City of Lincoln Wheel Tax

(Street Improvement Vehicle Tax)

Lincoln drivers pay a yearly tax when they register their vehicles to assist the City of Lincoln with street maintenance and operations, and traffic maintenance and operations. Below shows how funds are invested back into the community.

More than 229,000 vehicles contribute to wheel tax every year

Funds Used For:
  • Constructing Streets
  • Snow Removal
  • Alleys
  • Resurfacing Streets
  • Maintaining Streets
  • Improving Streets
  • Traffic Signs
  • Traffic Signals

Funds are required to be divided between three categories

Residential Street Improvement Fund 14.86% (Residential Rehabilitation Fund)
Used for residential street repairs and improvements only.
Street Construction Fund 35.14% (Construction Fund)
Used only for construction, design, and right-of-way acquisition of streets, roads, alleys, public ways or debt (such as bonds) associated with that work.
Street Operations and Maintenance Fund 50% (Vehicle Tax Residual Fund)
Used for street improvement, street operations and street maintenance/repair (such as potholes, snow removal and traffic signals and signs).

Efficient use of funds

Lincoln has approximately 2,600 lane miles of streets it improves and maintains. This is equivalent to driving to Times Square in New York City and back. Every cent spent goes to Lincoln's streets.

Wheel Tax funds contribute to 26 percent of Lincoln's transportation needs every year. This means the City consistently finds new and efficient ways to continue offering quality services to Lincoln citizens.

City team finds solutions

According to the Lincoln Transportation Strategy Recommendations and Report, Lincoln dedicates $2,400 per lane-mile per year. The City team innovates creative solutions to operate its yearly budget, which is on average, four times lower than other cities comparable to Lincoln. The City of Lincoln makes every cent count!

How much do you pay for Lincoln streets every year?

  • A car owner pays $74 per year in Wheel Tax.
  • That $74 goes to eight areas of street services.

Where does your $74 go?

Residential Street Improvements:

You contribute $11 per year to improving Lincoln’s neighborhood streets.

Street Construction

You contribute $26 per year to designing and constructing Lincoln’s streets and right-of-way acquisition

Street Operations and Maintenance

You contribute $37 per year for services that include:

  • Street Maintenance and Pothole Repair
  • Winter Operations
  • Maintaining Traffic Signals
  • Signs
  • Crack Sealing

Every year, the car owner pays:

Graph showing amounts a car owner pays yearly: Street Construction Fund - $26.00; Street Maintenance/Repair - $17.33; Residential Fund - $11.00; Snow Removal - $7.85; Traffic Signals and Signs - $5.82; Street Sweeping - $3.16; Street Construction Management - $2.12; Transportation Administration - $0.83(PNG, 33KB)

Illustration of a red car on a winding road

By contributing $74 per year to Wheel Tax, each registered vehicle makes operating and improving Lincoln streets possible.

As the City of Lincoln continues to find ways to stretch Wheel Tax dollars where possible, the City maintains its commitment to providing the best street services possible.

PDF Fact Sheet (PDF, 245KB)

Related
Lincoln Municipal Code 3.20 - Street Improvement Vehicle Tax
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