[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

In Illinois, You'll Pay Hundreds More for a Car So They Can Fix the Roads

Big money for Illinois transportation infrastructure is about to hit car buyers in the state in a lot of small ways. A package of bills known collectively as Rebuild Illinois has been going into effect throughout 2019, with more increased fees coming into play on January 1, 2020.

As part of Rebuild Illinois, the state doubled its gas tax from $0.19 per gallon to $0.38 per gallon earlier this year. Also in July, the cost for a new title went up $55 (to $150). At the start of 2020, the vehicle registration fee will go up $50 (to $151), and the state dealer fee will be increased by $125 (to $300). The Illinois Automobile Dealers Association supported that last fee increase in order to "help to reimburse dealers for the ever-expanding list of state and federal mandates related to the sale of motor vehicles," the group's website says.

The state is also changing the way it values tax credits for trade-ins. Until now, the state had given a credit for the full value of the vehicle that was traded in. On January 1, only the first $10,000 of a traded-in vehicle will be counted for this credit. Wrap all of these increases together, and Rebuild Illinois will end up adding a few hundred dollars to the price of every car purchased in the state.

A common refrain in Michigan as well.

K