Minnesota Vehicle Tax, Title & License Calculator
Tax, title and license on a new $30,000 car comes to about $2,586.50 in Minnesota — $2,062.50 motor vehicle sales tax plus $524 in Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) registration and title fees, or 8.6% of the price.
Minnesota's rate is the same statewide — no county or city add-on, so no ZIP lookup is needed. Includes Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) registration, title and plate fees.
Enter a trade-in or rebate and the state's own rule is applied for you — Minnesota deducts your full trade-in allowance before tax, and a manufacturer rebate also comes off the taxable amount. You do not need to know which rule Minnesota uses.
Researched by Arthur Patch · Every figure verified against Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) on
- Vehicle price
- $30,000.00
- Model year
- 2026
- Condition
- New
- Seller
- Dealer
- Transaction
- Purchase
Total MN tax, title & fees
$2,586.50
8.62% of the vehicle price
| Motor vehicle sales tax6.875% on $30,000.00 — statewide rate, same in every county | $2,062.50 |
|---|---|
| Registration tax (tabs)1.575% of $30,000.00 current value + $10.00 | $482.50 |
| Certificate of titleOne of the cheapest titles anywhere. Recording a lien adds $2. | $8.25 |
| Title filing fee + tech surchargeThe $12 filing fee and $2.25 technology surcharge on the title transaction. Deputy registrar offices add a $1 local surcharge. | $14.25 |
| License plates (double)Standard passenger plates. A single plate is $13.50; personalized plates $100. | $15.50 |
| Public safety vehicle feeCharged with every registration. | $3.50 |
| Vehicle price | $30,000.00 |
| Out-the-door total | $32,586.50 |
| Renewal next year | $472.63 |
| 5-year registration cost | $2,163.88 |
Year-by-year for the next 5 years
| Year 1 (2026) | $486.00 |
|---|---|
| Year 2 (2027) | $472.63 |
| Year 3 (2028) | $449.00 |
| Year 4 (2029) | $401.75 |
| Year 5 (2030) | $354.50 |
Estimate only. Dealer documentation fees, lien recording and county-specific charges are not included. Figures verified against Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) sources on 2026-09-05.
Accuracy check:Minn. Stat. 168.013 formula — new $30,000 MSRP vehicle: $10 + 1.575% × 100% → $482.50 registration tax ✓Same statute, third year of vehicle life — $10 + 1.575% × 90% of $30,000 → $435.25 registration tax ✓Same statute, eleventh year and beyond → $30.00 flat ✓Minn. Stat. 297B.02 — 6.875% on a $30,000 purchase, no local addition → $2,062.50 sales tax ✓
How much is tax, title and license in Minnesota?
Tax, title and license on a new $30,000 car comes to about $2,586.50 in Minnesota — $2,062.50 motor vehicle sales tax plus $524 in Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) registration and title fees, or 8.6% of the price. That total assumes a dealer purchase with no trade-in and no manufacturer rebate.
The line items are: Motor vehicle sales tax $2,062.50, Registration tax (tabs) $482.50, Certificate of title $8.25, Title filing fee + tech surcharge $14.25, License plates (double) $15.50, Public safety vehicle fee $3.50.
Minnesota charges a state vehicle tax rate of 6.875%, with no county or city add-on anywhere in the state. A trade-in reduces the taxable amount in Minnesota. A separately stated manufacturer rebate also reduces the taxable amount.
Every amount above comes from Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) and Minnesota statute — the sources are listed in full at the foot of this page, and every figure was last checked against them on 5 September 2026.
How much does it cost to register a car in Minnesota?
Registering a newly purchased $30,000 car in Minnesota costs about $524.00 in Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) registration, title and plate fees — separate from the $2,062.50 of motor vehicle sales tax due on the purchase. After that first year, keeping the same car registered costs about $472.63 a year.
The gap between those two numbers is the part people are caught out by: the first bill includes one-off title and plate charges that never appear again, so a renewal notice arriving a year later can look suspiciously small — or, where registration is priced on the car's value, uncomfortably large. Switch the calculator above to Renewing registration to see your own renewal figure and a five-year projection.
How Minnesota compares to other states
On an identical new $30,000 car, Minnesota is the 17th cheapest of the 26 states published here, at $2,587 — $232 above the median. The full range runs from South Carolina at $555 to Washington at $3,788.
Renewals rank differently, and that catches people out when they move. Minnesota is 25th cheapest to keep a car registered year after year, at about $473 a year, against $20 in Georgia and $510 in Massachusetts. A state can be mid-table to buy a car in and the most expensive in the country to live with.
| State | Tax | Registration & title | Total | Yearly after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | $2,100.00 | $457.35 | $2,557.35 | $389.35 |
| Minnesota this page | $2,062.50 | $524.00 | $2,586.50 | $472.63 |
| Massachusetts | $1,875.00 | $810.00 | $2,685.00 | $510.00 |
Every state covered is priced the same way in the full state-by-state comparison, including the sales tax rules — statutory caps, trade-in credit and rebate treatment — that move the total far more than the headline rate does.
How does this Minnesota calculator work?
Tabs are a tax, and this page computes the statute
Minnesota registration is not a fee — it is $10 plus 1.575% of what the vehicle cost new (MSRP with options, destination excluded), walked down a statutory schedule: 100%, 95%, 90%, then ten-point steps to 25% and 10%, and a flat $30 from year eleven. The engine reproduces Minn. Stat. 168.013 exactly from the MSRP you enter, which is why the five-year projection on this page falls the way your renewal notices will. A calculator that quotes a flat "registration fee" for Minnesota is guessing at a number that varies by hundreds of dollars between a new car and an old one.
The 2026 EV surcharge nobody has updated for
For years Minnesota EVs paid a flat $75 surcharge, and that figure is still what most guides print. It is wrong as of January 2026: the surcharge became 0.5% of the same depreciated MSRP the tabs use, with a $150 minimum through June 2027 ($100 after). A $50,000 EV now pays $250 in its first year, on top of its registration tax. Plug-in hybrids pay 0.25% with a $75 floor — the calculator prices the battery-electric case and notes the difference.
The friendliest tax base in the registry
Three rules cut the taxable price that almost no state combines: no local sales tax on vehicles (the 6.875% is the whole rate everywhere), manufacturer rebates deducted before tax, and a trade-in deduction that the statute grants to the allowance made by "the person selling" — any person, so even a private-party trade reduces the base. Add the $10 flat tax for tenth-year-plus cars worth under $3,000 and Minnesota taxes the purchase more gently than any of its registration bills.
What is disclosed rather than computed
County wheelage taxes — up to $20 a year, adopted county by county and collected with the tabs — are disclosed, not computed, the treatment county-set charges get across this site. The $20 local vehicle excise a few metro counties put on dealer sales, the $1 deputy-registrar surcharge, and the $2 lien recording ride in notes. The $10-or-$150 in-lieu taxes for old and collector cars depend on a book-value determination this calculator cannot make for you, so they are documented but the headline figure prices the normal 6.875% case.
How does Minnesota calculate vehicle tax and registration?
Why tabs cost more for a nicer car
Two identical-age cars pay very different tabs in Minnesota because registration is 1.575% of original MSRP, depreciated by statute. A $30,000 car pays $482.50 new and $482.50-to-$30 over its life; a $60,000 car starts at $955. The schedule is the consolation: the bill drops every single year until it hits $30 flat at year eleven — the cheapest renewals in the registry for an old car.
The rebate rule that actually helps
A $3,000 manufacturer rebate saves $206.25 of tax here, because Minnesota deducts rebates from the price before applying its 6.875% — most states tax you on money the manufacturer kept. Pair it with the universal trade-in deduction and Minnesota taxes only the cash that actually left your pocket, a claim almost no other state on this site can make.
One rate for the whole state
Minneapolis, Duluth, Rochester, a farm in Kittson County: 6.875% everywhere, because local sales taxes do not apply to vehicles. The local variation moved into the annual column instead — most counties add a wheelage tax of up to $20 to each renewal, and a few metro counties charge a flat $20 excise on dealer purchases.
Old cars are nearly free
A passenger car in its tenth year or later worth under $3,000 pays a flat $10 sales tax when it changes hands, and its tabs settle at $30 a year from year eleven. Minnesota is one of the cheapest states in the country to keep an old beater on the road — and among the most expensive to register a new luxury car. The system is, quite openly, a wealth-scaled tax.
EV owners: budget for the new math
The flat $75 EV fee is gone. From January 2026 registrations, all-electric vehicles pay 0.5% of their depreciated MSRP with a $150 minimum — $250 on a $50,000 EV in year one, falling with the same schedule as the tabs. Plug-in hybrids pay half the rate with a $75 floor. The minimums step down in July 2027, but the value-based structure is permanent.
The paperwork is almost free
Against Wisconsin’s $214.50 title next door, Minnesota charges $8.25 — with the $12 filing fee, $2.25 tech surcharge and $15.50 plates, the entire paperwork stack is about $38. Minnesota collects its money annually through the tabs, not once at the counter.
What are the Minnesota vehicle fees in 2026?
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of title | $8.25 | One of the cheapest titles anywhere. Recording a lien adds $2.Source: Minnesota DVS fee schedule |
| Title filing fee + tech surcharge | $14.25 | The $12 filing fee and $2.25 technology surcharge on the title transaction. Deputy registrar offices add a $1 local surcharge.Source: Minnesota DVS fee schedule |
| License plates (double) | $15.50 | Standard passenger plates. A single plate is $13.50; personalized plates $100.Source: Minnesota DVS fee schedule |
| Public safety vehicle fee | $3.50 | Charged with every registration.Source: Minnesota DVS fee schedule |
| Renewal filing fee + tech surcharge | $10.25 | The $8 filing fee and $2.25 technology surcharge on each renewal transaction.Source: Minnesota DVS fee schedule |
| EV surcharge (value-based from 2026) | $0.00 | Rewritten for 2026: no longer the old flat $75 — now 0.5% of depreciated MSRP with a $150 minimum for registration periods starting January 2026 (the minimum drops to $100 from July 2027). Plug-in hybrids pay 0.25% with a $75 minimum instead. Enter MSRP above for the exact figure.Source: Minn. Stat. 168.013 subd. 1m (as amended 2025) |
| State sales tax | 6.875% | Before county and city. Combined rates on this page range from Infinity% to -Infinity%. |
What is the vehicle sales tax rate in Minnesota by city?
| City | County | Combined rate | Tax on a $30,000 car |
|---|
What do people get wrong about Minnesota car fees?
- The 6.875% motor vehicle sales tax is state-only: local sales taxes do not apply to vehicle purchases anywhere in Minnesota. A handful of metro counties charge a flat $20 local vehicle excise on dealer sales instead, and that is the whole local story on the purchase.
- The trade-in deduction is unusually broad: the credit or trade-in value allowed by THE PERSON SELLING — any seller, dealer or private — comes off the purchase price before tax. Trade vehicles with a neighbour and each side is taxed only on what changed hands.
- Manufacturer rebates are deducted from the sales price before calculating the tax — Minnesota is one of the few states where the rebate saves you tax as well as cash, however it is paid out.
- Old, cheap cars pay a flat $10: a passenger vehicle in its tenth or later year of life with a resale value under $3,000 owes $10 instead of 6.875% (Minn. Stat. 297B.025). Collector vehicles pay a flat $150.
- Gifts between spouses or between parent and child transfer tax-free. Most other transfers — private sales included — pay the tax at the deputy registrar when the title moves.
- Where you live still costs something annually: most counties add a wheelage tax of up to $20 to every registration renewal, collected with your tabs.
Where to next
- Wisconsin vehicle tax, title & license calculator — borders Minnesota
- Indiana vehicle tax, title & license calculator — closest in total cost
- Virginia vehicle tax, title & license calculator — also taxes the price after rebates
- What tax, title and license fees are
- How to calculate sales tax on a car
- Buying a used car: taxes and fees
- Cheapest and most expensive states, ranked
- Title transfer fees by state
- Dealer doc fees explained
- Car registration fees by state — the same car priced through every published state
Frequently asked questions
How much is TTL in Minnesota?
On a $30,000 vehicle, tax, title and license (TTL) in Minnesota comes to about $2,586.50 — $2,062.50 in motor vehicle sales tax plus $524.00 in Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) title, registration and plate fees, or about 8.6% of the price. The rate is the same everywhere in Minnesota, so no ZIP lookup is needed — the calculator above applies the state's real rules. Verified against Minnesota DVS (Driver and Vehicle Services) on 5 September 2026.
How much is tax, title and license on a $30,000 car in Minnesota?
About $2,587 in year one: $2,062.50 in motor vehicle sales tax (6.875%, no local addition), $482.50 in registration tax ($10 + 1.575% of MSRP), the $3.50 public safety fee, and about $38 of title, filing and plate fees. The registration tax then falls every year — $458.89 in year two, $30 flat from year eleven. County wheelage tax (up to $20) may ride on each renewal.
What is the sales tax on a car in Minnesota?
6.875% of the purchase price after trade-in AND after any manufacturer rebate — both are deducted before tax, and no city or county sales tax applies to vehicles. Old cheap cars escape it entirely: a vehicle in its tenth year or later worth under $3,000 pays a flat $10, and collector vehicles pay a flat $150.
How is Minnesota vehicle registration (tab) cost calculated?
$10 plus 1.575% of the vehicle’s base value — the MSRP when new, options included, destination charge excluded — multiplied by a statutory percentage that falls with age: 100% in year one, 95%, 90%, 80%, and so on down to 10% in year ten, then a flat $30 total from year eleven. That is why tabs on a new $30,000 car run $482.50 while a twelve-year-old car pays $30.
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Minnesota?
Yes — and not just at dealers. The statute deducts the trade-in value allowed by the person selling, whoever that is, so even trading vehicles with a private party taxes only the difference. Combined with the rebate deduction, Minnesota taxes closer to your actual out-of-pocket than nearly any state.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Minnesota?
No — rebates are deducted from the sales price before the 6.875% is calculated, whether the rebate is shown on the purchase agreement, applied as a down payment, or refunded to you. A $3,000 rebate saves $206.25 in tax on top of the rebate itself. Most states tax the full pre-rebate price.
How much is the EV fee in Minnesota?
It changed in January 2026: all-electric vehicles now pay 0.5% of their depreciated MSRP with a $150 minimum (the old fee was a flat $75). A $50,000 EV pays $250 in year one, falling with age; anything $30,000 or under pays the $150 minimum. Plug-in hybrids pay 0.25% with a $75 minimum. The minimums drop to $100/$50 for registrations starting July 2027.
Do you pay sales tax on a used car from a private seller in Minnesota?
Yes — 6.875% on the price, paid at the deputy registrar when you transfer the title, unless the car qualifies for the $10 in-lieu tax (tenth year or later AND resale value under $3,000). Gifts between spouses or parent and child are tax-free. A trade-in allowed by the seller reduces the taxable price even in a private deal.
What is the wheelage tax in Minnesota?
A county-set fee of up to $20 a year added to registration renewals for vehicles kept in that county — most Minnesota counties charge it, and it is collected automatically with your tabs. It is county-adopted and changes year to year, so this calculator discloses it rather than guessing your county’s current figure.
Sources for these Minnesota figures
Every figure on this page was checked against the official sources below on .
- MN DOR — Motor Vehicle Sales guide (6.875% from 1 July 2023; no local sales tax on vehicles; trade-in and rebate deductions)
- Minn. Stat. 297B.01 subd. 14 — purchase price: trade-in allowed by the person selling (any seller); spouse and parent-child gifts excluded
- Minn. Stat. 297B.02 and 297B.025 — the 6.875% rate; $10 in-lieu tax (tenth-year-or-later vehicles under $3,000 resale value); $150 collector vehicle tax
- Minn. Stat. 168.013 subd. 1a — registration tax: $10 + 1.575% of base value, the 100/95/90…10% schedule, $20 amount (+$10) from the 11th year
- Minn. Stat. 168.013 subd. 1m–1n — the 2026 value-based EV surcharge (0.5% of depreciated MSRP, $150 minimum; PHEV 0.25%, $75 minimum)
- Minnesota DVS — vehicle fees (title $8.25; filing $12/$8; tech surcharge $2.25; plates $15.50; public safety fee $3.50; lien $2)
Aggregator sites and dealer blogs are treated as leads to check, never as evidence — the rules used to decide what gets published, and the cases where following the statute produced a different answer from every other calculator, are set out on the about page. Every change to this page is dated in the changelog. If a Minnesota figure here has moved since 5 September 2026, tell me — corrections that cite an official source are acted on first.
Where to go next
The car registration fees by state comparison prices this same car in every state published so far, ranked cheapest first, and the out-the-door price calculator adds the vehicle price itself to give the single figure you hand over at the dealership.
Buying somewhere else, or moving? Indiana comes out closest to Minnesota on total cost at $2,557 and Pennsylvania comes out closest to Minnesota on total cost at $2,525. For the opposite ends of the scale, see South Carolina, the cheapest state covered, and Washington, the most expensive.