What is the out-the-door price of a car?

The total you actually pay: the vehicle price plus sales tax, title, registration, plate and dealer fees, minus any trade-in credit. Advertised prices almost never include it, which is why the same $30,000 car can cost hundreds or thousands more depending on the state and county.

How is car sales tax calculated?

Usually as a percentage of the purchase price, but the details vary sharply by state: Florida caps its county surtax at the first $5,000, Oklahoma taxes trade-ins differently across its two taxes, California gives no trade-in credit at all, and Texas taxes cheap private-party cars on a presumptive value floor.

Tax, title and license — the government charges added to a vehicle purchase: the sales or excise tax, the title certificate fee, and registration/license plate fees. Dealers bundle them into the out-the-door figure; each state sets its own amounts.

Why do fee calculators disagree with each other?

Most copy stale or secondhand figures. We build each state calculator from that state's official published schedules — tax commission, DMV and statutes — and print the date we last checked them on every page.

What will that car really cost out the door?

The sticker price is never the price. Sales tax, title, registration, plate and dealer fees add hundreds — sometimes thousands — and every state computes them differently. Pick your state, enter a price, and get an itemized estimate ending in your out-the-door total, built from that state's official fee schedules.

Start with your state

Enter a price and we'll open the full calculator for your state with the numbers already filled in.

State calculators — live now

Texas6.25% sales tax, the SPV floor on private-party used cars, title and 254-county registration fees, $200 EV fee.Open the Texas calculator → Florida6% tax + county surtax on the first $5,000 only, the $225 initial registration fee, title and plate costs.Open the Florida calculator → OklahomaTwo taxes, two bases: 3.25% excise on the full price + 1.25% sales tax after trade-in. Tag fees by year.Open the Oklahoma calculator → CaliforniaNo trade-in credit, district tax by registration address, 0.65% vehicle license fee, DMV fees itemized.Open the California calculator →

In progress: Louisiana · Tennessee · Washington · Georgia · Illinois · Michigan · Massachusetts · Ohio · Virginia · Arizona · New Jersey · New York · Pennsylvania · North Carolina — then the remaining states, on the same official-sources standard.

Why the same car costs different money in different states

The tax itself differs in kind. Most states charge a sales tax; Oklahoma charges an excise tax plus a smaller sales tax; Georgia charges a one-time title ad valorem tax instead of annual property-style fees. Rates run from 0% (a few states charge no vehicle sales tax) to combined district rates above 11% in parts of California.
Trade-ins are treated four different ways. Most states deduct your trade-in before tax. California never does. Oklahoma deducts it from one tax but not the other. Texas deducts it at dealers but floors cheap private-party deals at a state presumptive value.
Fees hide in the details. A one-time $225 initial registration fee in Florida if you have no plate to transfer. A $400 first registration for a new EV in Texas, but no EV fee at purchase in California (it's at renewal) and none at all in Florida. Weight classes, registration-year brackets and county fees all move the total.
Dealer fees are part of the deal. Document fees are capped at $85 in California, "presumed reasonable" at $150 in Texas, and uncapped — but taxable — in Florida and Oklahoma. Our calculators show the doc fee as its own line so you can see and negotiate it.

State	Headline tax	Trade-in credit?	The catch to know
Texas	6.25% sales tax	Yes, at dealers	Private-party used cars are taxed on at least 80% of the state's presumptive value
Florida	6% + county surtax	Yes, at dealers	The surtax applies only to the first $5,000 — and a $225 fee hits if you have no plate to transfer
Oklahoma	3.25% excise + 1.25% sales tax	Only against the 1.25%	The excise tax never deducts a trade-in; used cars use a $20 + 3.25% formula
California	7.25% – 11%+ by address	Never	Rebates are taxed too, and the 0.65% license fee restarts on your purchase price

Every calculator on this site is built the same way: figures taken from the state's own published schedules (tax commission, DMV, statutes), a "rates last checked" date printed on the page, the math shown line by line, and an estimated out-the-door total at the end. Where an official figure doesn't exist, we say so rather than guess — that's why our numbers sometimes differ from other calculators, and why ours match the counter when you get there.

Frequently asked questions

What does "out the door" include?

Vehicle price, plus sales/excise tax, title, registration and plate fees, and dealer fees, minus your trade-in. It excludes financing costs, insurance, and optional add-ons like extended warranties — if a dealer's out-the-door quote includes those, ask for them itemized.

Can I avoid tax by buying in a cheaper state or county?

Generally no. States tax where the vehicle is registered and used, not where it's sold — California uses your registration address's rate, Florida uses your residence county, and states give credit for tax legally paid elsewhere rather than letting you double-dip.

Are these calculators official?

No — OutTheDoorCalc is independent and not affiliated with any state DMV. But every figure comes from official published schedules, cited on each state page, and the collecting office (DMV, tax collector, licensed operator) always sets the final amount.

My dealer quote differs from the calculator. Who's wrong?

Compare line by line. Legitimate differences: a doc fee amount, a dealer-funded discount, county fees, or a registration class we flagged as approximate. Red flags: tax computed on a pre-trade-in price in a credit state, a doc fee above a state cap, or fees with names that don't appear in the state's schedule.

Free: the out-the-door checklist (all states)

One page to take to any dealership: the fees to expect, the questions to ask before you sign, and how to read a buyer's order line by line. No spam — one email with the checklist, then only when fee schedules change.