Texas Tags

DMV proposal could mean increase in renewal fees

Those who live on the Texas side of the state line already know they pay quite a bit more in fees to register their vehicles each year compared with their neighbors to the east.

In Arkansas, the cost to renew your car tags in under $25. But in Texas it’s more than double that. Also, Arkansas residents do not have to have their vehicles inspected. Texans do and that adds to the total cost of legal driving. And that cost may go up a bit more. Yes, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is considering a proposal to up annual registration fees by as much as $4 for those who get their tags in person or by mail. Most of that money goes to the Department of Transportation to fund road work. The rest goes to the DMV and the counties where vehicles are registered. But that part isn’t much and both the DMV and the counties have been grumbling for quite some time that the work involved has exceeded the revenue.

The DMV is looking at a $70 million shortfall for the two years beginning in 2018. And it’s important to remember the Legislature requires the department to be self-funding.

So the already-high fees will probably increase.

One bright spot, though: Those who register their vehicles online will get a break. Right now it cost most residents a few dollars more to register online than to do so in person. But the DMV has come around and now recognizes that online registration saves time and money. So the proposal includes a decrease in the fee for renewing car tags online.

About 18 percent of Texans renew their tags online. No doubt thousands more will be flocking to their laptops if the new fee schedule takes effect.

The savings? Exactly 25 cents. Don’t spend it all in one place.

While the proposal would save the DMV’s budgetary bacon, some counties would feel the pinch. They’ll get a bit more for in-person registrations, a bit less for online. Some big counties with large numbers of Internet adapters would take a big hit. Dallas County, for example, would see about $700,000 fly away and Denton County would kiss $300,000 goodbye. There is talk about raising property taxes—which most homeowners already consider way too high—to make up the money.

That has some lawmakers worried. So this new fee schedule isn’t set in stone.

But rest assured, even if the DMV is forced to scuttle this plan, the money to cover the shortfall will have to come from somewhere.

Or more specifically, someone. That would be you, Texas motorists.