Indiana Tax, Title and License Calculator
What the state actually charges on a car purchase in Indiana, separated from what the dealer adds. Every government figure comes from Indiana BMV.
How much is tax, title and license (TTL) in Indiana?
On a $25,000 car, tax, title and license in Indiana is about $2,151.35: $51.35 in fees and $2,100 in tax. The fixed fees stay about the same at any price; the tax is what moves with what you pay.
Use the full Indiana 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 Indiana by price
| Purchase price | Fees | Tax | TTL total | With 30% trade-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 car | $51.35 | $260 | $311.35 | $248.35 |
| $5,000 car | $51.35 | $416 | $467.35 | $362.35 |
| $6,000 car | $51.35 | $504 | $555.35 | $429.35 |
| $10,000 car | $51.35 | $850 | $901.35 | $691.35 |
| $20,000 car | $51.35 | $1,650 | $1,701.35 | $1,281.35 |
| $30,000 car | $51.35 | $2,506 | $2,557.35 | $1,927.35 |
| $40,000 car | $51.35 | $3,269 | $3,320.35 | $2,480.35 |
Used vehicle, first registration in Indiana, at the state tax rate. Not included: county or city vehicle excise surtax.
Where the money goes
On a $25,000 car in Indiana, tax is $2,100 of the $2,151.35 total and the fixed fees are $51.35. 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 Indiana
The Indiana rate is 7%. source 4 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.
Indiana car sales tax on a private sale
The 7% is the same in every county and city; nothing local is added on top. A trade-in comes off the price first, but only one titled in your name. Buy from a private seller and nobody collects the tax at the sale: you pay the 7% at the BMV when you title the car there, along with the $15 title fee, or $25 for a speed title.
Does a trade-in reduce your tax in Indiana?
Yes. Indiana 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 $560 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 Indiana.
The Indiana 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.
Indiana does not cap the dealer documentation fee. The dealer sets it and it has to be shown on the paperwork, and figures around $150 to $200 are common. source 4
No state makes a dealer charge this, and Indiana 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 Indiana's doc fee rule compares with the rest.
Motorcycles, leases and other cases
Three situations where the figure above does not apply:
- Motorcycles. Indiana BMV registers them on a different and much cheaper schedule. Other types have their own flat fees on the BMV chart: a motorcycle is $26.35, a recreational vehicle $29.35 and a truck up to 11,000 lbs $30.35. 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 Indiana title transfer page has the rule and the form.
Questions about Indiana TTL
How to calculate tax, title and license in Indiana?
Work it in this order. Take the purchase price, subtract your trade-in, apply the 7% tax rate, then add the flat fees: $15 for the title and $21.35 for registration. The calculator on the Indiana 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 Indiana?
On a $25,000 car, about $2,151.35: $51.35 in fees and $2,100 in tax. On a $5,000 car it is about $467.35. The fees stay the same. The tax is what moves. Not included: county or city vehicle excise surtax, which Indiana BMV does not publish in a form we can verify.
How much are taxes on a $20,000 vehicle in Indiana?
$1,650 in tax on its own, before any fees. A trade-in reduces it, because Indiana taxes the difference.
What does tax, title and license include in Indiana?
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 Indiana the title is $15 and registration is $21.35. 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 Indiana?
About $2,151.35: $51.35 in fees and $2,100 in tax. Change the price in the calculator for your own figure. Not included: county or city vehicle excise surtax.
Is the documentation fee part of tax, title and license?
No. The doc fee goes to the dealer, not to Indiana BMV. 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 Indiana?
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 Indiana?
On a $30,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in, tax drops from $2,506 to $1,806. That is $700 saved, because Indiana taxes the difference rather than the full price.
Work out the rest of the Indiana 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 Indiana specifically, these are the pages worth having open:
How Indiana compares at one price
The table above runs Indiana 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
- 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.