Minnesota motor vehicle sales tax calculator
The Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) in Minnesota is 6.875% of the taxable amount.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
By Mr. Voltage · Data checked Oct 3, 2026 · Page changed Oct 30, 2026
Where will you register the car?
Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota
Example quotes. Pick your place and type yours. Example: three quotes on one car in Harris County, Minnesota. Pick your own place and type your quotes.
Your deals at a glance
| Deal | Payment | All-in |
|---|---|---|
| $595.84a month | $40,750.73+$757.20 more than Deal C | |
| $537.87a month | $43,726.50+$3,732.97 more than Deal C | |
| $583.22a month | $39,993.53Lowest |
Estimate. Your dealer’s buyer’s order and your lender’s disclosures are the numbers that count. Check them against this.
Your numbers stay in this browser.
$595.84 a month · 60 payments
All-in $40,750.73
$537.87 a month · 72 payments
All-in $43,726.50
$583.22 a month · 60 payments
All-in $39,993.53Lowest
Out-the-door $35,894.63
Estimate. Your dealer’s buyer’s order and your lender’s disclosures are the numbers that count. Check them against this.
Out-the-door $36,637.41
Estimate. Your dealer’s buyer’s order and your lender’s disclosures are the numbers that count. Check them against this.
Out-the-door $36,379.31
Estimate. Your dealer’s buyer’s order and your lender’s disclosures are the numbers that count. Check them against this.
New · 2026 · Gas · change
New or used
The sheet starts with a new car; each deal sets its own
Model year
A new car is the current model year
Fuel
Gas car. An electric or plug-in hybrid car pays a yearly surcharge on top of the registration tax
Sticker price (MSRP)
The research’s test car, a 2026 Tucson SEL FWD: its $31,300 list price before the $1,400 destination charge. The window sticker gives the exact figure
Registration
A new car is registered for the first time
New · 2026 · Gas · change
New or used
The sheet starts with a new car; each deal sets its own
Model year
A new car is the current model year
Fuel
Gas car. An electric or plug-in hybrid car pays a yearly surcharge on top of the registration tax
Sticker price (MSRP)
The research’s test car, a 2026 Tucson SEL FWD: its $31,300 list price before the $1,400 destination charge. The window sticker gives the exact figure
Registration
A new car is registered for the first time
New · 2026 · Gas · change
New or used
The sheet starts with a new car; each deal sets its own
Model year
A new car is the current model year
Fuel
Gas car. An electric or plug-in hybrid car pays a yearly surcharge on top of the registration tax
Sticker price (MSRP)
The research’s test car, a 2026 Tucson SEL FWD: its $31,300 list price before the $1,400 destination charge. The window sticker gives the exact figure
Registration
A new car is registered for the first time
$350.00: what Minnesota allows here, the lesser of two limits (“the maximum fee is the lesser of $350 or an amount equal to ten percent of the value of the sale or lease”).
Minnesota calls it a documentary fee or document administration fee.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Takes “the value of the sale” as the car’s price, after any dealer discount and before a trade-in or a rebate. The statute does not define it. Only a car under $3,500 reaches the 10% limb; if a trade-in or rebate lowered the value, the doc fee on such a car would be lower.
$350.00: what Minnesota allows here, the lesser of two limits (“the maximum fee is the lesser of $350 or an amount equal to ten percent of the value of the sale or lease”).
Minnesota calls it a documentary fee or document administration fee.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Takes “the value of the sale” as the car’s price, after any dealer discount and before a trade-in or a rebate. The statute does not define it. Only a car under $3,500 reaches the 10% limb; if a trade-in or rebate lowered the value, the doc fee on such a car would be lower.
$350.00: what Minnesota allows here, the lesser of two limits (“the maximum fee is the lesser of $350 or an amount equal to ten percent of the value of the sale or lease”).
Minnesota calls it a documentary fee or document administration fee.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Takes “the value of the sale” as the car’s price, after any dealer discount and before a trade-in or a rebate. The statute does not define it. Only a car under $3,500 reaches the 10% limb; if a trade-in or rebate lowered the value, the doc fee on such a car would be lower.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Rounds the tax to the nearest cent, half a cent going up. Minnesota publishes no rounding rule for this tax. One cent at most, and only when the tax lands on exactly half a cent: Case A’s $2,248.125 would be $2,248.12.
- No local percentage sales tax on a car: Minneapolis’s 9.025% sales tax rate, and every county and city rate, applies to other goods, not to the car.
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No emissions or safety inspection for a car.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No limit on the trade-in allowance that comes off the tax.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No local percentage sales tax on a car: Minneapolis’s 9.025% sales tax rate, and every county and city rate, applies to other goods, not to the car.
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No emissions or safety inspection for a car.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No limit on the trade-in allowance that comes off the tax.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No local percentage sales tax on a car: Minneapolis’s 9.025% sales tax rate, and every county and city rate, applies to other goods, not to the car.
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No emissions or safety inspection for a car.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
- No limit on the trade-in allowance that comes off the tax.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Your $5,000.00 down covers the $3,194.63 in tax, fees and the doc fee first; $1,805.37 goes toward the price.
Your $5,000.00 down covers the $3,242.41 in tax, fees and the doc fee first; $1,757.59 goes toward the price.
Your $5,000.00 down covers the $3,129.31 in tax, fees and the doc fee first; $1,870.69 goes toward the price.
Illustrative rate, not a quote. Your APR depends on your credit, the term, the vehicle and the lender.
Illustrative rate, not a quote. Your APR depends on your credit, the term, the vehicle and the lender.
Illustrative rate, not a quote. Your APR depends on your credit, the term, the vehicle and the lender.
60 payments, last $596.17
72 payments, last $537.73
60 payments, last $583.55
cash down plus every payment
+$757.20 more all-in than Deal C
cash down plus every payment
+$3,732.97 more all-in than Deal C
cash down plus every payment
Estimate. Your dealer’s buyer’s order and your lender’s disclosures are the numbers that count. Check them against this.
Estimate. Your dealer’s buyer’s order and your lender’s disclosures are the numbers that count. Check them against this.
Estimate. Your dealer’s buyer’s order and your lender’s disclosures are the numbers that count. Check them against this.
8 charges this total leaves out
8 charges this total leaves out
8 charges this total leaves out
What’s different in Minnesota
Minnesota calls it the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST).
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
A trade-in comes off the amount taxed at its full value, so only the difference is taxed.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Negative equity rolled into the new loan is not taxed. That point is not confirmed.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Minnesota’s law makes the documentary fee or document administration fee the smaller of a set amount and a share of the price (its words: “the maximum fee is the lesser of $350 or an amount equal to ten percent of the value of the sale or lease”).
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Local sales tax does not apply to a car. Instead, 16 counties and cities charge a flat $20 local vehicle excise tax, collected by the dealer where it delivers the car.
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
Worked examples
Each line below is worked by the same engine as the calculator, on the day this page was built (Nov 11, 2026).
A new car with a trade-in and negative equity
A new car at $32,700.00, with a trade-in allowed at $10,000.00 and $13,000.00 still owed, $5,000.00 down, financed at 5.90% for 60 months, bought from a dealer and registered in Minnesota’s example market.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price | $32,700.00 |
| Trade-in allowance | $10,000.00 |
| Still owed on the trade-in | $13,000.00 |
| Equity (negative if you owe more than it is worth) | −$3,000.00 |
| Purchase price revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $22,700.00 |
| Minnesota motor vehicle sales tax (6.875%) revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $1,560.63 |
| Doc fee revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $350.00 |
| County vehicle excise tax revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $20.00 |
| Certificate of title revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $8.25 |
| Technology surcharge revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $2.25 |
| Public safety vehicle fee revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $3.50 |
| Filing fee revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $12.00 |
| Transfer tax revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $10.00 |
| Security interest (lien) notation revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $2.00 |
| License plates (a pair) dps.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $15.50 |
| Registration tax: the $10 base revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $10.00 |
| Registration tax: 1.575% of the list price revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $493.00 |
| County wheelage tax revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $20.00 |
| Out-the-door price | $35,207.13 |
| Cash down | $5,000.00 |
| Amount financed | $33,207.13 |
| Monthly payment | $640.44 |
| Interest over the loan | $5,219.53 |
| Total paid, interest included | $43,426.66 |
A used car from a dealer
A used car, model year 2022, at $21,500.00, $5,000.00 down, financed at 5.90% for 60 months, bought from a dealer and registered in Minnesota’s example market.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price | $21,500.00 |
| Purchase price revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $21,500.00 |
| Minnesota motor vehicle sales tax (6.875%) revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $1,478.13 |
| Doc fee revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $350.00 |
| County vehicle excise tax revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $20.00 |
| Certificate of title revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $8.25 |
| Technology surcharge revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $2.25 |
| Public safety vehicle fee revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $3.50 |
| Filing fee revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $12.00 |
| Transfer tax revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $10.00 |
| Security interest (lien) notation revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 | $2.00 |
| Out-the-door price | $23,386.13 |
| Cash down | $5,000.00 |
| Amount financed | $18,386.13 |
| Monthly payment | $354.60 |
| Interest over the loan | $2,889.91 |
| Total paid, interest included | $26,276.04 |
The rules in Minnesota
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Name of the tax | Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Minnesota motor vehicle sales tax (6.875%) | 6.875% of the taxable amount revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| What is taxed | Taxed: the vehicle price, other dealer fees on the order, accessories fitted before delivery and protection packages. Not taxed: the doc fee, loose items sold with the car, service contracts, prepaid maintenance, GAP and government fees. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Trade-in | A trade-in comes off the amount taxed at its full value, so only the difference is taxed. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Maker’s rebate | A maker’s rebate lowers the amount taxed. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Dealer discount | A dealer discount lowers the amount taxed. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Negative equity | Negative equity rolled into the loan is not taxed. That point is not confirmed. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Doc fee | The law makes the documentary fee or document administration fee the smaller of a set amount and a share of the price (its words: “the maximum fee is the lesser of $350 or an amount equal to ten percent of the value of the sale or lease”). revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Certificate of title | $8.25 revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Technology surcharge | $2.25 revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Public safety vehicle fee | $3.50 revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Registration tax: the $10 base | $10.00 a year revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Registration tax: 1.575% of the list price | worked from the rule a year revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Registration tax: a flat $20 from the 11th year | $20.00 a year revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| County wheelage tax | Up to $20 a year, by the county where the car is kept, collected with the registration tax. Hennepin County charges $20. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Private-party purchase | Yes. 6.875% of the purchase price, paid by the buyer at a deputy registrar when the title transfers. No $20 local excise. revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Tax paid to another state | A credit by rate, not dollars: the buyer pays only the difference in rates, and only if the other state gives Minnesota a similar credit. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| New resident | No motor vehicle sales tax if the car was bought more than 60 days before moving and registered in the person’s name in the other state. Register within 60 days; registration tax and title fees apply. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Older car bought cheaply | A flat $10 instead of the 6.875% for a passenger car in its 10th year of life or later with a resale value under $3,000. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Electric and hybrid surcharges | An electric car pays the greater of $150 or 0.5% of the list price at its year-of-life percentage; a plug-in hybrid the greater of $75 or 0.25%. The minimums fall to $100 and $50 for registration periods from July 1, 2027. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
| Finance rate ceiling | A retail installment contract may carry up to 18% a year on a car of the sale’s model year or one year older, 19.75% on one 2 to 3 years older, and 23.25% on an older one. revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 |
What has changed
· Fees: a new version takes effect.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
· Watching: Dakota, Isanti and Mower counties’ wheelage tax rises from $10 to $20 for registration periods beginning January 1, 2027 (in the table from that day); Driver and Vehicle Services posts its 2027 list, The 2027 list should show the three at $20 and the other counties unchanged.
dps.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
· The rules on this page start here. Nothing earlier is loaded.
Questions people ask
How does Minnesota tax a car, and does the Minneapolis sales tax rate apply?
Minnesota charges a motor vehicle sales tax (MVST) of 6.875% of the purchase price, in place of the general sales tax. It was 6.5% before July 1, 2023. No local sales tax applies to the car, so Minneapolis’s general rate of 9.025% does not. Instead, 16 counties and cities, Hennepin County among them, charge a flat $20 local vehicle excise tax. It goes by where the dealer delivers the car, not where you live. The MVST is on the price with dealer-installed accessories, prep and transportation, less a trade-in and rebates. The doc fee, an extended warranty and the registration, license and document fees are not taxed. A prepaid maintenance plan sold with the car is the exception: it pays the general sales tax at the local rate, 9.025% in Minneapolis. The dealer collects the tax and sends it with the title and registration application within 10 days of the sale.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
How is the Minnesota registration tax worked out?
It is paid every year, and on a new car the dealer collects the first year at the sale. It is $10 plus 1.575% of the maker’s suggested retail price, without destination or dealer add-ons, times a percentage for the car’s year of life. The percentage is 100% in the model year, then 95, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50, 40, 25 and 10%. From year 11 it is a flat $20, plus the $10. The registrar rounds it to the whole dollar. On a new car with a $31,300 list price, the first year is $503. Hennepin County adds a $20 wheelage tax each year, and a new pair of plates is $15.50. A used car’s plates and paid registration pass to the buyer, so a dealer does not collect registration tax on a car currently registered in Minnesota. An electric car adds the greater of $150 or 0.5% of the list price at the same percentage, and a plug-in hybrid the greater of $75 or 0.25%.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
dps.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
Is the Minnesota dealer doc fee capped?
Yes. A dealer may not charge a documentary fee or document administration fee above the cap. For sales on or after July 1, 2025, the maximum fee is the lesser of $350 or 10% of the value of the sale. The fee is for services actually rendered, and the cap covers a car being registered in Minnesota. It is fixed in the law, with no yearly adjustment. It rose from $125 to $200, $275 and then $350 in steps from 2023. The fee must be a separate line on the sales agreement, and it may be left out of the advertised price. It is not taxed. A dealer may also add an optional electronic transfer fee outside the cap, separately stated. No limit on that fee was found, and that point is not confirmed. Complaints go to the Department of Public Safety’s Driver and Vehicle Services.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
ag.state.mn.us · checked Oct 14, 2026
Do a trade-in and rebates lower Minnesota motor vehicle sales tax?
Yes, both. The trade-in allowance comes off the price before tax, in full, with no cap, on a new or used car. An off-road vehicle traded in does not count. If you owe more than the trade-in is worth, the payoff goes into the loan and is not taxed. That is our reading of the statute; the state has not said so, so it is not confirmed. A rebate with a fixed value at the time of purchase is deducted before the tax too, whether it comes from the maker or a third party, and whether it shows as a price cut, a down payment or a refund. A federal EV credit taken at the sale or a Minnesota EV rebate counts as a rebate; a credit claimed later on a tax return does not. A dealer discount lowers the price taxed.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
Is a private car sale taxed in Minnesota?
Yes. The buyer pays the 6.875% motor vehicle sales tax on the purchase price at a deputy registrar when transferring the title, which must happen within 10 days of the sale. The $20 local excise does not apply, since it covers only sales by a business that sells cars. The tax is on the actual price the seller lists on the title. A book value is used only for a gift or a transfer for a nominal price. Gifts between spouses, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild are not taxed. A passenger car in its tenth year of life or later with a resale value under $3,000 pays a flat $10 instead.
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026
assets.dps.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
I bought a car out of state. What do I pay in Minnesota?
A Minnesota resident pays the motor vehicle sales tax when registering the car in Minnesota, plus the registration tax, title and other fees, but no $20 local excise. Tax paid to the other state is credited by rate, not by dollars: if that state’s rate is lower, you pay the difference in rates. The credit applies only if that state gives Minnesota a similar credit. Minnesota’s doc-fee cap does not bind an out-of-state dealer. A new resident owes no motor vehicle sales tax if the car was bought more than 60 days before moving and was registered in their name in the other state. They register within 60 days and pay the registration tax and title fees, and the $10 transfer tax is waived. A nonresident who buys from a Minnesota dealer and registers elsewhere pays no Minnesota sales tax, but still pays the $20 excise if the car is delivered in an excise area.
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revisor.mn.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026
revenue.state.mn.us · checked Oct 3, 2026