Yearly excise and personal property tax on your car, by state
| State | What's Taxed | Rate Mechanic | Year-1 Bill on a $25,000 Car |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | Depreciated MSRP (90/60/40/25/10% schedule) | $25 per $1,000 | ≈ $563 |
| Rhode Island | Repealed — the state reimburses towns | Motor vehicle excise ended July 1, 2022 | $0 |
| Connecticut | Depreciated retail value per DMV schedule | Town mill rate on 70% of value (mills ≈ 25-45) | ≈ $525 at 30 mills |
| Maine | Original MSRP, declining schedule | $24 per $1,000 in year 1, dropping to $3 by year 7 | ≈ $600 |
| Virginia | NADA assessed value | Local levy, commonly $3.50-$5.00 per $100, less ~45% state relief | ≈ $578 after relief |
| Missouri | Market value × 33⅓% assessment | Local levy, commonly $5.00-$9.00 per $100 assessed | ≈ $583 at $7.00 |
| North Carolina | Vehicle value | County rate billed with registration, typically $0.60-$1.10 per $100 | ≈ $213 at $0.85 |
| Kansas | Appraised value | 1.1% for passenger cars | ≈ $275 |
| Arizona | 60% of base price, reduced 16.25% yearly | $2.80 per $100 VLT | ≈ $420 |
Year-1 figures assume the shown typical rate, exemption, or relief level; your town's actual mill rate, exemption, or relief share moves the number. Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming also tax vehicles annually, with rates that vary sharply by county. States like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Illinois collect once at purchase instead; California bills a 0.65% vehicle license fee inside your registration.
Roughly half the country has no annual car tax at all, and the states that do each invented their own formula. What they share is structure: a base value (list price, market value, or a fraction of it), a rate (per $1,000, per $100, or mills), and usually a depreciation schedule that shrinks the bill as the car ages. This calculator implements the nine biggest formulas directly and gives you a custom mode for everything else.
Massachusetts: MSRP × depreciation (90/60/40/25/10%) × $25/$1,000. Maine: MSRP × $24/$1,000 in year one, stepping down to $3/$1,000 by year seven. Rhode Island: repealed July 1, 2022 — $0. Connecticut: depreciated retail × 70% × mill rate ÷ 1,000. Virginia: NADA value × local rate per $100 × (1 − relief %). Missouri: market value × 33⅓% × local levy per $100. North Carolina: value × county rate per $100. Kansas: value × 1.1%. Arizona: base price × 60% × 0.8375 per year since first registration (the 16.25% cut compounds off each prior year's value, floored at 20% of base) × $2.80/$100 (new vehicles; used pay $2.89/$100).
Pick your state; the value field relabels itself because states disagree on what to tax (original MSRP versus current market value). Add your local rate where the state asks for one: your mill rate or levy is on last year's bill or your town assessor's site. The custom mode covers every other state with three inputs: value, rate per $100, and the assessment ratio if your state taxes only a fraction of value.
A $28,000 car in Massachusetts, brand new: excise = $28,000 × 90% × $25/$1,000 = $630 in year one. Year two drops to $420, year three $280, year four $175, and from year five on, $70. Five years of excise total $1,575.
The same car garaged in Virginia at a $4.20 rate with 45% state relief: $28,000 × $4.20/$100 = $1,176 gross, $647 after relief, repeating annually with only the assessed value's slow decline. That contrast is the whole story of car taxes: Massachusetts taxes the sticker price hard and stops; Virginia taxes the market value forever.
And in Arizona: $30,000 × 60% × $2.80/$100 = $504 in year one, $422 in year two, $354 in year three as the 16.25% annual reduction compounds off each prior year's value.
About two dozen states bill a yearly tax on vehicles. The highest-impact are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Virginia, Missouri, North Carolina, Kansas and Arizona. Rhode Island repealed its car tax in July 2022. Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming also levy annual taxes where rates vary sharply by county. Most other states collect their share once, at purchase, as sales tax or a title fee.
$25 per $1,000 of the manufacturer's list price, depreciated by schedule: 90% in year one, 60% in year two, 40% in year three, 25% in year four, and 10% from year five on. A $28,000 car pays $630 in year one and $70 a year once it's five years old. The bill comes from the town where the car is garaged.
Often, yes: annual personal property taxes based on vehicle value are deductible if you itemize, under the SALT cap — $40,000 for all state and local taxes combined in 2025 (joint filers; it phases down at high incomes). One-time taxes at purchase, like sales tax, follow different rules. Confirm your situation with a tax preparer; this tool is an estimate, not tax advice.
In most states the tax must be current to renew your registration, so an unpaid car tax eventually blocks your plates. Late bills also accrue interest and penalties, and some municipalities can place a lien on the vehicle. Because insurance usually requires valid registration, an unpaid tax can cascade into a lapsed policy.
Virginia's car tax is set locally: each county and city sets its own rate per $100 of assessed value, commonly $3.50 to $5.00, and chooses whether to participate in the state's PPTRA relief program, which currently knocks about 45% off the bill in participating localities. Same car, different jurisdiction, noticeably different bill.