicles that weigh less than 6,500 pounds, and 7.5 cents per pound for “trucks, commercial vehicles and other vehicles designed for carrying property or for purposes other than the carrying of passengers,” the ROH says.
Although vehicle weight taxes comprise the biggest chunk of the registration renewal bill, other fees also apply. Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services provided an example of the cost to renew the registration of a gas-powered vehicle weighing 3,320 pounds, about the size of a midsize sedan, and where the money goes. Registration renewal for such a vehicle would cost $364 in Honolulu, of which the municipal government would receive $232.40 for the county weight tax, $20 for the county registration fee and 50 cents for the annual emblem. The state would receive $58.10 for its weight tax, $46 for the state registration fee and $7 for the highway beautification fee, CSD said.
If the vehicle needed a new license plate, that would cost another $5, payable to the county.
“In addition to the usual registration fees and taxes, electric vehicles are also assessed an additional $50 annual surcharge per Hawaii Revised Statutes §249-31,” the department’s website says.
Find more information about motor vehicle registration on Oahu on the CSD website, honolulu.gov/csd. Check the other county websites — hawaiicounty.gov, mauicounty.gov and kauai.gov — for information about their vehicle weight taxes.
Q: With everything that is going on, I am worried about my federal tax refund. Is it too early to check on my return? I filed about two weeks ago.
A: On its website the Internal Revenue Service says that its online tool, irs.gov/wheres-my-refund, will show the status of a current- year federal income tax return 24 hours after it was e-filed or four weeks after it was submitted on paper. So whether it’s too early in your case depends on how you filed your return. To use the online tool, you’ll need to input your Social Security number or individual taxpayer ID number, your filing status and the refund amount. The information on the website was posted before President Donald Trump began mass layoffs at federal agencies.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
