Virginia Tax, Title and License Calculator
What the state actually charges on a car purchase in Virginia, separated from what the dealer adds. Every government figure comes from Virginia DMV.
How much is tax, title and license (TTL) in Virginia?
On a $25,000 car, tax, title and license in Virginia is about $1,083.25: $45.75 in fees and $1,037.50 in tax. The fixed fees stay about the same at any price; the tax is what moves with what you pay.
Use the full Virginia 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 Virginia by price
| Purchase price | Fees | Tax | TTL total | With 30% trade-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 car | $45.75 | $124.50 | $170.25 | $170.25 |
| $5,000 car | $45.75 | $207.50 | $253.25 | $253.25 |
| $6,000 car | $45.75 | $249 | $294.75 | $294.75 |
| $10,000 car | $45.75 | $415 | $460.75 | $460.75 |
| $20,000 car | $45.75 | $830 | $875.75 | $875.75 |
| $30,000 car | $45.75 | $1,245 | $1,290.75 | $1,290.75 |
| $40,000 car | $45.75 | $1,660 | $1,705.75 | $1,705.75 |
Used vehicle, first registration in Virginia, at the state tax rate. Not included: local personal property tax (car tax).
Where the money goes
On a $25,000 car in Virginia, tax is $1,037.50 of the $1,083.25 total and the fixed fees are $45.75. 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 Virginia
The Virginia rate is 4.15%. 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 Virginia?
No, and this is the single most expensive thing to get wrong. Virginia charges tax on the full price of the car you are buying, even though you handed over another car as part of the deal.
Buy a $28,000 car and trade in one worth $8,000 and you are still taxed on the full $28,000. In a state that allows the credit you would have saved about $0. Most calculators quietly apply the credit anyway and hand you a number that is too low.
Virginia charges 4.15% Sales and Use Tax on the gross sales price, or $75.00, whichever is greater. The rate is low, but the trade-in rule is the one to watch: Virginia says the gross sales price does not include price reductions such as credit for a trade-in. The DMV's own example is a $40,000 car with a $5,000 trade-in, still taxed on the full $40,000. On a private sale of a car under five years old you need an affidavit if the price is more than $1,500 away from the NADA trade-in value. source 2
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 Virginia.
The Virginia 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 Virginia.
Virginia sets no maximum. What it requires is disclosure: if a dealer charges a processing fee, the fee and its amount have to be shown on a clearly visible sign in the public sales area. So the fee is whatever the dealer says it is, and your only protection is that they have to say it before you sit down. source 5
No state makes a dealer charge this, and Virginia 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 Virginia's doc fee rule compares with the rest.
Motorcycles, leases and other cases
Three situations where the figure above does not apply:
- Motorcycles. Virginia DMV 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 Virginia title transfer page has the rule and the form.
Questions about Virginia TTL
How to calculate tax, title and license in Virginia?
Work it in this order. Take the purchase price, apply the 4.15% tax rate, then add the flat fees: $15 for the title. The calculator on the Virginia 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 Virginia?
On a $25,000 car, about $1,083.25: $45.75 in fees and $1,037.50 in tax. On a $5,000 car it is about $253.25. The fees stay the same. The tax is what moves. Not included: local personal property tax (car tax), which Virginia DMV does not publish in a form we can verify.
How much are taxes on a $20,000 vehicle in Virginia?
$830 in tax on its own, before any fees. A trade-in does not reduce it in Virginia.
What does tax, title and license include in Virginia?
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 Virginia the title is $15. 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 Virginia?
About $1,083.25: $45.75 in fees and $1,037.50 in tax. Change the price in the calculator for your own figure. Not included: local personal property tax (car tax).
Is the documentation fee part of tax, title and license?
No. The doc fee goes to the dealer, not to Virginia DMV. 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 Virginia?
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.
Does a trade-in lower tax, title and license in Virginia?
No. Virginia charges tax on the full price of the car you are buying, whatever you hand over in part exchange. This is unusual and it is worth hundreds of dollars, so check any other calculator that tells you otherwise.
Work out the rest of the Virginia 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 Virginia specifically, these are the pages worth having open:
How Virginia compares at one price
The table above runs Virginia 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
- Virginia DMV Fees, form DMV 201, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Virginia DMV, Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax, retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, 2026 Estimated Highway Use Fee Chart, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Virginia DMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Code of Virginia 46.2-1530, buyer’s order and processing fee disclosure, retrieved 2026-09-16
- Code of Virginia § 58.1-3503, tangible personal property (the local vehicle "car tax"), retrieved 2026-09-26
- Virginia DMV, Register Your Vehicle (renewal options, online and multi-year discounts), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Emissions Inspections (localities, two-year validity, exemptions, $2 emissions fee), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Delinquent Property Taxes and Vehicle Registration (stops), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Local Vehicle Registration Program (Virginia Beach), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, New to Virginia (title within 30 days, license within 60 days), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia State Police, Vehicle Safety Inspection ($20, $12 motorcycles), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Code of Virginia 58.1-3524, personal property tax relief (first $20,000 of value), retrieved 2026-10-11
- Virginia DMV, Create a Plate (personalized plates $10 a year, up to seven characters), retrieved 2026-10-28
- Virginia DMV, Personalized License Plate Guidelines and Restrictions, retrieved 2026-10-28
Not affiliated with Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.