If I take the standard deduction, can I still deduct my motor vehicle registration fees?

The answer depends on what state you live in and what portion of your registration fees are actually considered a personal property tax. Only the portion of your registration fee that's based on the value of your vehicle (the "ad valorem" tax) can potentially be deducted - and only if you itemize deductions on Schedule A. If you take the standard deduction, you unfortunately can't also claim vehicle registration fees. For many people, the standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers, $27,700 for married filing jointly in 2023) is still more beneficial than itemizing, even with the vehicle registration fees included. You'd need enough total itemized deductions (mortgage interest, charitable donations, state/local taxes including property taxes, etc.) to exceed your standard deduction amount for itemizing to make sense.

After dealing with a similar situation last year, I found an amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out exactly which parts of my vehicle registration were deductible. I was confused because my state splits the fees into like 6 different categories and taxr.ai analyzed my registration document and told me exactly what I could deduct! It also ran the calculations to tell me whether I should itemize or take the standard deduction based on my specific situation. Saved me hours of research and probably prevented me from making a mistake that could have triggered an audit. They specialize in analyzing tax documents to identify deductions most people miss.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai from the recommendation above. I was super surprised - it actually identified that $1,890 of my $2,275 vehicle registration was potentially deductible as personal property tax! They explained this was the vehicle value portion. The service also did a comparison and showed that in my case, I should still take the standard deduction because my total itemized deductions were about $3k short. But now I know for next year I should keep better track of charitable donations and medical expenses because I might be able to cross that threshold. Really helpful to see the actual breakdown with real numbers instead of just guessing.

If you're trying to call the IRS to ask about this deduction question, good luck... I spent 3 HOURS on hold last week trying to get clarification about deducting my vehicle registration fees. After my third attempt, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes! They somehow hold your place in line so you don't have to stay on hold. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed what others here are saying - you can only deduct the value-based portion of registration fees if you itemize. But she also pointed me to the exact publication that explains this (Pub 17) and told me which states actually have these value-based vehicle taxes, which was super helpful.

Ok I'm eating my words here. After dismissing the Claimyr thing as bogus, I decided to try it because I was desperate to talk to someone about my tax situation with vehicle deductions and other questions. It actually worked exactly as described. Got a text saying I was almost up in the queue, then my phone rang and boom - I was talking to an IRS rep named Kevin. He confirmed that in my state (Virginia), a significant portion of the vehicle property tax is deductible IF you itemize. Turns out even though I was doubtful about itemizing, after adding in some major medical expenses from last year along with my property taxes, I'm actually better off itemizing by about $1,300. Saved me from leaving money on the table and the whole process took maybe 20 minutes of my actual time instead of the 2+ hours on hold I was expecting.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet is that if you're self-employed and use your vehicle for business, you might be able to deduct a portion of your registration fees as a business expense on Schedule C, even if you take the standard deduction. The business portion would be based on your business-use percentage of the vehicle. Something to consider if you do any gig work, consulting, delivery driving, etc. where you use your personal vehicle!

My wifes an accountant and she said that you can claim the portion of ur registration that is based on the cars VALUE as part of the state and local tax deduction... but only if you itemize. if your taking standard deduction then no you cant deduct it at all sorry man. Standard deductoin for 2023 is: -$13,850 (single) -$27,700 (married) -$20,800 (head of household) If all your itemized deductions dont add up to MORE than your standard deduction amount, then just take the standard and forget about the vehicle registratin.

Fun fact - only about 30 states actually have vehicle fees based on value that qualify as deductible taxes. If you're in one of the other 20 states, your registration fees are just fees, not taxes, and aren't deductible at all even if you itemize. I learned this the hard way!