Missouri Tax, Title and License Calculator
What the state actually charges on a car purchase in Missouri, separated from what the dealer adds. Every government figure comes from Missouri DOR.
How much is tax, title and license (TTL) in Missouri?
On a $25,000 car, tax, title and license in Missouri is about $1,832.75: $26.50 in fees and $1,806.25 in tax. The fixed fees stay about the same at any price; the tax is what moves with what you pay.
Use the full Missouri 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 Missouri by price
| Purchase price | Fees | Tax | TTL total | With 30% trade-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 car | $26.50 | $216.75 | $243.25 | $178.23 |
| $5,000 car | $26.50 | $361.25 | $387.75 | $279.38 |
| $6,000 car | $26.50 | $433.50 | $460 | $329.95 |
| $10,000 car | $26.50 | $722.50 | $749 | $532.25 |
| $20,000 car | $26.50 | $1,445 | $1,471.50 | $1,038 |
| $30,000 car | $26.50 | $2,167.50 | $2,194 | $1,543.75 |
| $40,000 car | $26.50 | $2,890 | $2,916.50 | $2,049.50 |
Used vehicle, first registration in Missouri, at the state tax rate. Includes the typical local rate of 3%. Not included: registration fee, annual personal property tax.
Where the money goes
On a $25,000 car in Missouri, tax is $1,806.25 of the $1,832.75 total and the fixed fees are $26.50. 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 Missouri
The Missouri rate is 4.225% plus local rates of 0% to 6.125%. 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 Missouri?
Yes. Missouri 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 $578 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 Missouri.
The Missouri 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.
Missouri caps the dealer administrative fee and adjusts it every year with the Consumer Price Index. For 2026, from February 1, 2026, the maximum is $620.79, up from $604.47. The Director of Revenue works out the new figure after January 14 each year and posts it, so this one moves annually. source 3
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 Missouri's doc fee rule compares with the rest.
Motorcycles, leases and other cases
Three situations where the figure above does not apply:
- Motorcycles. Missouri DOR 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 Missouri title transfer page has the rule and the form.
Questions about Missouri TTL
How to calculate tax, title and license in Missouri?
Work it in this order. Take the purchase price, subtract your trade-in, apply the 4.225% tax rate plus any local rate for your address, then add the flat fees: $8.50 for the title. The calculator on the Missouri 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 Missouri?
On a $25,000 car, about $1,832.75: $26.50 in fees and $1,806.25 in tax. On a $5,000 car it is about $387.75. The fees stay the same. The tax is what moves. Not included: registration fee, annual personal property tax, which Missouri DOR does not publish in a form we can verify.
How much are taxes on a $20,000 vehicle in Missouri?
$1,445 in tax on its own, before any fees. That is at the state rate. Your local rate can push it higher, and in Missouri it varies by where you live rather than where you buy. A trade-in reduces it, because Missouri taxes the difference.
What does tax, title and license include in Missouri?
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 Missouri the title is $8.50. 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 Missouri?
About $1,832.75: $26.50 in fees and $1,806.25 in tax. Change the price in the calculator for your own figure. Not included: registration fee, annual personal property tax.
Is the documentation fee part of tax, title and license?
No. The doc fee goes to the dealer, not to Missouri DOR. 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 Missouri?
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 Missouri?
On a $30,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in, tax drops from $2,167.50 to $1,445. That is $722.50 saved, because Missouri taxes the difference rather than the full price.
Work out the rest of the Missouri 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 Missouri specifically, these are the pages worth having open:
How Missouri compares at one price
The table above runs Missouri 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
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Fees, retrieved 2026-10-17
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Buying a Vehicle, retrieved 2026-10-17
- Missouri Department of Revenue, 12 CSR 10-26.231, maximum dealer administrative fee, retrieved 2026-10-17
- Missouri Revised Statutes 137.115, personal property assessed at one third of true value, October trade-in guide, 2025 cap on vehicle assessments, retrieved 2026-10-17
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Renewing Missouri License Plates ($5 renewal penalty), retrieved 2026-10-17
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Titling and Registration (30 days for new residents), retrieved 2026-10-17
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Special Fuel Decals (fees effective January 1, 2026), retrieved 2026-10-17
- Missouri Revised Statutes 301.144, personalized plates ($15 a year, new plates every three years), retrieved 2026-10-28
- Missouri Revised Statutes 301.140, plate transfer fee ($2 plus any prorated difference), retrieved 2026-10-28
- KY3, Missouri to eliminate temporary plates in February 2027 (FUSION phase 2), July 31, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-28
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Selling a Vehicle (gifts), retrieved 2026-10-30
Not affiliated with Missouri Department of Revenue.