Ohio car sales tax and BMV fees

Your county sets the final rate

Ohio's state sales tax is 5.75%, and each county adds its own permissive rate of 0.75% to 2.25%, sometimes with a transit levy. On October 11, 2026 the Department of Taxation's Finder returned 6.5% in Butler, Lorain, Stark and Wayne counties, 7.25% in most rural counties, 7.8% in Hamilton County and 8% in Cuyahoga and Franklin. Warren County, at 6.75% on the department's July 2023 map, is now at 7.25%. Private sales are not spared: the casual-sale exemption in the Revised Code excludes motor vehicles, so a car bought from a neighbor is taxed when it is titled. Parts of Delaware, Fairfield, Licking and Union counties pay the extra 0.5% transit levy too; type your exact rate in the calculator if you live there.

Trade-ins only count on new cars

The definition of price reduces the taxable amount by the trade-in only when a new motor vehicle dealer sells a new motor vehicle. Trade your old car in on a used one and you pay tax on the full price. The difference on a $35,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in is $800 in Franklin County.

Plates, deputy registrars and the doc fee

The $36 registration is the $20 license tax plus a state fee that rose from $11 to $16 on January 1, 2026. Deputy registrars add $8 for a one-year registration. Hybrids pay $100 more a year, plug-in hybrids $150 and battery electric cars $200. Dealer documentation fees are capped at the lesser of 10% of the deal and an inflation-adjusted amount the Registrar publishes each year under section 4517.261, so the old flat $250 limit no longer applies. Seven counties around Cleveland and Akron also require an E-Check every two years for gasoline cars from six years old. Across the border, Pennsylvania charges 6%, plus 1% in Allegheny County and 2% in Philadelphia.

What sets Ohio apart

• Ohio taxes a car purchase at the 5.75% state sales tax plus the county rate, and in some counties a transit levy, for a total of 6.5% to 8% (Ohio Department of Taxation).
• A trade-in lowers the taxable price only when a new vehicle is bought from a new motor vehicle dealer (Ohio Revised Code § 5739.01(H)(2)).
• A private sale of a car is taxed too: the casual-sale exemption excludes motor vehicles (Ohio Revised Code § 5739.02(B)(8)).
• The passenger registration fee is $36 a year, the $20 license tax plus a state fee raised from $11 to $16 on January 1, 2026 (Ohio Revised Code § 4503.10(C)).
• Hybrids pay $100 more a year to register, plug-in hybrids $150 and electric cars $200 (Ohio Revised Code § 4503.10(C)).
• Deputy registrars charge an $8 service fee for a one-year registration and $12 for two years (Ohio BMV).
• Local permissive taxes are added in $5 steps and cannot exceed $30 a vehicle (Ohio BMV).
• The certificate of title costs $18, or $23 where county commissioners adopted the higher fee (Ohio Revised Code § 4505.09).
• Since October 2024 the dealer documentary fee cap follows inflation: the lesser of 10% of the deal and a CPI-adjusted amount the Registrar publishes each year (Ohio Revised Code § 4517.261).
• Cars registered in seven northeast Ohio counties need an E-Check every two years; since June 30, 2025 gasoline cars are exempt for 6 years and non-plug-in hybrids for 7 (Ohio EPA).

What the Ohio calculation cannot know

• Permissive (local) registration taxes are set by each county, township and municipal taxing district in $5 steps, up to $30 a vehicle; the BMV publishes them by taxing district, not by county, so the line is shown as a $0 to $30 range.
• The documentary service charge cap is the lesser of 10% of the contract amount and a CPI-adjusted amount the Registrar publishes each September (R.C. 4517.261, amended October 24, 2024); the BMV page carrying the 2026 amount could not be opened for this release, so no default doc fee is assumed. Type the dealer's figure.
• The engine taxes a dealer documentary fee typed in the form, as a charge for services necessary to complete the sale under R.C. 5739.01(H)(1); no Department of Taxation ruling on doc fees was read.
• The title fee is $18, or $23 in counties whose commissioners approved the higher fee; the engine uses $18.
• County rates are the total state, county and transit rate returned by the Ohio Department of Taxation's Finder for each county seat on October 11, 2026. Parts of Delaware, Fairfield, Licking and Union counties (COTA district) and Rossford in Wood County add a 0.5% transit levy not shown in the county rate; type your rate if you live there.
• The Ohio EPA page read does not state an E-Check test fee, so the test is shown without an amount.
• The bmv.ohio.gov and codes.ohio.gov servers refused connections from our location for this release; the Ohio Revised Code sections and the BMV fee page were read in their Internet Archive copies dated 2025 and 2026, and county rates on the live Department of Taxation Finder.
• Plate mailing, reflectorized plate charges and lien notation are left out.