Please note, in order to qualify for the exemption, a $ 30  historic plate must be purchased. In some cases, it might be to your advantage to purchase a $ 10 transporter tag and pay the taxes.

Example: Let's assume your car is valued at $ 3500 and the tax valuation is $1.00 per $100.00 (city and county valuation). This example does not take into consideration the price of insurance & inspections.

1. Buying a Transporter Tag
 

2. Qualifying for exemption by buying a historic plate
 

It would appear that by buying a historic plate & qualifying for the exemption, a savings of $10.00 would be realized. However, there is one more issue that could factor into your decision. The NC General Assembly ratified Senate Bill #167 on April 6, 1995. This bill allows county commissioners the option of directing their tax collector not to bill for taxes up to a $5 value. It is plausible then that if your car in our example was valued at $450 instead of the max $500, your tax bill would drop to $4.50. If your county commissioners adopted the resolution not to collect taxes under $5, your net savings could an additional $5 to $15.

Because of this flexibility, it is imperative that each member look at their situation, tax rate, & current evaluation of each of their cars & determine which way will offer the greatest savings. It could be to your advantage to use a combination of the two. Since the transporter tag can be used on multiple cars, the $10 licensing fee would only need to be figured on the first car. On the other hand, a historic plate would need to be purchased for each car qualifying for the exemption.