Jefferson County adopts vehicle excise surtax and wheel tax, prompting split 4-3 vote and public concern over timing and "stacking"

The Jefferson County Council voted 4–3 to approve Ordinance No. 2025-007, creating a county motor vehicle excise surtax and a county wheel tax to fund road and bridge work, the council read and approved during a public meeting. The ordinance sets a $7.50 annual excise surtax on most passenger vehicles and a $5 wheel tax on certain heavier vehicles, both effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The ordinance establishes two nonreverting funds to receive revenues from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Motor Vehicles and limits use of those funds to road- and bridge-related activities such as construction, reconstruction, repair or maintenance and county contributions to obtain grants from the local road and bridge matching grant fund under Indiana Code 8-23-30.

The vote follows the passage of House Act 1461, which the council said changed the state road-funding formula and created a new statutory environment that counties may respond to by adopting local vehicle taxes. “This was not an easy decision,” the presiding council member said after the vote. “Without the money, the roads will deteriorate.”

What the ordinance does - Excise surtax: The ordinance imposes a county excise surtax effective Jan. 1, 2026, at the rate of $7.50 annually on passenger motor vehicles, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, collector vehicles, certain trailers, light trucks and military vehicles as defined in the act. - Wheel tax: Also effective Jan. 1, 2026, the county wheel tax is set at $5 per vehicle for nonexempt buses, recreational vehicles, semi-trailers, heavy trailers (gross weight above 9,000 pounds) and trucks/tractors above 11,000 pounds. -…