Minnesota Car Registration Cost and Tab Fee Calculator

How much does it cost to register a car in Minnesota?

A new car that listed at $30,000 costs about $2,596.50 to register in Minnesota the first year. $2,062.50 of that is the 6.875% motor vehicle sales tax; the other $534 is $482.50 in registration tax plus the title, plates and filing fees. The next year's tabs are about $469.13, and they fall every year until $30 plus fees from year 11. Your county's wheelage tax, up to $20, comes on top.

Enter your own price and details in the calculator above for an itemized breakdown, or see renewing your registration below for the yearly cost.

Minnesota registration tax by year, on a $35,000 car

Minnesota's registration tax falls every year: on a car that listed at $35,000 it is $561.25 in the first year and $30 from the eleventh. DVS works it out the same way for every passenger car:

1. Start from the manufacturer's suggested retail price, without options. For a car first registered here on or after November 16, 2020, the destination charge is left out too.
2. Take a share of that price for the car's year of life: 100%, then 95%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 25% and 10% in the tenth year.
3. Charge 1.575% of the result and add $10. (Cars first registered here before November 16, 2020 use 1.54% and keep the destination charge in the price.)
4. From the eleventh year the value part becomes a flat $20, so every car that old pays $30.
5. Add the renewal filing fee ($8), the $2.25 technology surcharge and your county's wheelage tax.

In between, that car pays $533.69 in year two, $395.88 in year five and $65.13 in year ten. One rule works in your favor: on a car already registered in Minnesota, the tax can never be more than the lowest amount previously paid on it. DVS's "Estimate My Vehicle Registration Tax" tool gives the figure for your own car. Electric cars add the surcharge in the EV section below.

Which Minnesota counties charge a wheelage tax

Fifty-five Minnesota counties charge a wheelage tax of $10 to $20 a year, set by the county board and collected by DVS with your tabs. As of January 1, 2026:

$20: Benton, Brown, Carver, Chisago, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Mille Lacs, Nicollet, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Pope, Ramsey, Redwood, Rice, Sherburne, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca and Washington.

$15: Carlton, Pipestone, Stevens and Watonwan.

$10: Big Stone, Chippewa, Clay, Cottonwood, Dakota, Faribault, Isanti, Itasca, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Marshall, Martin, Mower, Murray, Nobles, Norman, Pennington, Renville, Rock, Scott, Sibley, Stearns and Swift.

Dakota, Isanti and Mower go to $20 for registration periods starting January 1, 2027. A county missing from these lists, such as Anoka, St. Louis or Wright, does not charge one. Motorcycles, mopeds and trailers are exempt, and if you pay it and then move to another county, it is not refunded.

Expired tabs, kiosks and new plates every seven years

• When they expire: the last day of the month shown on your plates.
• Late renewal: DVS lists no late fee, but driving on expired tabs can earn you a ticket. You can still renew online until the registration has been expired for 10 months; after that, visit a deputy registrar.
• Fastest tabs: DVS kiosks print your stickers on the spot. Online renewals arrive by mail, and if they have not shown up after 14 days (but within 60), replacements are free.
• New plates: passenger plates seven years old or older are replaced at renewal, so that year's bill includes the $15.50 plate fee.
• Buying from a private seller: get the transfer to a deputy registrar within 20 days of the sale or pay a $2 late penalty, and expect the 6.875% motor vehicle sales tax there, not at the seller's.

Step-by-step renewal options are in the renewal section below.

Minnesota registration fees at a glance

Buying the car as well? The tax on the purchase is a separate, one-time bill, about $1,718.75 on a $25,000 car in Minnesota. For your own price and trade-in, and what a dealer adds on top, use the Minnesota tax, title and license calculator.

How to register a car in Minnesota

If you have just bought a car, here is the whole process in Minnesota, from insurance to plates.

1. Line up Minnesota insurance. Set up auto insurance that meets Minnesota minimum coverage. Most offices will not register a car without proof of active insurance.
2. Gather your documents. You usually need the signed title, or the manufacturer's certificate of origin for a new car, plus a bill of sale, proof of insurance, and photo ID.
3. Check the inspection rules. Minnesota has no safety or emissions inspection for cars.
4. Go to a deputy registrar. Take the title signed over to you and form PS2000 to a deputy registrar office. A dealer usually files them for you; on a private sale you pay the 6.875% sales tax there.
5. Pay the fees. Pay the registration, title and plate fees, plus the sales or use tax on the purchase. The calculator at the top of this page gives your exact total.
6. Get plates and tabs. The deputy registrar issues two plates, front and rear, and the tab stickers showing when the registration runs out.

Putting the car in your name

The title is the document that says who owns the vehicle; the registration is what lets you drive it. Transferring the title into your name costs $8.25 in Minnesota and is a separate transaction with its own paperwork and deadline. For the forms, who has to be present, and how a family gift is taxed, use the Minnesota title transfer calculator. Buying from a private seller? Our private car sale guide covers the paperwork and the tax, and the branded title guide explains salvage and rebuilt titles.

How much are license plates in Minnesota?

A standard plate is $15.50. source 2 Double plates are $15.50 and a single plate is $13.50. Renewal carries its own $8.00 filing fee and the $2.25 technology surcharge.

Electric cars: the Minnesota surcharge on your tabs

Since January 2026 an electric car pays a surcharge with its tabs of at least $150 a year, and more on a car with a high list price, since it is 0.5% of the same written-down price the registration tax uses. A plug-in hybrid pays at least $75, and a hybrid that never plugs in pays nothing extra. The Minnesota EV fee page works the surcharge out year by year.

Renewing your registration in Minnesota

A renewal costs about $439.20 a year on a typical car, plus up to $20 for the wheelage tax where your county charges it. That is a car that listed at $28,000, in its second year; the tax falls every year after that, as the year table above shows. The tax, title and plate were one-time charges, so they do not come round again, but part of the renewal is worked out from the car's value, so it falls as the car gets older. For your own car, work out your renewal in the calculator at the top of this page.

How and when to renew in Minnesota is set out in Expired tabs, kiosks and new plates every seven years above.

Missed the date? The grace period and the late fee are in renewing late below.

Registering a car in Minnesota from another state

Moving in with a car you already own is a different transaction from buying one. You are not making a purchase, so there is usually no full sales tax to pay on it again.

Minnesota does not charge its 6.875% motor vehicle sales tax on a car you bought more than 60 days before moving here, as long as it was registered in your name in your old state. The $10.00 transfer tax is also waived when the Minnesota title is in the name already on the out-of-state title. source 10

What you will still pay in Minnesota is the title, which is $8.25, and the registration itself. Expect a check that the VIN on the car matches the title, since Minnesota has not seen this vehicle before.

New residents have 60 days to register a passenger vehicle, but must register immediately if the out-of-state registration has already expired. Bring the title (or your latest registration card if a lender holds it), lienholder details, the odometer reading, ID and proof of insurance to a deputy registrar. source 10

Registering or renewing late in Minnesota

Minnesota does not publish a grace period, so treat the expiry date on your registration as the deadline.

There is no late fee for tabs, but driving on expired ones risks a ticket. How long you can still renew online is in the expired tabs section above.

Driving on an expired registration is a ticket in every state, and in some places grounds for a tow, so renew as soon as you can and keep the receipt. What happens with an expired registration in each state is in our expired registration guide.

Minnesota registration tax deduction and the Registration Tax Paid lookup

Because the registration tax is based on the car's value, it is the part of your tabs that can count as a personal property tax if you itemize on your federal return. The $10 base, filing fees, plate fees and wheelage tax are flat charges, so they do not. You do not need to dig out old renewal notices: DVS has a free online "Registration Tax Paid" lookup that shows the registration tax paid on your vehicle in previous years.

It only helps if you itemize on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction, and it counts toward the state and local tax cap of $40,000 for 2026 ($20,000 married filing separately). The sales tax paid when you bought the car is a separate question. Our registration tax deduction guide explains who benefits from itemizing; we are not tax advisers, and this is not advice about your return.

Exemptions and low sale prices

Not every change of owner is a sale, and the tax follows what actually happened rather than what the paperwork looks like. A car handed over for nothing is a title transfer matter; see how Minnesota taxes a gifted car.

Minnesota taxes what you actually paid, which makes the bill of sale the document that decides your tax. That cuts both ways: an honest low price is accepted, and a dishonest one is fraud rather than a clever move. The value the state uses if it decides to look is its number, not yours.

Inheritances, active duty military exemptions, disabled veteran plates, salvage titles and temporary permits all change what you pay, and none of them is automatic. Minnesota DVS publishes the conditions for each, and every one of them has to be claimed.

What you need to bring to a deputy registrar office

Titles and registrations go through a deputy registrar office, which adds $1 to each transaction for the local office. source 2

Minnesota names these specifically: Form PS2000, the title and registration application, with the title signed over to you. source 2

Beyond whatever Minnesota DVS lists for your transaction, almost every counter visit needs the same six things (the full checklist, state by state, is in what you need to register a car):

• The title certificate, signed over to you by the seller. On a brand new car this is the manufacturer's certificate of origin instead.
• A bill of sale showing the price, the date and both names. In Minnesota this is the document your tax is worked out from, so the figure on it matters.
• An odometer disclosure, usually printed on the title itself. Federal law requires it on most vehicles under 20 years old.
• Proof of insurance that meets the Minnesota minimum, in your name, for this vehicle.
• Photo identification, and proof of your Minnesota address if your license is from somewhere else.
• Payment. Many county offices do not take credit cards, or charge extra for them.

Minnesota has no safety or emissions inspection for cars. Minnesota DVS publishes the checklist for each transaction type, and it is worth reading it the day before rather than in the queue. What each state inspects, and what it costs, is on the car inspection cost by state page.

Why is car registration so expensive in Minnesota?

Because most of what you are paying is not registration. On a $28,000 car in Minnesota, tax is about 79% of the total bill. The registration fee itself is the small line.

Three things drive the number up:

• The tax on the purchase. Charged once, on the price of the car, at the same sort of rate as anything else you buy.
• Tabs priced on the list price. For the first ten years the registration tax follows what the car listed for when new, so a recent car with a high sticker price pays several hundred dollars a year.
• County wheelage tax. Fifty-five counties add $10 to $20 a year to your tabs, Hennepin and Ramsey among them at $20.

The part you can actually control is the timing and the paperwork. Registering late adds penalties, getting the trade-in structured as one transaction protects the credit where one exists, and knowing the figure before you walk in stops a dealer's estimate from becoming the number you accept.

What the Minnesota fee names mean

The wording on a registration bill is not consistent between states, which is half of why the whole thing is confusing. Here is what each term on a Minnesota bill actually is.

Minnesota calls its agency Minnesota DVS. The names change state to state, and so do several of the charges above. There is a full glossary of registration and title fee terms covering the ones Minnesota does not use.

Frequently asked questions

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Registering in a different state, or want to change the price? Use the national car registration calculator, or see how much it costs to register a car by state.