Car sales tax calculator
This car sales tax calculator uses each state's own rules. Pick the state where the car will be registered, enter the price, and you get the sales tax and the price with tax added, using that state's real rules: trade-in credit, local rates, and the caps, floors and tiers that make a flat percentage wrong in a dozen places.
How to calculate sales tax on a car
- Start with the agreed price, including the dealer's fees that your state counts as part of the sale.
- Take off your trade-in, if your state allows it. The table below says where it does not.
- Multiply by the rate: the state rate plus any city or county rate where you will register the car.
- Check for a cap, a minimum or a tier. In the states listed further down, a plain percentage gives the wrong answer.
Worked through: a $10,000 used car at 7.5% carries $750 of tax, so $10,750 in all before title and registration, which the out-the-door price calculator adds for your state. Bring a $3,000 trade-in in a state that credits it and the tax falls to $525.
Vehicle sales tax rate by state
Two rules move the bill as much as the rate does: some states charge tax on the whole price even when a car goes in part exchange, and many let a city or county add its own rate. The table shows both.
| State | Tax on a car | Trade-in cuts it? |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2% + up to 4% local | Yes |
| Alaska | 0% + up to 7.5% local | Yes |
| Arizona | 5.6% | Yes |
| Arkansas | 6.5% + up to 5% local | Yes |
| California | 7.25% + up to 3.25% local | No |
| Colorado | 2.9% + up to 8.3% local | Yes |
| Connecticut | 6.35% | Yes |
| Delaware | 5.25% | Yes |
| District of Columbia | 1%–11% | No |
| Florida | 6% + up to 1.5% local | Yes |
| Georgia | 7% | Yes |
| Hawaii | 4% + up to 0.5% local | No |
| Idaho | 6% | Yes |
| Illinois | 6.25% + up to 1.25% local | Yes |
| Indiana | 7% | Yes |
| Iowa | 5% | Yes |
| Kansas | 6.5% + up to 5% local | Yes |
| Kentucky | 6% | New cars only |
| Louisiana | 5% + up to 8% local | Yes |
| Maine | 5.5% | Yes |
| Maryland | 6.5% | Yes |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | Yes |
| Michigan | 6% | Yes |
| Minnesota | 6.88% | Yes |
| Mississippi | 5% | Yes |
| Missouri | 4.23% + up to 6.13% local | Yes |
| Montana | None | No tax to cut |
| Nebraska | 5.5% + up to 2% local | Yes |
| Nevada | 6.85% + up to 1.52% local | Yes |
| New Hampshire | None | No tax to cut |
| New Jersey | 6.63% | Yes |
| New Mexico | 4% | Yes |
| New York | 4% + up to 4.88% local | Yes |
| North Carolina | 3% | Yes |
| North Dakota | 5% | Yes |
| Ohio | 5.75% + up to 2.5% local | New cars only |
| Oklahoma | 3.25% + 1.25% sales tax | No |
| Oregon | 0.5% (new cars only) | No |
| Pennsylvania | 6% + up to 2% local | Yes |
| Rhode Island | 7% | Yes |
| South Carolina | 5% | Yes |
| South Dakota | 4% | Yes |
| Tennessee | 7% + up to 2.75% local | Yes |
| Texas | 6.25% | Yes |
| Utah | 4.85% + up to 5.2% local | Yes |
| Vermont | 6% | Yes |
| Virginia | 4.15% | No |
| Washington | 7% + up to 3.55% local | Yes |
| West Virginia | 6% | Yes |
| Wisconsin | 5% + up to 2.9% local | Yes |
| Wyoming | 4% + up to 2% local | Yes |
"Tax on a car" is the state rate; where a local rate can be added on top, the range is shown. Washington DC sets the rate from the car's weight and fuel economy, so a range is shown. Each figure is sourced on the state's own page.
Where a flat percentage gets it wrong
These 11 states change the sum in a way a simple rate times price cannot show. The calculator above applies each rule.
| State | What changes the tax |
|---|---|
| Arkansas | a used car's rate depends on its price band; the local surtax stops after the first $2,500 |
| Connecticut | above $50,000 the whole price moves to 7.75% |
| Delaware | at least $8 is due however cheap the car |
| District of Columbia | the rate comes from the car's weight and city MPG |
| Florida | the local surtax stops after the first $5,000 |
| Maryland | at least $41.60 is due however cheap the car |
| Oklahoma | a used car's opening $1,500 is taxed at a flat $20; a second 1.25% tax is added |
| South Carolina | the tax stops at $500 |
| Tennessee | an extra 2.75% falls on the slice from $1,600 to $3,200; the local surtax stops after the first $1,600 |
| Virginia | at least $75 is due however cheap the car |
| West Virginia | at least $30 is due however cheap the car |
States with no sales tax on a car
Montana and New Hampshire charge no sales or use tax on a vehicle. Oregon (a 0.5% privilege tax on new cars only), Alaska (no state tax, some local) and Delaware (a document fee instead) are the near-misses. Remember the catch: no-tax buying only works if you register the car there too.
States that tax the full price, trade-in or not
Most states subtract your trade-in before the tax. These do not, so trading a car in saves you nothing on the tax there: California, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia. On an expensive car with a valuable trade-in that single rule is worth well over a thousand dollars.
States that don't call it sales tax
Some states levy a differently named tax on a vehicle in place of a sales tax. It still works like one: a percentage of the price at titling. They are Arizona (Arizona transaction privilege tax), Delaware (document fee), District of Columbia (excise tax), Georgia (Title Ad Valorem Tax), Hawaii (general excise tax), Iowa (fee for new registration), Kentucky (Kentucky motor vehicle usage tax), Maryland (Maryland vehicle excise tax), New Mexico (motor vehicle excise tax), North Carolina (North Carolina highway use tax), North Dakota (motor vehicle excise tax), Oklahoma (Oklahoma excise tax), Oregon (Vehicle privilege tax), South Carolina (South Carolina Infrastructure Maintenance Fee), South Dakota (motor vehicle excise tax), Vermont (Purchase and Use Tax) and West Virginia (privilege tax).
Car sales tax in every state
Each state's page carries the full tax rules alongside the title and registration fees.