CHAPTER 4. COUNTY MOTOR VEHICLE EXCISE SURTAX
IC 6-3.5-4
Chapter 4. County Motor Vehicle Excise Surtax
IC 6-3.5-4-1
Definitions
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter:
"Branch office" means a branch office of the bureau of motor
vehicles.
"County council" includes the city-county council of a county that
contains a consolidated city of the first class.
"Motor vehicle" means a vehicle which is subject to the annual
license excise tax imposed under IC 6-6-5.
"Net annual license excise tax" means the tax due under IC 6-6-5
after the application of the adjustments and credits provided by that
chapter.
"Surtax" means the annual license excise surtax imposed by a
county council under this chapter.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4.
IC 6-3.5-4-2
Imposition and rate of surtax; application of tax; wheel tax;
duration
Sec. 2. (a) The county council of any county may, subject to the
limitation imposed by subsection (c), adopt an ordinance to impose
an annual license excise surtax at the same rate or amount on each
motor vehicle listed in subsection (b) that is registered in the county.
The county council may impose the surtax either:
(1) at a rate of not less than two percent (2%) nor more than ten
percent (10%); or
(2) at a specific amount of at least seven dollars and fifty cents
($7.50) and not more than twenty-five dollars ($25).
However, the surtax on a vehicle may not be less than seven dollars
and fifty cents ($7.50). The county council shall state the surtax rate
or amount in the ordinance which imposes the tax.
(b) The license excise surtax applies to the following vehicles:
(1) Passenger vehicles.
(2) Motorcycles.
(3) Trucks with a declared gross weight that does not exceed
eleven thousand (11,000) pounds.
(c) The county council may not adopt an ordinance to impose the
surtax unless it concurrently adopts an ordinance under IC 6-3.5-5 to
impose the wheel tax.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or
IC 6-3.5-5, ordinances adopted by a county council before June 1,
1983, to impose or change the annual license excise surtax and the
annual wheel tax in the county remain in effect until the ordinances
are amended or repealed under this chapter or IC 6-3.5-5.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.85-1983,
SEC.1; P.L.255-1996, SEC.1.
IC 6-3.5-4-3
Motor vehicles subject to tax
Sec. 3. If a county council adopts an ordinance imposing the
surtax after December 31 but before July 1 of the following year, a
motor vehicle is subject to the tax if it is registered in the county
after December 31 of the year in which the ordinance is adopted. If
a county council adopts an ordinance imposing the surtax after June
30 but before the following January 1, a motor vehicle is subject to
the tax if it is registered in the county after December 31 of the year
following the year in which the ordinance is adopted. However, in
the first year the surtax is effective, the surtax does not apply to the
registration of a motor vehicle for the registration year that
commenced in the calendar year preceding the year the surtax is first
effective.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.85-1983,
SEC.2; P.L.43-1994, SEC.1.
IC 6-3.5-4-4
Rescission of surtax and wheel tax
Sec. 4. (a) After January 1 but before July 1 of any year, the
county council may, subject to the limitations imposed by subsection
(b), adopt an ordinance to rescind the surtax. If the county council
adopts such an ordinance, the surtax does not apply to a motor
vehicle registered after December 31 of the year the ordinance is
adopted.
(b) The county council may not adopt an ordinance to rescind the
surtax unless it concurrently adopts an ordinance under IC 6-3.5-5 to
rescind the wheel tax. In addition, the county council may not adopt
an ordinance to rescind the surtax if any portion of a loan obtained
by the county under IC 8-14-8 is unpaid, or if any bonds issued by
the county under IC 8-14-9 are outstanding.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.88, SEC.1.
IC 6-3.5-4-5
Increase or decrease of surtax; rate
Sec. 5. (a) The county council may, subject to the limitations
imposed by subsection (b), adopt an ordinance to increase or
decrease the surtax rate or amount. The new surtax rate or amount
must be within the range of rates or amounts prescribed by section 2
of this chapter. A new rate or amount that is established by an
ordinance that is adopted after December 31 but before July 1 of the
following year applies to motor vehicles registered after December
31 of the year in which the ordinance to change the rate or amount is
adopted. A new rate or amount that is established by an ordinance
that is adopted after June 30 but before January 1 of the following
year applies to motor vehicles registered after December 31 of the
year following the year in which the ordinance is adopted.
(b) The county council may not adopt an ordinance to decrease
the surtax rate or amount under this section if any portion of a loan
obtained by the county under IC 8-14-8 is unpaid, or if any bonds
issued by the county under IC 8-14-9 are outstanding.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by Acts 1981,
P.L.88, SEC.2; P.L.85-1983, SEC.3; P.L.255-1996, SEC.2.
IC 6-3.5-4-6
Adopted ordinance; transmittal of copy to commissioner of bureau
of motor vehicles
Sec. 6. If a county council adopts an ordinance to impose, rescind,
or change the rate or amount of the surtax, the county council shall
send a copy of the ordinance to the commissioner of the bureau of
motor vehicles.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.255-1996,
SEC.3.
IC 6-3.5-4-7
Registration of motor vehicle; surtax; amount; collection
Sec. 7. A person may not register a motor vehicle in a county that
has adopted the surtax unless the person pays the surtax due, if any,
to the bureau of motor vehicles. The amount of the surtax due equals
the greater of seven dollars and fifty cents ($7.50), the amount
established under section 2 of this chapter, or the product of:
(1) the amount determined under section 7.3 of this chapter for
the vehicle, as adjusted under section 7.4 of this chapter;
multiplied by
(2) the surtax rate in effect at the time of registration.
The bureau of motor vehicles shall collect the surtax due, if any, at
the time a motor vehicle is registered. However, the bureau may
utilize its branch offices to collect the surtax.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.85-1983,
SEC.4; P.L.33-1990, SEC.11; P.L.255-1996, SEC.4; P.L.11-1999,
SEC.1.
IC 6-3.5-4-7.3
Surtax; amount; schedule
Sec. 7.3. (a) The amount of surtax imposed by rate under this
chapter shall be based upon the classification and age of a vehicle as
determined by the bureau of motor vehicles under IC 6-6-5, in
accordance with the schedule set out in subsection (b).
(b) The schedule to be used in determining the amount to be used
in section 7 of this chapter is as follows:
Year of
Manufacture
I
II
III
IV
V
1st $12
$36
$60
$96
$132
2nd 12
30
51
84
114
3rd 12
27
42
72
96
4th 12
24
33
60
78
5th 12
18
24
48
66
6th 12
12
18
36
54
7th 12
12
12
24
42
8th 12
12
12
18
24
9th 12
12
12
12
12
10th 12
12
12
12
12
and thereafter
Year of
Manufacture
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
1st $168
$206
$246
$300
$344
2nd 147
184
220
268
298
3rd 126
154
186
230
260
4th 104
127
156
196
224
5th 82
101
128
164
191
6th 63
74
98
130
157
7th 49
60
75
104
129
8th 30
40
54
80
106
9th 18
21
34
40
50
10th 12
12
12
12
12
and thereafter
Year of
Manufacture
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
1st $413
$500
$600
$700
$812
2nd 358
434
520
607
705
3rd 312
378
450
529
614
4th 269
326
367
456
513
5th 229
278
300
389
420
6th 188
228
242
319
338
7th 155
188
192
263
268
8th 127
129
129
181
181
9th 62
62
62
87
87
10th 21
26
30
36
42
and thereafter
Year of
Manufacture
XVI
XVII
1st $938
$1,063
2nd 814
922
3rd 709
795
4th 611
693
5th 521
591
6th 428
483
7th 353
383
8th 258
258
9th 125
125
10th 49
55
and thereafter
As added by P.L.33-1990, SEC.12. Amended by P.L.255-1996,
SEC.5.
IC 6-3.5-4-7.4
Surtax adjustment
Sec. 7.4. (a) If a vehicle has been acquired or brought into
Indiana, or for any other reason becomes subject to registration after
the regular annual registration date in the year on or before which the
owner of the vehicle is required under the motor vehicle registration
laws of Indiana to register vehicles, the amount of surtax computed
under section 7.3 of this chapter shall be reduced in the same manner
as the excise tax is reduced under IC 6-6-5-7.2.
(b) The owner of a vehicle who sells the vehicle in a year in
which the owner has paid the surtax imposed by this chapter is
entitled to receive a credit that is calculated in the same manner and
subject to the same requirements as the credit for the excise tax
under IC 6-6-5-7.2.
(c) If the name of the owner of a vehicle is legally changed and
the change has caused a change in the owner's annual registration
date, the surtax liability of the owner shall be adjusted in the same
manner as excise taxes are adjusted under IC 6-6-5-7.2.
As added by P.L.11-1999, SEC.2. Amended by P.L.3-2008, SEC.61.
IC 6-3.5-4-8
Collections by branch office; disposition
Sec. 8. The surtax collected by a branch office shall be deposited
daily by the branch manager in a separate account in a depository
designated by the state board of finance.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4.
IC 6-3.5-4-9
Collections by branch office; remittance to county treasurer;
report
Sec. 9. On or before the tenth day of the month following the
month in which surtax is collected at a branch office, the branch
office manager shall remit the surtax to the county treasurer of the
county that imposed the surtax. Concurrently with the remittance, the
branch office manager shall file a surtax collections report with the
county treasurer and the county auditor. The branch manager shall
prepare the report on forms prescribed by the state board of accounts.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4.
IC 6-3.5-4-10
Collections by branch office; report to bureau of motor vehicles
Sec. 10. Each branch office manager shall report surtax
collections, if any, to the bureau of motor vehicles at the same time
that registration fees are reported.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4.
IC 6-3.5-4-11
Collections by bureau of motor vehicles; remittance to county
treasurer; report to county auditor
Sec. 11. If surtax is collected directly by the bureau of motor
vehicles, instead of at a branch office, the commissioner of the
bureau shall:
(1) remit the surtax to, and file a surtax collections report with,
the appropriate county treasurer; and
(2) file a surtax collections report with the county auditor;
in the same manner and at the same time that a branch office
manager is required to remit and report under section 9 of this
chapter.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4.
IC 6-3.5-4-12
Appropriation of money derived from surtax
Sec. 12. In the case of a county that contains a consolidated city,
the city-county council may appropriate money derived from the
surtax to the department of transportation established by IC 36-3-5-4
for use by the department under law. The city-county council may
not appropriate money derived from the surtax for any other purpose.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by Acts 1982,
P.L.33, SEC.7.
IC 6-3.5-4-13
Surtax fund; allocation; distribution; use
Sec. 13. (a) In the case of a county that does not contain a
consolidated city of the first class, the county treasurer shall deposit
the surtax revenues in a fund to be known as the "_________ County
Surtax Fund".
(b) Before the twentieth day of each month, the county auditor
shall allocate the money deposited in the county surtax fund during
that month among the county and the cities and the towns in the
county. The county auditor shall allocate the money to counties,
cities, and towns under IC 8-14-2-4(c)(1) through IC 8-14-2-4(c)(3).
(c) Before the twenty-fifth day of each month, the county
treasurer shall distribute to the county and the cities and towns in the
county the money deposited in the county surtax fund during that
month. The county treasurer shall base the distribution on allocations
made by the county auditor for that month under subsection (b).
(d) A county, city, or town may only use the surtax revenues it
receives under this section to construct, reconstruct, repair, or
maintain streets and roads under its jurisdiction.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.85-1983,
SEC.5.
IC 6-3.5-4-14
Estimate of revenues; distribution
Sec. 14. (a) On or before August 1 of each year, the auditor of a
county that contains a consolidated city of the first class and that has
adopted the surtax shall provide the county council with an estimate
of the surtax revenues to be received by the county during the next
calendar year. The county shall show the estimated surtax revenues
in its budget estimate for the calendar year.
(b) On or before August 1 of each year, the auditor of a county
that does not contain a consolidated city of the first class and that has
adopted the surtax shall provide the county and each city and town
in the county with an estimate of the surtax revenues to be distributed
to that unit during the next calendar year. The county, city, or town
shall show the estimated surtax revenues in its budget estimate for
the calendar year.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4.
IC 6-3.5-4-15
Service charge for surtax
Sec. 15. Each license branch shall collect the service charge
prescribed under IC 9-29 for the surtax collected with respect to each
vehicle registered by that branch.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.42-1986,
SEC.3; P.L.2-1991, SEC.37.
IC 6-3.5-4-16
Violations; offense
Sec. 16. (a) The owner of a motor vehicle who knowingly
registers the vehicle without paying surtax imposed under this
chapter with respect to that registration commits a Class B
misdemeanor.
(b) An employee of the bureau of motor vehicles, an employee of
a branch office, or the manager of a branch office who recklessly
issues a registration on any motor vehicle without collecting surtax
imposed under this chapter with respect to that registration commits
a Class B misdemeanor.
As added by Acts 1980, P.L.10, SEC.4.