Vehicle inspection and registration renewal, now performed simultaneously, will soon add another element to the mix.

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is working with county tax offices across the state to educate vehicle owners to a new legislative program that will require the payment of vehicle property taxes at the same time vehicle registration renewals are due.

The new “Tag & Tax Together” program is the result of a law passed in 2005 by the General Assembly that makes vehicle property taxes due in full before a vehicle’s registration can be renewed. To help vehicle owners with the new requirement, NCDMV is posting a special web page offering information about the program, which is set to begin with new combined tag and tax notices mailed in mid-2013.

“We hope it will help explain the new program and provide citizens with answers to any questions they may have about how it works,” said DMV Commissioner Eric Boyette. “The division is working with all 100 county revenue offices to make this new web page available.”

The web page is located at www.ncdot.gov/dmv and can be accessed with one click on “Tag & Tax Together.” The page features frequently asked questions and contact information for each county tax office. New features will be added in coming months, such as a description of “How to Read Your Combined Vehicle Tag and Tax Notice” and a link to a county vehicle tax calculator, where specific county taxes can be computed for individual vehicles.

Hertford County Tax Collector Gay Sumner said her office has been working with the state to implement the change. “As of right now we are still collecting vehicle property taxes as they come due each month as we are the entity handling that billing and collection,” Sumner said. “DMV is still handling the vehicle registration. By the middle of this year, DMV will begin sending out registration renewal notices that invoice the vehicle tax due along with the registration fee. The fees are listed separately, but will be due at the same time. The total amount due on the combined statement will be payable to NCDMV, meaning that vehicles registered in Hertford County will start paying the property tax on those vehicles to DMV and not the county.”

Citizens who have questions about their vehicle taxes should continue to contact the tax office in their county of residence.

The fees for renewing vehicle registrations will remain the same.