Tennessee Tax, Title and License Calculator
What the state actually charges on a car purchase in Tennessee, separated from what the dealer adds. Every government figure comes from Tennessee Revenue.
How much is tax, title and license (TTL) in Tennessee?
On a $25,000 car, tax, title and license in Tennessee is about $1,875.50: $37.50 in fees and $1,838 in tax. The fixed fees stay about the same at any price; the tax is what moves with what you pay.
Use the full Tennessee 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 Tennessee by price
| Purchase price | Fees | Tax | TTL total | With 30% trade-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 car | $37.50 | $292.50 | $330 | $242.25 |
| $5,000 car | $37.50 | $438 | $475.50 | $370.50 |
| $6,000 car | $37.50 | $508 | $545.50 | $419.50 |
| $10,000 car | $37.50 | $788 | $825.50 | $615.50 |
| $20,000 car | $37.50 | $1,488 | $1,525.50 | $1,105.50 |
| $30,000 car | $37.50 | $2,188 | $2,225.50 | $1,595.50 |
| $40,000 car | $37.50 | $2,888 | $2,925.50 | $2,085.50 |
Used vehicle, first registration in Tennessee, at the state tax rate. Includes the typical local rate of 2.75%. Not included: county wheel tax.
Where the money goes
On a $25,000 car in Tennessee, tax is $1,838 of the $1,875.50 total and the fixed fees are $37.50. 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 Tennessee
The Tennessee rate is 7% plus local rates of 1.5% to 2.75%. source 3 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.
How Tennessee car sales tax adds up: state, local and single article
Three pieces make up the tax on a car here. The state charges 7% of the whole price. Your local rate, up to 2.75%, only reaches the first $1,600. A state single-article tax of 2.75% covers the slice from $1,600 to $3,200. On a $30,000 car in a county at the 2.75% top rate that comes to $2,188: $2,100 state, $44 local and $44 single-article, close to 7% overall rather than the 9.75% people expect.
Buying out of state does not get around it. A Tennessee resident registers the car straight away, and if the other state's rate was lower, the difference is paid here at registration, plus the single-article tax if nobody collected it.
Does a trade-in reduce your tax in Tennessee?
Yes. Tennessee 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 Tennessee.
The Tennessee documentation fee, and what else is not TTL
Once you strip out the tax, title and registration, what is left on the sheet is the dealer's, and the biggest of those is usually the documentation fee.
State law lets a dealer add a document or processing fee on top of the price, with no ceiling, as long as it is itemized before you sign. The one thing the dealer cannot do is dress it up as a government charge. Beyond that disclosure, the amount is entirely up to the dealer. source 7
No state makes a dealer charge this, and Tennessee 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 Tennessee's doc fee rule compares with the rest.
Motorcycles, leases and other cases
Three situations where the figure above does not apply:
- Motorcycles. Tennessee Revenue registers them on a different and much cheaper schedule. The state plate fee for a passenger vehicle is $26.50 and a motorcycle is $19.50. 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 Tennessee title transfer page has the rule and the form.
Questions about Tennessee TTL
How can you avoid sales tax on a car in Tennessee?
Only through an exemption. New residents bringing a car already titled in their own name pay no Tennessee tax, and some transfers within a family are exempt, as the Tennessee title transfer page explains.
How to calculate tax, title and license in Tennessee?
Work it in this order. Take the purchase price, subtract your trade-in, apply the 7% tax rate plus any local rate for your address, then add the flat fees: $11 for the title and $26.50 for registration. The calculator on the Tennessee 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 Tennessee?
On a $25,000 car, about $1,875.50: $37.50 in fees and $1,838 in tax. On a $5,000 car it is about $475.50. The fees stay the same. The tax is what moves. Not included: county wheel tax, which Tennessee Revenue does not publish in a form we can verify.
How much are taxes on a $20,000 vehicle in Tennessee?
$1,488 in tax on its own, before any fees. That is at the state rate. Your local rate can push it higher, and in Tennessee it varies by where you live rather than where you buy. A trade-in reduces it, because Tennessee taxes the difference.
What does tax, title and license include in Tennessee?
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 Tennessee the title is $11 and registration is $26.50. 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 Tennessee?
About $1,875.50: $37.50 in fees and $1,838 in tax. Change the price in the calculator for your own figure. Not included: county wheel tax.
Is the documentation fee part of tax, title and license?
No. The doc fee goes to the dealer, not to Tennessee Revenue. 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 Tennessee?
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 Tennessee?
On a $30,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in, tax drops from $2,188 to $1,488. That is $700 saved, because Tennessee taxes the difference rather than the full price.
Work out the rest of the Tennessee 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 Tennessee specifically, these are the pages worth having open:
How Tennessee compares at one price
The table above runs Tennessee 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
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, VR-4, registration fees, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, LIEN-10, fee to note a lien, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, single article and special tax rates, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, SUT-13, sales and use tax rates overview, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, VR-5, registration fees for hybrid or electric vehicles, retrieved 2026-11-05
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, vehicle registration guidance, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Tennessee Code 55-17-114(b)(1)(E), dealer document preparation and processing fees, retrieved 2026-09-18
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, VR-6, new residents should register within 30 days, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, VR-7, registration process for new residents, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, SUT-50, motor vehicles and boats imported into Tennessee, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, GI-10, no sales tax on a gifted vehicle, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, GI-13, car sales to relatives are not subject to sales tax, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Shelby County Clerk, title and registration fees for privately owned vehicles, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Knox County Clerk, tag renewals and wheel tax, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Hamilton County Clerk, annual renewal costs, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Davidson County Clerk, vehicle registration fees, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, vehicle emissions testing to end January 2022 (FAQ published by the Hamilton County Clerk), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Metro Nashville Public Health, Davidson County vehicle inspection program ended February 5, 2022, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, VTR-37, sales tax on a vehicle purchased out of state, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, PSP-6, fee for a personalized specialty plate ($70 plus county fees), retrieved 2026-10-28
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, PSP-7, fee to replace a plate ($10), retrieved 2026-10-28
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, PSP-5, personalized plates and new specialty plates, retrieved 2026-10-28
- WGNS, Why you’re seeing those sleek black license plates in Tennessee, March 30, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-28
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, Notice #23-14, electric and hybrid vehicle registration fees apply only at renewal (updated September 2023), retrieved 2026-11-05
- Tennessee Department of Revenue, Vehicle Services County Clerk Guide, electric and hybrid vehicle renewal fee (updated August 7, 2026), retrieved 2026-11-05
- State of Tennessee, Public Chapter 969 (2026), military exemption from the all-electric vehicle registration fee, retrieved 2026-11-05
Not affiliated with Tennessee Department of Revenue, Vehicle Services.