Will Electric Vehicle Fees Be The New Norm? They Are In This State

Electric car owners may be in for a shock when it comes to their annual car registration fees. Washington legislators have passed a new annual $75 car-tab fee to help finance the state’s electric car-charging stations.

The new Hybrid Vehicle Transportation Electrification fee would appear on the state’s Department of Licensing bills and be used to help fund the numerous electric-car incentives that were used to help push electric vehicle sales to reduce emissions, The Seattle Times reported.

The new fee applies to both all-electric and hybrid vehicles and will reportedly begin rolling out on vehicle registration bills starting in October. This could have some electric and hybrid vehicle owners paying as much as $225 when their state roads fee is added to the new electrification fee, the news outlet reported.

Written as part of Washington’s House Bill 2042, the new car-tab fee is reportedly designed to develop e-fueling stations every 40 to 70 miles on major highways while also eliminating sales tax on new plug-in cars valued at $45,000 or less or used plug-in cars worth $30,000 or less.

“I wrote this legislation to help Washington state transition to a zero-emissions transportation sector,” House Transportation Committee Chairman Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, said in a newsletter (via The Seattle Times).

Washington is home to 42,542 plug-in electric vehicles at the start of 2019, according to the Washington State Department of Licensing. The state reportedly has a goal of 50,000 plug-in electric car owners by 2020.