LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — If you've assessed your car this year, you've likely noticed some differences in the price. The steady bills we've seen the past few years are a thing of the past.
"Whatever it is, whether it's a bill or your property tax, whatever the case, you want to know that that amount you're paying is actually accurate," said Scott Hardin, Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration spokesperson.
Those prices don't look the same, though. In some cases, the cost to assess is much higher than before.
"People are assessing, and then they look at it and say, 'How in the world did my 10-year-old minivan go up in value? There's no way that's accurate?'" Hardin said. "The fact is, it is."
Hardin said a big reason for the increase stems from issues brought on by the pandemic. He also said many people have called asking about those prices, and he anticipates that to go up.
"The increase that they're seeing now; hopefully, it's not too much of a sticker shock," Hardin said.
The reason people are seeing this change starts at the Arkansas State Capitol. More specifically, the state legislature. They passed legislation a few years ago, holding assessed car values steady.
Essentially, if someone assessed their car in 2020, the value of their vehicle in 2022 couldn't be above the 2020 value. Now, we're back to market value.
As the demand for cars increases, so do the car prices, which leads to higher assessment fees.
"That's a surprising number for many people," Hardin said.
J.D. Power and Associates provides the market value numbers to county assessors. According to Hardin, the annoying jump your seeing isn't something just Arkansans are experiencing.
"What we're seeing in Arkansas is not unique to Arkansas," Hardin said. "This is across the United States. Every state is dealing with it... Hopefully, it's not too much that it impacts the bottom line for Arkansans because nobody loves paying taxes."