Published: June 30, 2009 11:04 am      

Vehicle tag penalty fees increase

By Justin Lofton

Staff writer



For the 2009-2010 fiscal year beginning this Wednesday, late penalties for a vehicle tag renewal will increase by 400 percent.

“This is a big deal,” Barbara Box of the Roff Tag Agency said. “It was 25 cents a day and it could accrue to $25, the maximum registration.”

Wednesday the Oklahoma Tax Commission is raising the penalty fee per day and the maximum allowed penalty for Oklahomans who fail to renew their tag on time.

“Starting Wednesday, it’s going to be one dollar a day, up to $100 maximum,” Box said. “It’s going to be a hardship on people.”

The transfer fee will also be rising, Box said.

“The maximum that it (the transfer fee) could go up to was $15 but now it can go up to $100, as well,” Box said. Box said the one month grace period will still be in effect.

“It’s a substantial increase,” she said. “People need to be aware of it because it can get very costly. The penalties can get up as high as $300. That’s not the title fee, that’s just the penalty part.”

For Oklahomans living paycheck to paycheck, these penalties may add to their financial burden.

“Some people do that (pay late) because they’re short of money, so this is really going to be hard on them,” Box said. “Some people, it slips up on them. It’s happened to me before.”