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State Guide Last verified August 27, 2026

Maine Car Sales Tax, Trade-In Credit, and Out-of-State Rules

What the desk and the buyer each need to know when a Maine deal crosses state lines: the rate, the trade-in math, the exemption paperwork, and the drive-home tags. Every fact links to the official source.

Check an Out-of-State Deal Jump to Quick Facts

Every fact sourced to Maine official publications below

Short answer

Maine taxes vehicle sales at 5.5%, no local add-ons. Maine taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. The credit applies only when the item traded in is the same kind of item as the one purchased (motor vehicle for motor vehicle, trailer for trailer). It does not apply to property exchanged between dealers out of inventory. Maine exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Buyer must not be a Maine resident (an individual domiciled in another state or country, or a business with its commercial domicile outside Maine) AND the vehicle must be intended to be driven or transported outside Maine immediately upon delivery. The dealer and the buyer complete the affidavit at the time of sale. If the vehicle comes back into Maine within the first 12 months, the person registering it can be hit with Maine use tax on the original purchase price. Maine credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. All of this describes a retail purchase from a dealer; leases and private-party sales run on different rules in most states.

Maine car sales tax quick facts

Last verified August 27, 2026
Sales tax rate on vehicles5.5%, no local add-ons[1]
Trade-in creditMaine taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. The credit applies only when the item traded in is the same kind of item as the one purchased (motor vehicle for motor vehicle, trailer for trailer). It does not apply to property exchanged between dealers out of inventory.[1]
Selling to an out-of-state buyerMaine exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Buyer must not be a Maine resident (an individual domiciled in another state or country, or a business with its commercial domicile outside Maine) AND the vehicle must be intended to be driven or transported outside Maine immediately upon delivery. The dealer and the buyer complete the affidavit at the time of sale. If the vehicle comes back into Maine within the first 12 months, the person registering it can be hit with Maine use tax on the original purchase price.[2]
Credit for tax paid to another stateMaine credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.[3]
Dealer doc feeNo statutory cap[4] · taxable[2]
Temp tag for the drive homeA licensed Maine dealer may attach a temporary registration plate on the sale of a vehicle, and the buyer may drive on it for 30 consecutive days. A nonresident who has applied for but not yet received a registration certificate from their home state can ask the Secretary of State to extend it, free, for another 20 days. (valid 30 days)[5]
Out-of-state buyer registrationA nonresident owner who has complied with the vehicle registration and licensing laws of their home state does not have to register the vehicle in Maine, so an out-of-state buyer titles and registers at home. The exemption covers noncommercial use only.[6]
General information, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change. Before you write a check, confirm with the Maine Revenue Services or your accountant. Last verified August 27, 2026. Covers retail dealer sales; leases and private-party sales follow different rules in most states.

From the desk

Maine collects vehicle use tax at registration, not at the dealer, for many transactions, so the desk's job is setting expectations: the town office bill is coming, and the buyer should hear the number from you first.

Selling to an out-of-state buyer in Maine

Maine exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Buyer must not be a Maine resident (an individual domiciled in another state or country, or a business with its commercial domicile outside Maine) AND the vehicle must be intended to be driven or transported outside Maine immediately upon delivery. The dealer and the buyer complete the affidavit at the time of sale. If the vehicle comes back into Maine within the first 12 months, the person registering it can be hit with Maine use tax on the original purchase price.[2]

None of it works without Form ST-A-106 (Affidavit of Exemption for Immediate Removal), completed at delivery. Skip the form and the state looks to the dealer for the tax, not the buyer.

The tax answer is only half the job. The desk still has to move the title, issue the temp tag, and keep the deal from stalling while paperwork crosses state lines, and that chain is what Voltra's title tracking holds in one view.

Buying in Maine from out of state

If you live in another state and buy in Maine, the deciding rule is where the vehicle gets registered: your home state's tax applies at registration, and what happens at the Maine sale depends on the row above. Maine credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.[3]

Registration and temp tags

A nonresident owner who has complied with the vehicle registration and licensing laws of their home state does not have to register the vehicle in Maine, so an out-of-state buyer titles and registers at home. The exemption covers noncommercial use only.[6] A licensed Maine dealer may attach a temporary registration plate on the sale of a vehicle, and the buyer may drive on it for 30 consecutive days. A nonresident who has applied for but not yet received a registration certificate from their home state can ask the Secretary of State to extend it, free, for another 20 days. Validity: 30 days.[5]

Bordering states

Cross-border deals from Maine most often involve New Hampshire. No two pairings behave the same; run the exact combination through the out-of-state checker.

Vehicle-type exceptions

Trade-in credit only runs between items of the same kind, and trailers and slide-in truck campers are not "motor vehicles" in Maine, so a camper or trailer traded toward a car earns no credit (trailer traded for trailer does). Short-term auto rentals are taxed at 10%, not 5.5%. Watercraft sold to a nonresident get a 30-day removal window rather than the immediate-removal rule, and only 60% of the price stays exempt if the boat sits in Maine more than 30 days in the first year.[2]

Sources

  1. www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/Business%20Guide%20for%20December%202025%20FINAL.pdf · verified 2026-08-27
  2. www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/IB24VehicleDealers10042019.pdf · verified 2026-08-27
  3. www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/IB42OriginalRegistrationofVehicles10282019.pdf · verified 2026-08-27
  4. legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec953-A.html · verified 2026-08-27
  5. legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-A/title29-Asec954-A.html · verified 2026-08-27
  6. legislature.maine.gov/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec109.html · verified 2026-08-27

Maine car sales tax questions

Maine taxes vehicle sales at 5.5%, no local add-ons. What that rate hits is the taxable price the desk computes, and trade-in treatment and doc fees decide that number.

Maine taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. The credit applies only when the item traded in is the same kind of item as the one purchased (motor vehicle for motor vehicle, trailer for trailer). It does not apply to property exchanged between dealers out of inventory. Because that treatment sets the taxable price, an identical car and trade can owe different tax on either side of a state line.

Maine exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions: Buyer must not be a Maine resident (an individual domiciled in another state or country, or a business with its commercial domicile outside Maine) AND the vehicle must be intended to be driven or transported outside Maine immediately upon delivery. The dealer and the buyer complete the affidavit at the time of sale. If the vehicle comes back into Maine within the first 12 months, the person registering it can be hit with Maine use tax on the original purchase price. The exemption runs on Form ST-A-106 (Affidavit of Exemption for Immediate Removal), completed at delivery.

Maine credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.

Maine does not cap dealer doc fees by statute. The doc fee gets taxed as part of the price.