December tag renewal in Mississippi: a calendar for renewing across the new year

In Mississippi, your renewal month is the month you acquired the vehicle, not your birthday, and it stays the same every year. For anyone who bought a car in December, that means the renewal always lands in the busiest, most distracted week of the year. The penalty schedule does not pause for the holidays, and since it is measured in days past expiration, a renewal missed in December has its cost steps spread over the following spring.

The assumptions behind this calendar

The Department of Revenue's late-penalty tiers run from the expiration date. We have not confirmed, from the sources reviewed, the exact expiration day for every vehicle, so this calendar assumes the registration expires on December 31 at the end of the anniversary month. Madison County's tax collector says renewal notices go out on the last working day of the month before the renewal date and that you have until the 15th of the following month to renew without a late penalty, which fits that assumption. Your own notice and decal are the authority, and other counties may describe it differently.

Date by date, if your tag expires December 31

• About November 30: your notice should arrive around now, showing the recalculated ad valorem tax and fees.
• December 31: expiration. From this day, an expired tag is a citable offense under Miss. Code section 27-19-131, regardless of the grace period.
• January 15: the end of the 15-day grace period. No administrative penalty yet.
• January 16: day 16. The 5% penalty applies to your ad valorem tax.
• February 15: day 46. The penalty steps to 10%.
• March 17: day 76. The penalty steps to 15%.
• April 16: day 106. The penalty steps to 20%.
• May 16: day 136. The penalty reaches the 25% maximum, and the Legislative Tag Credit is forfeited.

These dates come from counting the published tiers (16 to 45 days, 46 to 75, 76 to 105, 106 to 135, 136 and beyond) from December 31 in a year that is not a leap year. Count again from your own expiration date if it differs.

What it costs, with made-up numbers

Suppose, for illustration only, that the ad valorem tax on your vehicle is $400. A renewal on January 20 adds 5%, or $20. One on March 20 adds 15%, or $60. One in late May adds 25%, or $100, and costs you the credit as well. The numbers are small next to the holidays, which is exactly why they get ignored. The late renewal penalties page has the table.

The grace period is not a driving period

The 15 days only delay the percentage penalty. Under section 27-19-131, operating a vehicle without the required tag and decals properly displayed is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of not less than $10 and not more than $100, and up to 30 days in county jail, or both. The statute has no 15-day exception, and at least one county tax collector's office says so on its own page. If your tag expires the day your relatives arrive, renew before they do.

How to get it done before the break

1. Check your notice as soon as it arrives. If you have not received one by the start of your anniversary month, call the county; the office cannot waive a late penalty because a notice was lost or delayed.
2. Check whether your county offers online renewal. The renewal steps page explains that 46 of Mississippi's 82 counties did as of our last review, through different systems.
3. If you must go in person, remember that you walk out with your tag and decal, and check the office's holiday hours first. We have not seen a published statewide holiday schedule.
4. Make sure your insurance is current and the card in the vehicle is the right one. The Department of Revenue says insurance is required but not enforced through registration, so this is about the law and a traffic stop, not the tag office.

None of this is advice about your particular vehicle. Dates, tiers and fees can change, so confirm them with your county tax collector.