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Electric car drivers in Minnesota will wake up to a new year and a new fee on Jan. 1.
The annual registration cost for a fully electric vehicle will double from $75 to a minimum of $150, according to Kare 11. Plus, a new $75 fee will take effect for plug-in hybrids, which were previously exempt.
Newer, more expensive models will pay higher fees, just like how the state determines registration fees for all vehicles, which EV owners must still pay. A new, $50,000 electric car would pay a $250 fee based on that calculation, or more than three times the current fee, CBS News reports.
Electric car fees are not unique to Minnesota. Forty states have them, ranging from around $50 to $200, according to the TaxFoundation.org. They aim to recoup lost gas tax revenue, which state governments use to fund public infrastructure projects, including road maintenance. Since electric cars do not use any gasoline, they are not contributing to that fund, although they are still using the same roads. Battery-powered cars are also heavier than gas-powered ones, and can cause more wear and tear.
“Well, it’s about time,” writes one Minnesotan on Facebook regarding the new tax. “Just figure how much the rest of us contribute to the gas tax for roads. The EVs don’t pay that so it has to be made up somehow. Why should we be paying more so they can use the road without contributing their fair share?”
Minnesota has nearly 80,000 electric vehicles on the road. After the law passed over the summer as part of a state budget bill, Drive Electric Minnesota called the new fees “punitive” for those drivers and said it “is concerned that these new state fees risk increasing barriers to EV adoption and undermining the state’s electrification and climate goals.”
Some question whether the flat fee structure is the right solution, given that it does not charge EV owners per mile driven, like the gas tax. This could overcharge some drivers, while leaving money on the table for others. In an attempt to more accurately calculate the fees, in 2027, Minnesota will also tack on an additional electricity tax for drivers who juice up at public fast charging stations. It’s unclear if that will be sufficient, given that 80-90% of electric vehicle charging occurs at home, and may act more as a deterrent for EV road trips.
The fees could be partially offset by state tax credits to help purchase the vehicle, which 14 states offer, ranging from $750 to $7,500. Those funds remain in place even though the federal government axed its $7,500 credit, which stacked on top of state credits, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. A draft of the same BBB proposed an additional $250 registration fee for EV owners, though it did not make the final version.
If you’re thinking about getting an EV in 2026, we polled our readers on their favorite electric vehicle brands.
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