Utah DMV fees, sales tax and the age-based fee

Which sales tax rate applies

Utah's state share is 4.85% and cities and counties add their own layers, for a combined rate of 6.35% to 7.95% on a car in the places listed by the Tax Commission rate chart. Cars are exempt from the resort community tax, so in Salt Lake City and Park City a car pays less than the full combined rate. When you buy from a dealer, the dealer's location sets the rate; when you buy from a private seller, the rate is the one where you register the car. A trade-in reduces the taxed price, but in a private sale only another vehicle counts. An $18,000 2019 sedan bought from a neighbor in Salt Lake County costs $1,512 to title, register and tax.

The age-based fee instead of a property tax

Every car pays a uniform fee each year with its registration: $150 under three years, $110 from three to five, $80 from six to eight, $50 from nine to eleven and $10 at twelve and older. It replaces a county property tax, so the amount is the same in every county and does not depend on what you paid. The registration fee itself is indexed: the Legislature’s 2026 briefing gives $58.25 for a passenger car where the statute still reads $44.

County fees, emissions and electric cars

Eleven counties, from Salt Lake and Utah to Washington and Iron, add a $10 corridor preservation fee. Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber and Cache counties add an air pollution control fee of $2 or $3 and require an emissions test, every two years until the car is six and every year after, with cars under two exempt. Electric cars pay a $180 flat fee in 2026 or 1.25 cents a mile through the state's road usage charge, up to the same amount; hybrids pay $25 and plug-in hybrids $64. For a state that taxes the car's value every year, look at Arizona; Nevada ties its yearly tax to the original sticker price.

What sets Utah apart

• Utah taxes a car at the combined sales tax rate of the place of sale, from 6.35% in several rural counties to 7.95% in Park City, and the resort community tax does not apply to vehicles (Utah State Tax Commission).
• A trade-in is subtracted from the taxable price, but in a private sale only another vehicle counts as a trade-in (Utah Code § 59-12-104(17)).
• The dealer's charge for any service needed to complete the sale is part of the taxable price (Utah Code § 59-12-102(109)).
• The statute still says $44, but the 2026 registration fee for a passenger car after inflation indexing is $58.25, plus an indexed $7.50 add-on created in 2023 (Utah Legislature).
• Instead of a property tax, every car pays a uniform age-based fee each year: $150 under 3 years, then $110, $80, $50 and $10 from 12 years on (Utah Code § 59-2-405.1).
• An electric car pays a $180 flat fee in 2026, or can join the Road Usage Charge program at 1.25 cents a mile up to that amount (Utah Department of Transportation).
• Hybrids pay an extra $25 and plug-in hybrids $64 a year after the 2026 indexing (Utah Legislature).
• Eleven counties, including Salt Lake, Utah and Davis, add a $10 corridor preservation fee to each registration (Utah DMV).
• Cars in Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber and Cache counties need an emissions test, every two years while under six years old (Utah Code § 41-6a-1642).
• A new Utah title costs $6, the same as a duplicate (Utah DMV).

What the Utah calculation cannot know

• Registration fees are indexed every January 1: the amounts are the 2026 adjusted fees published by the Legislature's research office; renewals in 2027 and later will be slightly higher, and the 2027 electric car fee is not published yet.
• On a dealer sale the sales tax rate is the one of the dealer's location; on a private sale it is the rate where the car is registered. The list holds every county's unincorporated rate and the main cities (Tax Commission chart of July 1, 2026, resort tax excluded); type your rate for any other city.
• Emissions inspection prices are set by the stations and were not published on a page that could be read, so the line has no amount.
• The DMV license plate fee for new plates is set by the division's fee schedule and could not be read (dmv.utah.gov and tax.utah.gov refused connections during this check); it is not included.
• The $6 title fee, the corridor preservation counties and the air pollution control fees come from DMV pages last archived in 2025.