Maine Tax, Title and License Calculator
What the state actually charges on a car purchase in Maine, separated from what the dealer adds. Every government figure comes from Maine BMV.
How much is tax, title and license (TTL) in Maine?
On a $25,000 car, tax, title and license in Maine is about $2,043: $68 in fees and $1,975 in tax. The fixed fees stay about the same at any price; the tax is what moves with what you pay.
Use the full Maine 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 Maine by price
| Purchase price | Fees | Tax | TTL total | With 30% trade-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 car | $68 | $237 | $305 | $255.50 |
| $5,000 car | $68 | $395 | $463 | $380.50 |
| $6,000 car | $68 | $474 | $542 | $443 |
| $10,000 car | $68 | $790 | $858 | $693 |
| $20,000 car | $68 | $1,580 | $1,648 | $1,318 |
| $30,000 car | $68 | $2,370 | $2,438 | $1,943 |
| $40,000 car | $68 | $3,160 | $3,228 | $2,568 |
Used vehicle, first registration in Maine, at the state tax rate.
Where the money goes
On a $25,000 car in Maine, tax is $1,975 of the $2,043 total and the fixed fees are $68. 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 Maine
The Maine rate is 5.5%. 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.
Does a trade-in reduce your tax in Maine?
Yes. Maine 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 $440 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 Maine.
The Maine 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.
Maine does not cap the dealer documentation fee. It has to be shown on the sale paperwork, but the amount is set by the dealer. source 1
No state makes a dealer charge this, and Maine 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 Maine's doc fee rule compares with the rest.
Motorcycles, leases and other cases
Three situations where the figure above does not apply:
- Motorcycles. Maine BMV 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 Maine title transfer page has the rule and the form.
Questions about Maine TTL
How to calculate tax, title and license in Maine?
Work it in this order. Take the purchase price, subtract your trade-in, apply the 5.5% tax rate, then add the flat fees: $33 for the title and $35 for registration. The calculator on the Maine 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 Maine?
On a $25,000 car, about $2,043: $68 in fees and $1,975 in tax. On a $5,000 car it is about $463. The fees stay the same. The tax is what moves.
How much are taxes on a $20,000 vehicle in Maine?
$1,580 in tax on its own, before any fees. A trade-in reduces it, because Maine taxes the difference.
What does tax, title and license include in Maine?
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 Maine the title is $33 and registration is $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 Maine?
About $2,043: $68 in fees and $1,975 in tax. Change the price in the calculator for your own figure.
Is the documentation fee part of tax, title and license?
No. The doc fee goes to the dealer, not to Maine 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 Maine?
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 Maine?
On a $30,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in, tax drops from $2,370 to $1,820. That is $550 saved, because Maine taxes the difference rather than the full price.
Work out the rest of the Maine 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 Maine specifically, these are the pages worth having open:
How Maine compares at one price
The table above runs Maine 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
- Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Registration Fees, retrieved 2026-10-21
- Maine Revenue Services, Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (mill rate schedule), retrieved 2026-10-17
- 36 M.R.S. § 1482, excise tax rates by year of model, retrieved 2026-10-17
- Maine Revenue Services, Sales, Fuel & Special Tax Division (5.5% vehicle sales tax, trade-in credit), retrieved 2026-10-17
- 29-A M.R.S. section 501, registration fees ($35 automobile), retrieved 2026-10-17
- 36 M.R.S. section 1760(45), use tax exemption for a car bought and used out of state by a resident of that state, retrieved 2026-10-17
- Town of Wells, Excise Tax and Vehicle Registration (worked excise example, where excise is paid), retrieved 2026-10-17
- City of Portland, Auto and Boat Registration (new resident documents), retrieved 2026-10-17
- Maine Revenue Services, Instructional Bulletin 42, original registration of vehicles, retrieved 2026-10-30
Not affiliated with Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.