Electric, hybrid vehicle owners in Kentucky will pay more starting in 2024. Here’s why

If you own a hybrid or electric vehicle registered in Kentucky, you’ll have to start paying a new fee heading into 2024, and those using chargers will also incur a new tax.

Starting Monday, Jan. 1, individuals will have to pay an annual state “ownership fee” of $120 for electric vehicles, $60 for hybrids and $60 for electric motorcycles. The new fee structure was passed with House Bill 360 in the 2023 Kentucky General Assembly session.

“At the time of initial registration, and each year upon annual vehicle registration renewal, the county clerk shall collect, as required under KRS 186.050, from the registrants of electric motorcycles, electric vehicles, and hybrid vehicles the electric vehicle ownership fees,” the H.B. 360 reads.

The law outlines that electric vehicles are those with plug-in charging capabilities or a combination of electric plug-in and traditional gas-powered engines, including motorcycles and motor scooters. Hybrid vehicles do not necessarily have to have a plug-in component, according to the language of the law, but include vehicles “powered by a combination of an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.”

The new fees will go to the commonwealth’s Road Fund, which pays for construction, engineering, planning, maintenance and more on new and current Kentucky road projects.

“The ownership fee helps ensure their contributions to the Road Fund match those of the majority of Kentucky drivers who drive a gas or diesel-powered vehicle and pay associated taxes,” state highway engineer James Ballinger explained in a Transportation Cabinet press release.

Kentucky’s electric vehicle charging tax

Additionally, electric vehicle owners will begin to pay a charging tax of 3 cents per kilowatt hour of electricity when using charging stations starting Jan. 1. There is an additional surtax for charging stations located on state property.

If the charging station offers free power to electric vehicle drivers, the station owner will be required to pay the fee under the 2022 law that imposed the tax.

The revenue from this tax also goes to the state’s Road Fund.

As of 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy reported 7,560 electric vehicles registered in Kentucky. In the December 2023 release from the Transportation Cabinet detailing the new costs, the state reported that figure has jumped to more than 9,000 registered electric vehicles in the state, including motorcycles, and more than 60,000 hybrids subject to the fee.

How do I pay the new electric, hybrid fee and tax Kentucky?

The new ownership fee can either be payed online at EVHV.ky.gov or annually at your county clerk’s office when you renew your registration.

The fee will be paid at your vehicle’s first registration date and every annual renewal, according to the Transportation Cabinet. The online portal to pay will begin in early January.

The tax for charging should be included in the price you pay at a charging station, similar to taxes on gas.

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