Illinois Tax, Title and License Calculator
What the state actually charges on a car purchase in Illinois, separated from what the dealer adds. Every government figure comes from Illinois SOS.
How much is tax, title and license (TTL) in Illinois?
On a $25,000 car, tax, title and license in Illinois is about $1,878.50: $316 in fees and $1,562.50 in tax. The fixed fees stay about the same at any price; the tax is what moves with what you pay.
Use the full Illinois 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 Illinois by price
| Purchase price | Fees | Tax | TTL total | With 30% trade-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 car | $316 | $187.50 | $503.50 | $447.25 |
| $5,000 car | $316 | $312.50 | $628.50 | $534.75 |
| $6,000 car | $316 | $375 | $691 | $578.50 |
| $10,000 car | $316 | $625 | $941 | $753.50 |
| $20,000 car | $316 | $1,250 | $1,566 | $1,191 |
| $30,000 car | $316 | $1,875 | $2,191 | $1,628.50 |
| $40,000 car | $316 | $2,500 | $2,816 | $2,066 |
Used vehicle, first registration in Illinois, at the state tax rate. Not included: local sales tax.
Where the money goes
On a $25,000 car in Illinois, tax is $1,562.50 of the $1,878.50 total and the fixed fees are $316. 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 Illinois
The Illinois rate is 6.25% plus local rates of 0% to 1.25%. source 2 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 Illinois?
Yes. Illinois subtracts the trade-in allowance from the price before the tax is worked out. The bigger the trade-in, the smaller the tax bill.
Buy a $28,000 car and hand over a trade-in worth $8,000 and you are taxed on $20,000, not $28,000. That is $500 you do not pay.
One catch worth knowing. The credit usually only applies when the trade and the purchase happen as a single deal with the same dealer. Sell your old car privately first and you get the cash but you lose the tax break.
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 Illinois.
The Illinois documentation fee, and what else is not TTL
Everything the state charges is fixed. The dealer's own lines are not, and the documentation fee is the one worth reading closely in Illinois.
Illinois caps the documentary fee by formula: a base of $300.00 from 1 January 2020, adjusted every year by the change in the Consumer Price Index. No state agency publishes the yearly figure; dealer industry sources put the 2026 cap at $377.63. A dealer charging more than the indexed cap is breaking the law, so ask to see the current maximum. source 5
This is the rare dealer fee with a legal ceiling, and also the one most likely to be quietly above it, so check it against the figure the dealer gives you.
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 Illinois's doc fee rule compares with the rest.
Motorcycles, leases and other cases
Three situations where the figure above does not apply:
- Motorcycles. Illinois SOS registers them on a different and much cheaper schedule. Motorcycles are $41.00. 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 Illinois title transfer page has the rule and the form.
Questions about Illinois TTL
How to calculate tax, title and license in Illinois?
Work it in this order. Take the purchase price, subtract your trade-in, apply the 6.25% tax rate plus any local rate for your address, then add the flat fees: $165 for the title and $151 for registration. The calculator on the Illinois page does all of it and shows the source for each figure.
How much does it cost to get a tax, title and license in Illinois?
On a $25,000 car, about $1,878.50: $316 in fees and $1,562.50 in tax. On a $5,000 car it is about $628.50. The fees stay the same. The tax is what moves. Not included: local sales tax, which Illinois SOS does not publish in a form we can verify.
How much are taxes on a $20,000 vehicle in Illinois?
$1,250 in tax on its own, before any fees. That is at the state rate. Your local rate can push it higher, and in Illinois it varies by where you live rather than where you buy. A trade-in reduces it, because Illinois taxes the difference.
What does tax, title and license include in Illinois?
Three things the state charges: the sales or use tax on the purchase, the fee to put the title in your name, and the registration and plate that make the car legal to drive. In Illinois the title is $165 and registration is $151. The tax is the part that moves with the price of the car.
How much is tax, title and license on a $25,000 car in Illinois?
About $1,878.50: $316 in fees and $1,562.50 in tax. Change the price in the calculator for your own figure. Not included: local sales tax.
Is the documentation fee part of tax, title and license?
No. The doc fee goes to the dealer, not to Illinois SOS. It often sits next to the real government fees on the same sheet, which is exactly why it gets mistaken for one. Ask what each line is for.
Can I negotiate tax, title and license in Illinois?
Not the tax, the title or the registration. Those are set by the state and the dealer collects them on its behalf. What you can negotiate is the price of the car, which lowers the tax as a side effect, and the dealer's own fees.
How much does a trade-in save on tax, title and license in Illinois?
On a $30,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in, tax drops from $1,875 to $1,250. That is $625 saved, because Illinois taxes the difference rather than the full price.
Work out the rest of the Illinois 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 Illinois specifically, these are the pages worth having open:
How Illinois compares at one price
The table above runs Illinois 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
- Illinois Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Fees, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois Department of Revenue, RUT-25 Vehicle Use Tax Return instructions, retrieved 2026-09-12
- Illinois Secretary of State, Electric Vehicle License Plates (625 ILCS 5/12-805), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois Department of Revenue, RUT-50 Private Party Vehicle Use Tax instructions, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Illinois Compiled Statutes 815 ILCS 375/11.1, documentary fee, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-113, transfer of a certificate of title, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Illinois Secretary of State, License Plates Renewal (Registration ID and PIN, emissions, 30-day receipt under 625 ILCS 5/3-701), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-801 (30-day grace period for new residents), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois EPA, Vehicle Emissions Testing Program, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois Department on Aging, Benefit Access Program eligibility and license plate discount, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Office of the Chicago City Clerk, City Vehicle Sticker FAQs (2026 prices), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-821 (miscellaneous registration and title fees), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/3-402(C) (45 days after buying a vehicle out of state), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Illinois Secretary of State, Passenger License Plates (vanity and personalized plate fees), retrieved 2026-10-28
Not affiliated with Illinois Secretary of State, Vehicle Services.