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What does the car really cost?
Every car payment calculator gives you the monthly figure. That payment comes out of what is left after tax, so the real question is how much you have to earn to make it. This one works that out for your state. It also adds the tax and the fees you pay before you drive it away, which are not the same anywhere.
The amortization here is the same as anywhere; what differs is what sits around it. Sales tax applies each state's own rate, and the dealer documentation fee and the registration and title cost are the state's own verified figures where we hold them. The headline output is the payment and running costs grossed up through federal, FICA and state tax at the reader's marginal rate. Depreciation is reported separately and deliberately excluded from that gross-up: it is value lost, not cash paid.
What the car really costs to run
California fees modeledThat last figure is what this site exists to show. The payment comes out of take-home pay, so covering $12,522 of car costs a year means earning $20,510 before tax on top of what you already make — at your marginal rate in California, at this filing status. Insurance, fuel and upkeep are AAA's national medium-sedan averages at 15,000 miles a year and will not match any particular car. Over the full term the interest alone comes to $5,468.
Before you drive it away
| Down payment | $8,000 |
|---|---|
| Sales tax at 7.25% | $2,900 |
| Dealer doc fee | $85 |
| Registration & title | $375 |
| Cash on the day | $11,360 |
The sales tax figure is California's state rate. Local rates are charged on top in most states, and several apply a separate vehicle rate or a cap — so treat this as the floor, not the final bill. The doc fee and registration are California's own, each carrying its own source and as-of date.
Five years of it
Cash out of pocket over five years — deposit, taxes and fees, every payment, and five years of running costs — comes to $73,968. Separately, AAA puts depreciation on a medium sedan at $17,310 over the same five years.
⚠️ Depreciation is deliberately not in the "income you must earn" figure above. It is value the car loses, not money you hand over, so grossing it up would claim you have to earn it — and you do not. It is also a national average for one class of car: your own will differ with the model, the mileage and the market.
New-car loan, national
6.39%
average APR
Dearest doc fee
$912
Florida
Cheapest doc fee
$85
California
States modeled
30
of 51, for fees
Insurance
$1,572
a year, national
Fuel
$1,670
a year, at 15,000 miles
Maintenance
$1,787
a year, national
Depreciation
$17,310
over five years
What it costs before you drive it
A $75,000 Texas salary
| Sales tax | $2,500 |
|---|---|
| Doc fee | $234 |
| Registration | $85 |
| Cheapest state | Oregon · $303 |
Tax, doc fee and registration only, in the 30 states each is sourced for. State sales tax rate; local tax is charged on top in most states.
Where these numbers come from
| Per-state dealer doc fee and registration, each separately cited | as of 2026-01-01 |
|---|
What the term costs
A $75,000 Texas salary
| Monthly payment | $624 |
|---|---|
| Same car over 36 months | $3,250 |
| What the longer term adds | $2,218 |
| Pay needed for the interest | $7,773 |
Twenty per cent down, scheduled payments only. Nothing paid early.
Where these numbers come from
| Experian State of the Automotive Finance Market, Q1 2026 — average new-car loan APR | as of 2026-01-01 |
|---|
Tax in a tank
A $75,000 Texas salary
| State rate | 20¢ a gallon |
|---|---|
| Tank costs | $44.80 |
| Fifty tanks a year | $140.00 |
State excise only. The federal fuel tax and any local levy are on top of this.
If the money stayed put
A $75,000 Texas salary
| Spent today | $8,000 |
|---|---|
| Growth given up | $2,706 |
| Pay needed to buy it | $11,372 |
Assumes a 6% annual return that you can edit.
What it costs to put a car on the road, state by state
The dealer documentation fee is what the dealership charges to do the paperwork, and it is the one line on a car invoice that varies most between states — a few cap it by statute, most do not. Registration and title is what the state itself charges to put the car in your name. Sales tax is the state rate; local rates are charged on top in most states, and several apply a separate vehicle rate or a cap. Sort any column to reorder.
A dash means we have not verified that figure for that state yet. It does not mean the state charges nothing — it means we would have to guess, and a fee ranging from $85to $912 between states is not something a national average can stand in for.
| State | Sales tax | Doc fee | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 6% | $912 | $33 |
| Georgia | 4% | $820 | $50 |
| Virginia | 5.3% | $808 | $27 |
| North Carolina | 4.75% | $773 | $46 |
| Maryland | 6% | $752 | $121 |
| New Jersey | 6.63% | $714 | $64 |
| Alabama | 4% | $696 | $300 |
| Tennessee | 7% | $684 | $59 |
| Colorado | 2.9% | $624 | $550 |
| Arizona | 5.6% | $598 | $500 |
| Kentucky | 6% | $584 | $21 |
| Nevada | 6.85% | $576 | $500 |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | $557 | $30 |
| Oklahoma | 4.5% | $533 | $96 |
| Missouri | 4.23% | $522 | $42 |
| South Carolina | 6% | $520 | $20 |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | $478 | $48 |
| Utah | 6.1% | $431 | $194 |
| Louisiana | 5% | $423 | $28 |
| Wisconsin | 5% | $400 | $85 |
| Ohio | 5.75% | $391 | $35 |
| Illinois | 6.25% | $373 | $151 |
| Minnesota | 6.88% | $332 | $500 |
| Michigan | 6% | $280 | $200 |
| Oregon | none | $235 | $68 |
| Texas | 6.25% | $234 | $85 |
| Washington | 6.5% | $200 | $77 |
| Iowa | 6% | $180 | $197 |
| New York | 4% | $175 | $28 |
| California | 7.25% | $85 | $375 |
| Alaska | none | — | — |
| Arkansas | 6.5% | — | — |
| Connecticut | 6.35% | — | — |
| Delaware | none | — | — |
| District of Columbia | 6% | — | — |
| Hawaii | 4% | — | — |
| Idaho | 6% | — | — |
| Indiana | 7% | — | — |
| Kansas | 6.5% | — | — |
| Maine | 5.5% | — | — |
| Mississippi | 7% | — | — |
| Montana | none | — | — |
| Nebraska | 5.5% | — | — |
| New Hampshire | none | — | — |
| New Mexico | 4.88% | — | — |
| North Dakota | 5% | — | — |
| Rhode Island | 7% | — | — |
| South Dakota | 4.2% | — | — |
| Vermont | 6% | — | — |
| West Virginia | 6% | — | — |
| Wyoming | 4% | — | — |
Make this estimate yours
- Your interest rate. The 6.39% above is Experian's published average on a new-car loan, not an offer. What a lender quotes you depends on your credit, the term, and whether the manufacturer is subsidizing the rate that month. Change the field to whatever you were actually offered — everything else on the page recomputes around it.
- Trade-ins. Most states charge sales tax only on the difference between the new car and your trade-in, which can be worth more than every fee on this page combined. We do not model it per state yet, so the tax figure here assumes no trade-in and is therefore the higher number.
- Your own running costs. Insurance, fuel and maintenance are AAA's national averages for a medium sedan at 15,000 miles a year. A different car, a different commute or a different driving record moves all three, sometimes by a lot.
- What the car will be worth. The depreciation figure is AAA's five-year average for that same medium sedan. It is not a forecast for your model, and it is kept out of the "income you must earn" figure on purpose: it is value the car loses, not money you hand over.
Tax year 2026. APR from Experian State of the Automotive Finance Market, Q1 2026 — average new-car loan APR (as of 2026-01-01) — check it at the source. Running costs and depreciation from AAA's "Your Driving Costs". Doc fee and registration carry a per-state citation each; see sources and methodology.