Infrastructure and Maintenance Fee
Governor McMaster signed H.3505 on May 17, 2021. The SCDMV changed its operationalization of the collection of infrastructure maintenance fees at the start of business of May 18, 2021.
Act #70 of 2021 says that the infrastructure maintenance fee (IMF), which replaced vehicle sales tax under Act #40 of 2017 (“The Roads Bill”), is now due upon first titling or registering a vehicle in South Carolina. Previously, the law said that the IMF was due upon first registering the vehicle.
People who once only titled a vehicle (and did not take the steps to register it with a license plate to legally operate it on the state’s roads) will now owe IMF like their counterparts who choose to title and register a vehicle.
There has been no change in the amount of IMF collected. It remains 5% of the purchase price of the vehicle, but no more than $500.
The law now explicitly says that a dealer who titles or registers the vehicle for a customer must collect the IMF and remit it to the SCDMV. If a dealership does not title or register the vehicle for a customer, the customer must pay the IMF to the SCDMV when titling or registering the vehicle.
Additionally, the law now explicitly says that if a customer purchases a vehicle that he or she originally leased and the name on the registration has not changed, the customer only owes IMF one time – at the time of originally leasing the vehicle – versus having to pay it again when the customer purchases the vehicle.
To read the full Act, visit: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess124_2021-2022/bills/3505.htm |