Refunds of unconstitutional technology fees collected by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) have not been fully claimed, as only a third of the $6 million collected has been returned. While businesses have claimed over 70% of the available refunds owed to them, only 6% of individual customers have received their refunds. The DMV’s refund plan was agreed upon by the court and litigants, with a $2.3 million budget for issuing refunds, which was appropriated from the State Highway Fund. Individuals must visit a DMV branch during weekdays to collect their refunds, while businesses received mailed checks in February 2022, with another batch to be reissued soon. The saga of the DMV technology fee refund stems from Senate Bill 542 and Senate Bill 551, which passed the state Senate on simple majority votes in the 2019 Legislative Session. The majority of the estimated $105 million in revenue – $98.2 million – was attached to SB 551, which removed the sunset provision of the state’s modified business tax.
$4M in Unconstitutional Nevada DMV Technology Fee Refunds Remain Uncollected
The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has collected $6 million in unconstitutional technology fees from residents and businesses, but only a third of this amount has been returned. The state agency recently released a report indicating that individuals and businesses have until June 30 to claim their refunds, after which the remaining money will be transferred to the State Highway Fund.
As of February 28, only $242,407 out of the $3.8 million owed to 1.8 million individual customers had been claimed, which translates to just 6% of the total refunds available. In contrast, the claim rate for businesses and fleet owners was significantly better, with over 44,500 businesses claiming $1.6 million out of the $2.2 million owed to them, or 74% of the total available amount.
In total, only $1.86 million out of the $6 million available, or 31%, has been refunded to those who paid the unconstitutional fees. As a result, nearly $3.6 million in refunds remain unclaimed by individuals, while businesses and fleet owners have yet to claim $574,614.
In February 2022, businesses were mailed checks and a letter explaining the refund. The DMV plans to reissue another batch of checks to businesses in the coming weeks. However, individuals were not directly notified of their owed refunds, and the DMV has relied on media and social media to get the word out. The DMV estimated that issuing $6 million worth of checks to everyone who was owed a refund would have cost $7.8 million, making it cost-prohibitive to program the refunds as credits to people’s accounts.
The DMV’s refund plan was agreed upon by the court and litigants, with a $2.3 million budget for issuing refunds, which was appropriated from the State Highway Fund. As of February 28, the DMV had expended $584,953 of that amount, and the remainder will revert back to the State Highway Fund.
While the average refund for individual customers is $2.95 and $35.94 for businesses, getting their money back requires Nevadans to physically visit a DMV branch during weekdays, as DMV partner offices or kiosks are not allowed. However, individuals do not need an appointment and should not have to wait in line because there is a dedicated window.
How to Claim Nevada DMV Technology Fee Refunds
Refunds for the unconstitutional technology fees collected by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) are paid in $1 bills and can only be collected by the person who is owed the refund. In cases where the technology fee was attached to a vehicle owned by multiple people, the refund can only be given to the “mail-to owner.”
To find out how much you are entitled to, email your name and driver’s license or identification card number to DMVTechFeeSupport@dmv.nv.gov.
The DMV technology fee refund issue arose from Senate Bill 542 and Senate Bill 551, which passed the state Senate on simple majority votes in the 2019 Legislative Session. These bills were expected to bring in $105 million in revenue to the state, but Senate Republicans sued, arguing that they required a two-thirds majority to pass. In May 2021, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the Republicans and ordered the state to refund any collected money.
The Department of Taxation refunded an initial $30.6 million, which included interest, to 22,621 taxpayers in August 2021, in compliance with the court ruling. However, the DMV has yet to refund the remaining $4 million in technology fees to the rightful owners.
The deadline to claim refunds is June 30, and people can email DMVTechFeeSupport@dmv.nv.gov to find out how much they are entitled to.
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