Motor Vehicle Excise Tax
The State of Rhode Island has initiated a reduction of the motor vehicle excise tax starting in the 2017/2018 fiscal year. Values and taxes will be applied using the following chart.
Original values are derived by the RI Vehicle Value Commission.
tax year phase out amount max tax rate % of full value
2017/2018 1000 $60/1000 95%
2018/2019 2000 $50/1000 90%
2019/2020 3000 $35/1000 85%
2020/2021 4000 $35/1000 80%
2021/2022 5000 $30/1000 75%
2022/2023 no tax bill no tax bill no tax bill
2023/2024 no tax bill no tax bill no tax bill
The State of Rhode Island has advanced the motor vehicle tax phase out, the result being no Motor Vehicle tax bills in 2022
The motor vehicle excise tax is a tax on the privilege of registration and is based on the number or days each vehicle or trailer was registered during the preceding calendar year. For example, tax bills issued in June 2017 cover vehicle registrations from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. The motor vehicle tax is pro-rated to the actual number of day's the vehicle was registered.
Address changes are made through the State Registry of Motor Vehicles. If you move to a different municipality within the State, you will be billed by the municipality you resided in on December 31. If you move out of State you will be billed by your former municipality until the registration(s) is(are) canceled and plates returned to the Registry.
If you dispose of a vehicle by any means (sale, transfer, theft, collision, junked, totaled,etc) you must cancel the registration to avoid further taxes. When a registration is canceled, the taxes for that registration will stop as of the date of cancellation.