How out-of-state car sales tax actually works
Every cross-state deal runs on the same four rules. The state pages carry the sourced specifics; this is the map.
RULE 1
Tax follows registration, not the sale
Sales tax on a vehicle is ultimately owed where the vehicle gets registered. Buying in a low-tax state does not change what the buyer's home state collects at the title window.
RULE 2
The selling state decides what happens at the counter
Some states exempt out-of-state buyers with an affidavit. Some collect their own tax no matter what. Florida collects at the buyer's home-state rate. The selling dealer's paperwork depends entirely on which type of state they're standing in.
RULE 3
Registration states usually credit tax already paid
If tax was legally collected at the sale, most states subtract it from what they charge at registration, so the same dollars aren't taxed twice. The word is usually: a few states refuse or limit the credit, and that's where double-tax risk lives.
RULE 4
No-tax states are a trap in both directions
Buying in a no-sales-tax state feels free until the buyer registers at home and pays their own state's use tax in full. And selling to a buyer from a no-tax state means no credit machinery exists on their side at all.
Car sales tax by state
Rates, trade-in treatment, and out-of-state rules for every state. Linked states are live with per-fact citations to official sources; the rest are being verified through the same two-agent pipeline and come online as they clear.
| State | State rate | Local add-ons | Trade-in credit | Out-of-state buyer at the sale | Credits tax paid elsewhere |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2% | Yes, varies | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Arizona | 5.6% | pending | Full | pending | Yes |
| Arkansas | 6.5% | Yes, varies | Full (limits apply) | pending | No |
| California | 7.25% | Yes, varies | None | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Colorado | 2.9% | pending | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Connecticut | 6.35% (7.75% on most motor vehicles with a sales price over $50,000) | None | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Delaware | Being verified against official sources | ||||
| Florida | 6% | Up to +2.5% | Full | Collects buyer's state rate | Yes, exceptions: AK, DC, GA, MT, NH, TN, WV |
| Georgia | 7% TAVT (Title Ad Valorem Tax)* | None | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | No |
| Idaho | 6% | pending | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Illinois | 6.25% | pending | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Indiana | 7% | pending | Full (limits apply) | Collects buyer's state rate | Yes |
| Iowa | 5% fee for new registration* | None | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Kansas | 6.5% | Yes, varies | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Kentucky | 6%* | None | Full (limits apply) | pending | Yes, exceptions: GA |
| Louisiana | 5% | Yes, varies | Full | pending | pending |
| Maine | 5.5% | None | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Maryland | 6.5% vehicle titling excise tax* | None | Full (limits apply) | pending | Partial |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | None | Full (limits apply) | Collects its own tax | pending |
| Michigan | 6% | None | Capped at $12,000 | Collects buyer's state rate | Yes |
| Minnesota | 6.875% | pending | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Mississippi | 5% | pending | Full | Exempt, conditions apply | No |
| Missouri | 4.225% | pending | Full | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Montana | 0% | pending | N/A | No sales tax | N/A |
| Nebraska | 5.5% | pending | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Nevada | 6.85% | pending | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| New Hampshire | 0%* | None | N/A | No sales tax | N/A |
| New Jersey | 6.625% | None | Full | Exempt with Form ST-10 | Yes |
| New Mexico | 4%* | None | Full | pending | Yes |
| New York | 4% | pending | Full | pending | Partial |
| North Carolina | 3%* | None | Full (limits apply) | pending | Yes |
| North Dakota | 5%* | None | Full (limits apply) | pending | Yes, exceptions: AK, DE, GA, MT, NH, OR |
| Ohio | 5.75% | Yes, varies | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Oklahoma | pending | None | pending | pending | pending |
| Oregon | 0.5% (new vehicles, 7,500 miles or less)* | None | None | Exempt | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | Up to +2% | Full | pending | pending |
| Rhode Island | Being verified against official sources | ||||
| South Carolina | 5% IMF (max $500)* | pending | Full | Collects buyer's state rate | Yes |
| South Dakota | Being verified against official sources | ||||
| Tennessee | 7% | Up to +2.75% | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Texas | 6.25% | None | Full | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Utah | 4.85% | Yes, varies | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Vermont | 6%* | pending | Full | Exempt | Yes |
| Virginia | 4.15% SUT (minimum $75)* | None | None | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Washington | pending | pending | Full (limits apply) | pending | Yes |
| Washington, DC | Being verified against official sources | ||||
| West Virginia | 6%* | None | Full (limits apply) | Exempt, conditions apply | pending |
| Wisconsin | 5% | pending | Full | Exempt, conditions apply | Yes |
| Wyoming | 4% | Yes, varies | pending | pending | pending |
| * Levied as a title or excise regime rather than an ordinary sales tax; the state page explains. | |||||
The title and registration side
Tax is half the cross-state problem. The other half is titling: every state page here covers the temp tag windows and registration steps, and keeping every in-flight title and temp tag visible so a cross-state deal doesn't stall after the sale is exactly what Voltra's title tracking is for.