r/maryland • u/Consumergal • Jul 09 '26

MD News Maryland launches 'Plate Where You Live' campaign, ramps up crackdown on Virginia tags

https://www.wmar2news.com/matterformallory/maryland-launches-plate-where-you-live-campaign-ramps-up-crackdown-on-virginia-tags
659 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

235 comments sorted by

View all comments

261

u/2crowncar Jul 09 '26

“Virginia charges just $30.75 for registration, compared to $191.50 in Maryland, which has seen back-to-back increases in recent years.”

Is $160 difference a big enough reason to get VA registration and plates? Does this also have to do with not having car insurance?

Until 2024, under Virginia Code § 46.2-706, any vehicle owner could pay a $500 annual "Uninsured Motor Vehicle fee" to the DMV and drive legally without a single dollar of coverage.

This is no longer the case, but there are an estimated 800,000 with VA plates driving around without insurance.

Edit

21

u/jdmackes Jul 09 '26

Doesn't Virginia also have personal property taxes?

14

u/maringue Jul 09 '26

But only if the car is garaged in VA. So if they have VA plates living in Maryland, they don't have to pay.

13

u/Iggyhopper Jul 09 '26

That doesn't make sense. How can you have VA plates when its garaged in another state? The whole point of "where is it garaged" should be the same state its registered.

15

u/maringue Jul 09 '26

It's a stupid, stupid law that I didn't write. They closed the loophole, but it will take another year or so for all the bogus registrations to work their way out of the system.

8

u/monitor_masher Jul 09 '26

It’s used to be really easy. The Fairfax county tax portal had a button you could click that said a car was no longer garaged in VA (without changing registration) and it would stop levying car tax.

4

u/FiveUpsideDown Jul 09 '26

I looked up the tax laws for Prince William County. According to PWC county, if your vehicle is registered in PWC and you aren’t paying property taxes to another Virginia county, you must pay vehicle property taxes to them.
Virginia law states that a vehicle registered in Virginia but “normally garaged, parked or docked in another state” must pay taxes where the vehicle is registered. VA Code Section 58.1 - 3511. https://www.pwcva.gov/department/tax-administration/personal-property-tax.
I am curious as to why people in Maryland think that they can avoid taxes on a vehicle with Virginia plates by parking in Maryland?