Wisconsin electric vehicle fee
Wisconsin charges $175 a year on an electric car, on top of everything a gas car pays.
How much is the Wisconsin EV registration fee?
$175 a year. That sits on top of the ordinary $85 registration, so an electric car costs $260 a year to keep on the road where a gas car costs $85.
Hybrids pay less: a hybrid or plug-in hybrid pays $75 a year.
Wisconsin calls it a surcharge and collects it whenever the annual registration is paid, at plate issuance and every renewal. An electric car pays $175.00 a year (a $100.00 surcharge plus a further $75.00 added by a law of 6 July 2023) and a hybrid pays $75.00, both on top of the $85.00 registration and any wheel tax. source 5
| Fuel type | Extra per year | Total registration |
|---|---|---|
| Gas or diesel | Nothing | $85 |
| Hybrid or plug-in hybrid | $75 | $160 |
| Electric | $175 | $260 |
What Wisconsin's $175 adds up to
The yearly number understates it. Here is what Wisconsin's $175 comes to the longer you keep the car.
| Years owned | Extra paid for driving electric in Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| 1 | $175 |
| 3 | $525 |
| 5 | $875 |
| 10 | $1,750 |
Whether $175 a year is a fair swap depends entirely on how far you drive, because it stands in for the fuel tax an electric car skips. Drive a lot and you are ahead; drive little and the Wisconsin charge costs you more than the tax it replaces.
What the Wisconsin charge is for
Here is the Wisconsin figure in proportion. The registration fee for any car is $85. The electric vehicle charge on top of it is $175, which is 2.1 times the fee it is added to. An electric car in Wisconsin is not paying a slightly higher registration, it is paying a separate bill that happens to arrive with the registration.
It comes down to how roads are funded. Gas drivers pay for them at the pump through fuel tax; an electric driver does not, so Wisconsin recovers a share of that with a yearly fee instead. 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin compares
Wisconsin is 17th 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 |
| Wisconsin | $175 | $75 |
| Minnesota | $150 | $75 |
| Iowa | $130 | $65 |
| Illinois | $100 | Not charged |
| Hawaii | $50 | Not charged |
Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin EV fee
How much is EV registration in Wisconsin?
$175 a year on top of the normal registration, so $260 in total against $85 for a gas car.
Why is EV registration so expensive in Wisconsin?
Because the fee is meant to replace the fuel tax an electric car does not pay. Wisconsin has set that replacement at $175 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 Wisconsin, yes, by $175 a year. Everything else on the bill is the same.
Is there a hybrid registration fee in Wisconsin?
Yes. A hybrid or plug-in hybrid pays $75 a year, less than the $175 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 Wisconsin EV fee ever waived?
Not as a general rule. Wisconsin DMV 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 Wisconsin
The electric vehicle charge is one line on a longer bill. These pages cover the rest for Wisconsin:
Nearby states
Or see every state on the EV registration fee by state page.
Where these numbers come from
- Wisconsin DMV, Vehicle title fees, retrieved 2026-10-16
- Wisconsin DMV, Vehicle license plate fees, retrieved 2026-10-16
- Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Publication 202, Sales and Use Tax Information for Motor Vehicle Sales, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Wisconsin Department of Revenue, County and City Sales and Use Taxes, retrieved 2026-10-16
- Wisconsin DMV, Vehicle fuel surcharge, retrieved 2026-10-16
- Wisconsin DMV, vehicle fees, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Wisconsin Administrative Code Trans 139.05(8), dealer service fees, retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wisconsin DMV, municipal or county vehicle registration fee (wheel tax), retrieved 2026-10-16
- Wisconsin DMV, new residents, retrieved 2026-10-16
- Wisconsin DMV, emission test, retrieved 2026-10-16
Not affiliated with Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles. Several states re-set this figure annually, so check the date above.