District of Columbia Tax, Title and License Calculator

How much is tax, title and license (TTL) in District of Columbia?

On a $25,000 car, tax, title and license in District of Columbia is about $910: $135 in fees and $775 in tax. The fixed fees stay about the same at any price; the tax is what moves with what you pay.

Use the full District of Columbia calculator to enter your own price, trade-in and vehicle details. The table below shows the total at common prices.

Tax, title and license in District of Columbia by price

Used vehicle, first registration in District of Columbia, at the state tax rate.

Where the money goes

On a $25,000 car in District of Columbia, tax is $775 of the $910 total and the fixed fees are $135. The tax scales with the price of the car. The fees do not, which is why tax, title and license is a much bigger number on an expensive car and barely noticeable on a cheap one.

Sales tax on a car in District of Columbia

District of Columbia does not call it a sales tax; it charges the excise tax, which is the figure people mean by District of Columbia car sales tax. The rate is set by the car's weight and MPG rather than a flat percentage. source 1 It is the biggest part of the bill on an expensive car, and the calculator above works it into your total. How a trade-in changes it is covered in trade-ins below, and every state's rate is on the car sales tax by state page.

Does a trade-in reduce your tax in District of Columbia?

No, and this is the single most expensive thing to get wrong. District of Columbia charges tax on the full price of the car you are buying, even though you handed over another car as part of the deal.

Buy a $28,000 car and trade in one worth $8,000 and you are still taxed on the full $28,000. In a state that allows the credit you would have saved about $0. Most calculators quietly apply the credit anyway and hand you a number that is too low.

The District does not charge a flat rate. Since February 2025 the excise tax rate is read off a grid of the car's unladen weight and its city miles per gallon, applied to the fair market value from the NADA guide. For a car under 3,500 lbs the rate runs 9% at 20 MPG or less, 5% at 21-25, 3.1% at 26-30, 2.2% at 31-39 and 1.5% at 40 or more; heavier classes are a point or two higher in each column (up to 11% for a heavy vehicle at 20 MPG or less). An electric car pays the lowest rate for its weight: 1%, 2% or 3%. A trade-in does not reduce it, because the tax is on the car's value rather than the deal. (Residents who received the DC Earned Income Tax Credit may instead elect a flat 6%, 7% or 8% by weight if that is cheaper.) A buyer who claimed the District earned income tax credit (EITC) for the most recent year can instead pay the old weight-class rate (6%, 7% or 8%) if that comes out lower. source 1

Buying from a dealer? Put the doc fee and any add-ons on top of these figures with the out-the-door price calculator, set to District of Columbia.

The District of Columbia documentation fee, and what else is not TTL

Tax, title and license is money the state collects. The rest of a dealer's out-the-door figure is not, and the documentation fee is the line that trips people up most.

The District does not cap the dealer documentation fee. It is set by the dealer and shown on the sale paperwork. source 1

No state makes a dealer charge this, and District of Columbia puts no ceiling on it, so of everything on the sheet it is the line with the most room to push back on.

For the full list of what belongs to the state and what belongs to the dealer, see what dealers add that is not tax, title and license, and how District of Columbia's doc fee rule compares with the rest.

Motorcycles, leases and other cases

Three situations where the figure above does not apply:

• Motorcycles. DC DMV registers them on a different and much cheaper schedule. The tax works the same way, on the purchase price.
• Leases. A lease is not a purchase, and several states tax the monthly payment rather than the value of the car. If you are leasing, the number on this page is not your number.
• Gifts and family transfers. No sale means no sales tax in most states, though the title fee still applies. The District of Columbia title transfer page has the rule and the form.

Questions about District of Columbia TTL

Work out the rest of the District of Columbia bill

The generic explainers, on what tax, title and license means, how to check a dealer's quote, and whether to finance the tax, live on the tax, title and license hub. For District of Columbia specifically, these are the pages worth having open:

How District of Columbia compares at one price

The table above runs District of Columbia at prices from $3,000 to $40,000. To see the same bill in every state side by side, there is tax, title and license on a $30,000 car, state by state.

Nearby states

Or compare all 51 on the tax, title and license by state page.

Where these numbers come from