Buying a car · 50 states and DC
Car payment calculator
Most payment calculators forget that the tax and the DMV fees are usually financed too.
Built by Radif Partners · How the fees are calculated · Editorial policy
Monthly payment · California
$678
| Amount financed | $34,249 |
| Taxes and fees in California | $4,249 (financed) |
| Total interest | $6,441 |
| Total of payments | $40,691 |
Taxes and fees come from the California fee schedule for this price (default county). Depreciation is not counted. How this is calculated.
A car payment depends on four numbers: the amount financed, the APR, the number of months and nothing else. The trap is the first one. If you finance a $35,000 car in Los Angeles County with $5,000 down and roll in the taxes and fees, the amount financed is $34,249, not $30,000, because the state and county charges at purchase come to $4,249. At 7% APR over 60 months, that is $678 a month instead of the $594 a calculator without fees would show, and $6,441 of interest in total. Stretching the same loan to 72 months lowers the payment to $584 but raises the interest to $7,793. This calculator takes the taxes and fees from your state's engine and lets you pay them in cash instead.
From sticker price to amount financed
The amount financed is the price of the car, plus the taxes and fees you do not pay in cash, minus the down payment and the trade-in. Dealers often present the monthly payment first; asking for the amount financed and the out-the-door price makes the numbers comparable between offers. The out-the-door price calculator gives the second figure for your state.
What moves the payment the most
The price and the down payment move it dollar for dollar. The APR matters more on long loans: one point of APR changes the total interest far more on 84 months than on 36. The term lowers the monthly amount but raises the total cost. The state matters too: the same car financed with its taxes and fees rolled in carries a different amount financed in each state, because the purchase tax alone can differ by thousands of dollars.
Checking a lender's disclosure
A car loan comes with a Truth in Lending disclosure showing the APR, the finance charge, the amount financed and the total of payments. Type the amount financed, APR and term into the calculator: the monthly payment should match to the cent or within a dollar of rounding. A gap usually means an add-on, a service contract or a fee was included in the amount financed.
After the loan
The payment is only part of what a car costs each year: registration renewals, any value-based tax, inspections and insurance continue. The ownership cost calculator adds them up over the years you keep the car, using the same state engines, and the renewal page shows the yearly DMV bill alone.