New Rules for Motor Vehicle Assessments

New rules for Motor Vehicle assessments

By Tax Collector Thomas P Hurley

I have been asked by many residents of Orange, why their Motor Vehicle tax bills may have increased from last year. Since Orange’s mill rate dropped this year, the reason is likely the new state-mandated assessment rules. Basically, the condition and mileage of your vehicles are no longer used in the assessment process as they were under the old rules using the NADA assessment method. According to the Office of Legislative Research (OLR) here is what you should know. The new assessment method uses the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) of your vehicle as the starting point. So how much you paid for the vehicle no longer has relevance. Take your MSRP, reduce it by the depreciation schedule % and multiply it by .7 (70%) to determine the starting value for that year’s assessment. Using a table that goes out to 20 years the assessment % MSRP now continually goes down until year 15. This is called the Motor vehicle depreciation schedule. The depreciation schedule takes into account how old your vehicle is (Its age). Most Towns use 85% as the first starting point (year one) although Town’s do have the option of starting the table at 90% if approved by their legislative body. Cars will be valued at 15% of their MSRP for years 15-19 so your taxes will likely hit a bit of a flat spot here until year 20 which has a minimum $500 assessment. Many luxury cars will still assess higher than that. So to determine your tax, take that assessment value and multiply it by the Town’s current mill rate/1000 or 32.46 mills (.03246) whichever is lower. Call the Orange Assessor if you have a question on how your vehicle was calculated. Qualified antique plated vehicles have an assessment of $500. These vehicles must meet the following conditions, 1. Be at least 20 years old, 2. Be preserved because of historical interest, and 3. Be unaltered from the original manufacturer’s specifications. Inoperable or unregistered vehicles are now valued the same as other registered and operable motor vehicles. Appeals can now only be made on the basis of an MSRP valuation. Vehicle MSRP appeals must be made in the next appeal cycle after the bill’s due date (September or March for supplementals) to the Board of Assessment Appeals. [Reference OLR 2023-R-0179 Jul 10, 2025]