Indiana BMV fees, excise tax and sales tax

How the excise tax table works

Indiana does not tax the value of a car each year the way a property tax would. It puts every passenger vehicle in one of 17 classes according to the manufacturer's original retail price, then reads a fixed amount for its age, counted as the registration year minus the model year. The BMV excise tax table runs from $12 for class 1 to $532 for a new class 17 car priced at $42,500 or more. The price class never changes when the car is resold: a used car keeps the class of its original sticker. A 2016 car that listed at $31,000 and sells privately for $9,000 still pays $42.00 of excise in 2026, the class 15 amount for its tenth year and beyond. Type the original MSRP in the calculator when you know it.

Sales tax rules that differ from neighbors

The state rate is 7% everywhere, with no county or city sales tax on vehicles. According to Department of Revenue bulletin 28S, a trade-in is deducted only in a like-kind exchange, and the dealer's documentation fee is part of the taxed price, while a separately stated convenience fee for BMV paperwork is not. The documentation fee must also be included in any advertised price.

Local taxes and Lake and Porter counties

Many counties and some cities add a wheel tax or an excise surtax adopted by ordinance, either a flat amount or a percentage rate, paid along with your registration. In Lake and Porter counties, next to Chicago, gasoline cars and light trucks also need an emissions test every other year once they are older than the four newest model years. The rest of the state has no inspection at all. For a state with a value-based yearly charge collected by the county instead, see Virginia, or compare totals with the DMV fees calculator.

What sets Indiana apart

• Every Indiana registration carries a yearly vehicle excise tax read from a 17-class table: the class is fixed by the car's original retail price and the amount drops each year until age 9 (Indiana BMV).
• A new car with a $35,000 to $42,499 original retail price pays $469 of excise tax in its first year and $407 the next, because age is the registration year minus the model year (Indiana BMV).
• The registration fee itself is only $21.35 for a passenger car, plus a $15 Transportation Infrastructure Improvement Fee at every registration (Indiana BMV).
• Electric cars pay a $242 supplemental fee and hybrids $81 each year under the current BMV fee chart (Indiana BMV).
• Indiana charges 7% sales tax on a vehicle and deducts a trade-in only when it is a like-kind exchange titled in the buyer's name (Indiana Department of Revenue).
• Dealer documentation fees are taxable in Indiana, while a separately stated convenience fee for BMV paperwork is not (Indiana Department of Revenue).
• The Secretary of State will not take action on documentation fees at or below $261.72 from July 1, 2026, a figure adjusted for inflation each year (Indiana Secretary of State).
• Only Lake and Porter counties, next to Chicago, require an emissions test, every other year, and the four newest model years are exempt (Clean Air Car Check (IDEM testing program)).
• Some counties and cities add their own vehicle excise surtax or wheel tax by ordinance, either a flat amount or a percentage (Indiana BMV).

What the Indiana calculation cannot know

• The yearly vehicle excise tax is read from the BMV class-by-age table using the manufacturer's original retail price; when the MSRP field is left empty the engine uses the price typed, which understates the class of a used car bought below its original sticker price. A vehicle bought partway through the owner's registration year can owe a prorated amount that depends on the owner's registration date, which the form does not ask; the full-year amount is shown.
• County vehicle excise surtax and wheel tax, and municipal surtax, are set by local ordinance (flat or percentage) and BMV publishes no complete current table; shown without an amount.
• The Clean Air Car Check pages read (Lake and Porter counties) do not state a test fee; the test is shown without an amount.
• Indiana has no fixed dollar cap in the fee chart for dealer documentation fees; the Secretary of State will not take enforcement action at or below $261.72 from July 1, 2026, which is used as the reference figure.