Orange Co Vehicle Tax Concern

[Rachel Kaufmann]

Good Afternoon,

I am writing with a concern after recently receiving my orange co vehicle tax bill. I was surprised to see that the appraised value of my car increased by 10% from last year's appraisal. This is despite the car aging by a year, and adding 20k more miles. I was informed of the appeal process, submitted the necessary documents, and received a rejection notice today. I was told that the county values vehicles by the amount a dealership would sell it for, rather than the fair value I would receive for the car. This seems like the incorrect method for valuing a car. I had my vehicle appraised by a local dealership, as instructed, and it was considerably less than what the co is valuing my car at. I feel I am being unfairly overcharged for my property tax because the co is using incorrect appraisal methods. Have others voiced their concerns over their appraisals? I would be more understanding if my value didn't decrease by much, but I'm shocked that it increased by 10% over last year.

Warmly,

Rachel Kaufmann

[Jamezetta Bedford]

Ms. Kaufman,

I apologize for my tardiness in replying. Apparently used car prices have escalated in NC similar to housing.  Two others have asked about this to the full board, if memory serves, though one is new to the state and trying to understand how NC does this vs Florida.  It is counterintuitive that a used item increased in value for sure. Here's a description of the process in case you do not have it:

The values for Registered Motor Vehicles are provided by NCDOR through a contractor known as TEC Data. They provide the values for vehicles to counties throughout the state.

 

Each year, the value of a vehicle changes based on the retail sales at a dealership (not between two private individuals), much in the same manner as real property must be fair market value and arm’s length transactions. TEC Data gathers the sales information and provides the values for each vehicle by year, make, model, and level of trim. Each month when we receive the file of vehicles to be billed and the corresponding values for these specific vehicles are included. Just as with real property, the values are based on January 1^st valuation, though with registered motor vehicles the value is set annually rather than on a 4-year cycle. It is important to note that the values are based on retail, fair market values and not trade-in values or sales between private individuals.

 

Adjustments to value are made by our office most generally based on appeals for high mileage, sales price or condition.

• The industry standard for calculating high mileage is mileage over 15,000 miles per year, which is used to determine value adjustments by staff in our office. Most if not all counties follow this same industry standard.
• Sale price adjustments are based on the sales price shown on the bill of sale from a dealer, and we do not consider incentives or rebates. We also accept a vehicle appraisal from a dealership for the retail value that the dealership would sell it for, and not a quote of what the dealership would pay for the vehicle as a trade-in.
• Condition is generally determined if there has been body damage, as in the vehicle has been wrecked and the damage not repaired. Generally we request a quote from a body shop for the cost of the repairs, and use that to adjust the value.

 

We do not use a depreciation or appreciation percentage according to the age of the vehicle because we are provided values annually by the state. In recent years the values for used vehicles have increased quite a bit. This is due to factors outside our office that affect the sales of used vehicles. During COVID there were shortages of integral parts needed to build new vehicles, and that caused used vehicles to be in higher demand, thus buyers paid more for them. More currently political issues have caused issues that have led to used vehicles being more in demand, and thus the values are still higher than in the past.

 

These increases are akin to increases in the last few years in real property sales of that have led to the high real property values for the 2025 Revaluation. Our office is required by law to use fair market value in both cases.

 

We do have a physical copy of the Schedule of Values for registered motor vehicle billing in the Tax Office (SOV) which is available for public review.  The Tax Office is located in the Gateway Center Building, 228 S Churton Street, Suite 200, in Hillsborough.  Unfortunately, we do not have an electronic version of the SOV, and after checking with the Personal Property Director of the Local Government Division at NC Department of Revenue, they do not have an electronic version to provide us.

I hope this information answers your questions, though I doubt it will make you feel any better. I am reminded that when my 2006 Toyota renewal comes in Nov, I need to budget about a 10% increase. 

Sincerely,

Jamezetta Bedford, Chair

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From: Rachel Kaufmann <rachele...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2025 4:22 PM
To: ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>
Subject: Orange Co Vehicle Tax Concern

 

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