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State Guide Last verified September 17, 2026

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

What the desk and the buyer each need to know when a Texas 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 Texas official publications below

Short answer

Texas taxes vehicle sales at 6.25%, no local add-ons. Texas taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. Texas exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions. Texas credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. This applies to a retail dealer purchase; lease deals and private-party sales follow their own rules in most states.

Texas car sales tax quick facts

Last verified September 17, 2026
Sales tax rate on vehicles6.25%, no local add-ons[1]
Trade-in creditTexas taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted.[1]
Selling to an out-of-state buyerTexas exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions. the vehicle must not be used in Texas except for transportation directly out of state and must not be registered in Texas; the buyer issues the dealer Form 14-312 at the time of sale.[2]
Credit for tax paid to another stateTexas credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.[1]
Dealer doc feeCapped at $225[3] · not taxable[4]
Temp tag for the drive homeSince July 1, 2025 (HB 718), Texas dealers issue metal license plates at the time of sale instead of paper temporary tags. A buyer who will register the vehicle in another state gets the dealer-issued Out-of-State Buyer plate, valid for 60 days.[5]
Out-of-state buyer registrationSomeone moving to Texas has 30 days from the move to register the vehicle, handled through the county tax assessor-collector's office.[6]

Texas car sales tax calculator

Enter the sale price and any trade-in to estimate Texas vehicle tax and the out-the-door total before title and registration. It applies the verified rate, trade-in rule and doc fee treatment from the quick facts above.

General information, not tax or legal advice. Everything on this page was compiled from official Texas government publications (listed under Sources) and last verified September 17, 2026, but rates and rules change and errors are possible. Voltra makes no warranty as to accuracy or completeness and accepts no liability for decisions made on this data. Confirm the current rules with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts or a licensed professional before acting on anything here. Covers retail dealer sales; leases and private-party sales follow different rules in most states.

From the desk

Texas runs the cleanest flat math in the country until the paperwork meets the county. One statewide rate on vehicles, but every deal clears through the county tax assessor-collector and webDEALER, so the desk lives by the county's calendar, not Austin's.

Selling to an out-of-state buyer in Texas

Texas exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions. the vehicle must not be used in Texas except for transportation directly out of state and must not be registered in Texas; the buyer issues the dealer Form 14-312 at the time of sale.[2]

The paperwork that makes the exemption real is Form 14-312, Texas Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Exemption Certificate – For Motor Vehicles Taken Out of State, completed at delivery. Miss it and the exemption is the dealer's problem, not the buyer's.

Whatever the tax treatment, the desk owns what happens next: title in transit, tag on the car, registration filed in another state.

Buying in Texas from out of state

If you live in another state and buy in Texas, the deciding rule is where the vehicle gets registered: your home state's tax applies at registration, and what happens at the Texas sale depends on the rule above. Texas credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice.[1]

Registration and temp tags

Since July 1, 2025 (HB 718), Texas dealers issue metal license plates at the time of sale instead of paper temporary tags. A buyer who will register the vehicle in another state gets the dealer-issued Out-of-State Buyer plate, valid for 60 days.[5] Someone moving to Texas has 30 days from the move to register the vehicle, handled through the county tax assessor-collector's office.[6]

Bordering states

Cross-border deals from Texas most often involve Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma. No two pairings behave the same; run the exact combination through the out-of-state checker.

Vehicle-type exceptions

Diesel-powered on-road vehicles over 14,000 lbs gross registered weight owe a TERP surcharge on top of the motor vehicle tax, paid with it at titling: 1% of total consideration for model years 1997 and later, 2.5% for older models.[7]

Sources

  1. comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/motor-vehicle/sales-use.php · verified 2026-07-05
  2. comptroller.texas.gov/…/oos-mv-transports.php · verified 2026-07-05
  3. www.txdmv.gov/…/Motor_Vehicle_Dealer_Manual.pdf · verified 2026-09-17
  4. comptroller.texas.gov/…/total-consideration.php · verified 2026-07-05
  5. www.txdmv.gov/dealers/HB718 · verified 2026-07-05
  6. www.txdmv.gov/motorists/new-to-texas · verified 2026-07-05
  7. comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/motor-vehicle/terp-surcharge.php · verified 2026-07-05
Cite this page

“Texas Car Sales Tax & Out-of-State Rules.” Voltra. Last verified September 17, 2026. https://voltra.ai/car-sales-tax/texas/

More state-by-state guides: trade-in tax credit by state · recent rule changes · all states + the out-of-state checker

Texas car sales tax questions

Texas taxes vehicle sales at 6.25%, no local add-ons. The rate is charged on the taxable price worked up at the desk, where trade-in treatment and doc fees do their damage.

Texas taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. That rule moves the taxable price, which is why the same deal pencils out to different tax in different states.

Texas exempts out-of-state buyers only under specific conditions. the vehicle must not be used in Texas except for transportation directly out of state and must not be registered in Texas; the buyer issues the dealer Form 14-312 at the time of sale. The exemption runs on Form 14-312, Texas Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Exemption Certificate – For Motor Vehicles Taken Out of State, completed at delivery.

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

Texas caps dealer doc fees at $225. The doc fee is not taxed.

Start with the sale price and subtract the trade-in allowance (Texas credits it in full), then multiply by 6.25%, no local add-ons. The dealer doc fee is not part of the taxable price in Texas. The Texas calculator on this page runs those steps with the verified figures and shows the out-the-door estimate before title and registration fees.