File by Exception as of January 1, 2014

You are no longer required to file a personal property return with the City of Petersburg by March 31^st of each year. The city has adopted the “File by Exception” procedure. In other words if you have not changed vehicles, purchased a new vehicle, boat, trailer or motorcycle or disposed of a vehicle or had a change of address, you are no longer required to file a return every year. You are required to file a personal property form with this office within 30 days if you:

(a)    Recently purchased a vehicle or recently moved into the city

(b)    Disposed of a vehicle (junked, traded, donated or sold)

(c)    Moved vehicle out of the city

(d)    Made an address change 

If this office is not notified within 30 days, a 10% late filing penalty will be assessed and added to your personal property taxes.  The filing form is available on this website under “Forms”.Excess Mileage Adjustment. 

To claim an excessive mileage adjustment you must provide the most recent inspection slip for the vehicle for which you request the adjustment.  

If you claimed a mileage adjustment in 2012, it is not necessary to send in an inspection slip each year, we keep the information on file. 

Some Vehicle Values Increasing Due to Economic Impact of Pandemic  

Based on the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Jan. 1 values, the City estimates that up to 15% of registered vehicles will experience appreciation rather than depreciation this year. Vehicle owners naturally expect their vehicle values to go down each year, but this is not always guaranteed. Values did go down for 81% of registered vehicles, and remained the same for 4%, but approximately15% will see an increase.

This is not a mistake. It reflects vehicle price trends in the market over the past year and is a simple matter of supply and demand. For example, during the pandemic many manufacturing plants were shut down for long periods of time; and yet vehicle demand remained high. With fewer vehicles available for purchase, demand drove market prices up.

There were additional market pressures, such as slower vehicle computer chip manufacturing and national fleet companies (rental cars, etc.) retaining their inventories for longer, which also contributed to decreased supply. Again, if supply goes down and demand remains high, market value usually increases.

This is not unique to the City of Petersburg; it is occurring throughout the U.S., including in neighboring jurisdictions.

Personal Property Car Tax Relief

The Personal Property Tax Relief Act of 1998 provides tax relief for any passenger car, motorcycle, pickup, or panel truck having a registered gross weight of less than 7501 pounds. The vehicle must be owned or leased by an individual and not used for business purposes to qualify for personal property tax relief.

Vehicles Used for Business Purposes

A vehicle is considered to be used for business purposes if:

• More than 50% of the mileage for the year is used as a business expense for Federal Income Tax purposes or reimbursed by an employer
• More than 50% of the depreciation associated with the vehicle is deducted as a business expense for Federal Income Tax
• The cost of the vehicle is expended pursuant to Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Service Code
• The vehicle is leased by an individual and the leasing company pays the tax without reimbursement from the employer