Craven County: Vehicle Tax Exemption for Nonresident Service Members and Spouses

Federal law, 50 U.S.C. 4001, says the personal property of a service member or spouse has no tax situs where the member is stationed under orders unless it is the home state. The Craven County Tax Department applies it to vehicles, boats, airplanes, jet skis, motorcycles and mobile homes. The service member. A member who does not claim North Carolina as home of record can have the property tax released by sending a current Leave and Earnings Statement, with the North Carolina plate number, to [email protected]; a current LES is needed again at each registration renewal. A member living in an area of Cherry Point under exclusive federal jurisdiction may qualify whatever the home of record, with a base housing lease. Leased vehicles are taxed unless sited in exclusive federal jurisdiction. The North Carolina Highway Use Tax is still due at registration. A member who paid and later finds the tax could have been released can ask for a refund. The spouse. A vehicle owned jointly with a spouse is taxed on half its value unless the spouse qualifies under the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. The page says the spouse "must provide proof of having had established and maintained a domicile in the same state as the military member", with a dependent military ID, the member's LES and a licence or other proof of residence in the member's state, and that it may not accept a birth certificate, marriage licence, tax return or W-2. Where the county is behind federal law. Since Public Law 117-333 of January 2023, 50 U.S.C. 4001(a)(3) lets the spouse elect, for any tax year of the marriage and whatever the date of marriage, to use the same residence as the member, so a spouse who never lived in the member's home state qualifies. A spouse refused on the shared-domicile test should cite section 4001(a)(3).