Indiana electric vehicle fee
Indiana charges $242 a year on an electric car, on top of everything a gas car pays.
How much is the Indiana EV registration fee?
$242 a year. That sits on top of the ordinary $21.35 registration, so an electric car costs $263.35 a year to keep on the road where a gas car costs $21.35.
Hybrids pay less: a hybrid or plug-in hybrid pays $81 a year.
Indiana adds a supplemental fee to the registration of an electric or hybrid car to stand in for the fuel tax it pays little or none of. The BMV's 2026 fee chart lists $242 for an electric car and $81 for a hybrid, charged at first registration and every renewal on top of the ordinary registration, the improvement fee and the excise tax. source 5
| Fuel type | Extra per year | Total registration |
|---|---|---|
| Gas or diesel | Nothing | $21.35 |
| Hybrid or plug-in hybrid | $81 | $102.35 |
| Electric | $242 | $263.35 |
What Indiana's $242 adds up to
A single year of $242 is easy to wave off. Held over the time most people keep a car, the Indiana charge is not.
| Years owned | Extra paid for driving electric in Indiana |
|---|---|
| 1 | $242 |
| 3 | $726 |
| 5 | $1,210 |
| 10 | $2,420 |
Against that, an electric car pays no fuel tax, which is the whole reason Indiana charges it. Whether you come out ahead comes down to your mileage: a gas car pays fuel tax on every gallon, so the more you drive, the more the $242 looks like a bargain, and a car that barely leaves the garage pays more than its share.
What the Indiana charge is for
Here is the Indiana figure in proportion. The registration fee for any car is $21.35. The electric vehicle charge on top of it is $242, which is 11.3 times the fee it is added to. An electric car in Indiana is not paying a slightly higher registration, it is paying a separate bill that happens to arrive with the registration.
The reasoning is the same one every state uses. Roads are paid for out of fuel tax, collected a few cents at a time at the pump, and an electric car uses those roads while buying no fuel. The annual charge stands in for the fuel tax it never pays. More on why states charge it.
Whether the amount is a fair swap is where the states stop agreeing. New Jersey charges $270 and Hawaii charges $50 for the same car doing the same mileage. The reasoning and the full range are set out here.
When you pay it
In Indiana it is charged from the first registration, so it lands in the bill on the day you buy the car rather than a year later.
The calculator on the Indiana registration page applies that rule. Set the fuel type to electric and it shows you the figure in place, with everything else itemized around it.
How Indiana compares
Indiana is 4th highest of the 41 states that charge an electric car fee.
| State | Electric | Plug-in hybrid |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | $270 | Not charged |
| Michigan | $267 | Not charged |
| Indiana | $242 | $81 |
| Ohio | $200 | $150 |
| Kentucky | $120 | $60 |
| Illinois | $100 | Not charged |
| Hawaii | $50 | Not charged |
Indiana shown against the states next to it and the two ends of the range. All 51 side by side on the EV fee by state page.
Questions about the Indiana EV fee
How much is EV registration in Indiana?
$242 a year on top of the normal registration, so $263.35 in total against $21.35 for a gas car.
Why is EV registration so expensive in Indiana?
Because the fee is meant to replace the fuel tax an electric car does not pay. Indiana has set that replacement at $242 a year, which is towards the middle of the range. The states have landed on very different numbers for the same argument.
Do electric cars have higher registration fees than gas cars?
In Indiana, yes, by $242 a year. Everything else on the bill is the same.
Is there a hybrid registration fee in Indiana?
Yes. A hybrid or plug-in hybrid pays $81 a year, less than the $242 charged on a full electric car. A hybrid still buys gas and pays fuel tax on it, so the charge is smaller.
Is there a federal EV registration fee?
No. There is no federal vehicle registration in the United States at all. Registration is run state by state, which is exactly why the charge on an electric car runs from nothing to $270 depending on where you park it.
Is the Indiana EV fee ever waived?
Not as a general rule. Indiana BMV publishes the fee as applying to electric vehicles at registration, and we are not aware of a published waiver. If you think an exemption applies to you, ask them directly rather than relying on a calculator.
More on registering a car in Indiana
The electric vehicle charge is one line on a longer bill. These pages cover the rest for Indiana:
Nearby states
Or see every state on the EV registration fee by state page.
Where these numbers come from
- Indiana BMV, Vehicle Registration Fees and Taxes, retrieved 2026-10-12
- Indiana BMV, Excise Tax Information (excise tax schedule by class and age), retrieved 2026-10-12
- Indiana Code 6-6-5, Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, retrieved 2026-09-23
- Indiana Department of Revenue, Sales Tax Information Bulletin #28S (motor vehicles), retrieved 2026-09-23
- Indiana BMV, fee chart (revised 1 January 2026), retrieved 2026-10-12
- Indiana BMV, vehicle registrations (new registration, renewal, penalties), retrieved 2026-10-12
- Indiana BMV, registration expiration schedule by last name, retrieved 2026-10-12
- Indiana BMV, municipal vehicle excise surtax and wheel tax rates, retrieved 2026-10-12
- Indiana BMV, License Plates Overview (Blackout plate from August 8, 2025, $45 a year), retrieved 2026-10-29
- Indiana BMV, Personalized License Plates (character limits, 30 days, release rule), retrieved 2026-10-29
- Indiana Department of Revenue, Form ST-108E, Certificate of Gross Retail or Use Tax Exemption, retrieved 2026-10-30
- Indiana Register, Department of Revenue letter of findings on an in-law vehicle transfer (2026), retrieved 2026-10-30
Not affiliated with Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Several states re-set this figure annually, so check the date above.