Maryland Auto Loan Calculator (with Maryland Excise Tax & Fees)

Maryland does not charge sales tax on a titled vehicle. It charges a separate vehicle excise tax under Md. Code, Transportation section 13-809, collected by the MVA at titling, and as of July 1, 2025 that tax is 6.5%, raised from 6.0% by the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025 (HB 352, Ch. 604). The MVA's own fee pages block automated retrieval, so the 6.5% figure here rests on the session law rather than an MVA page, and some third-party tables still show the old 6.0%. Confirm with the MVA before you budget to the dollar.

That change matters twice over. The obvious part is the half point itself: on a $35,800 taxable purchase it is $179 you would not have paid in June 2025. The less obvious part is that Maryland's vehicle rate now exceeds its 6% general sales tax rate. Every rule of thumb that says "cars are taxed at the sales tax rate" now understates a Maryland car purchase, and every rate table not refreshed since mid-2025 is low.

The second thing to get right is the trade-in. Maryland appears on published lists of states that give no trade-in credit, and that is wrong. Section 13-809 defines total purchase price as the price agreed between buyer and seller, including any dealer processing charge, less an allowance for trade-in. The credit exists and it is substantial: $650 on a $10,000 trade at 6.5%. What makes the myth stick is the condition attached to it. COMAR 11.15.33.06 requires the trade to be documented on the Maryland Dealer's Certification portion of the title application (form VR-5) or on an original bill of sale, which in practice means the trade has to go through a licensed dealer. Sell your old car privately and hand the dealer cash and you get nothing.

The third Maryland specific is the dealer processing charge. Md. Code, Transportation section 15-311.1 caps it, and the cap has climbed: $300 through June 2020, $500 through June 2024, and $800 on and after July 1, 2024. Section 13-809 expressly puts that charge inside total purchase price, so it is fully taxed. At the cap, a Maryland buyer pays $800 plus $52 of excise on the paperwork alone.

The APR columns below are national averages, not Maryland figures. No primary source publishes average auto loan APR by state: Experian's report has no geographic cut, the CFPB publishes state origination volume but no rates, and the New York Fed publishes state delinquency only. The payment column is the part that is specific to Maryland, because it runs this calculator's own Maryland tax and fee rules at each tier's rate.

Payment assumptions: $35,000 vehicle price, $0 trade-in, $5,000 cash down, $800 dealer documentation fee, 60-month term, new-vehicle APR applied to the Maryland delivered price including tax and statutory fees. At the 6.39% overall new-car average the same purchase costs $650.37 a month.

The score bands are VantageScore 4.0, not FICO. The same borrower can land in a different tier under each model, so a FICO score pulled from a card issuer will not always match the band here. Source: Experian, State of the Automotive Finance Market, Q1 2026, slide 45.

Each row changes one input and leaves the rest at the baseline below. The dollar effects are this calculator's own output for Maryland, not a rule of thumb.

Baseline: $35,000 vehicle price, $0 trade-in, $5,000 cash down, $800 documentation fee, 60 months at 7.25% APR, giving a $663.85 payment and $6,504.25 of total interest.

Maryland charges a titling excise tax rather than sales tax, raised to 6.5% on 1 July 2025 by the same bill that doubled the title fee to $200. Five steps.

1. Total purchase price. Section 13-809 includes the dealer processing charge and subtracts the trade-in allowance.

If the trade-in allowance equals or exceeds total purchase price the excise tax is zero, and Maryland does not refund the excess.

2. Excise tax. A single statewide rate. Maryland has no county or municipal vehicle tax.

3. Title fee. A fixed $200, being the certificate of title fee, which doubled from $100 on July 1, 2025 under the same bill that raised the rate. Rental vehicles stayed at $100.

4. Amount financed. The trade-in works twice: it lowered the tax base in step one, and it reduces the balance you borrow.

5. Amortization. The financed amount amortizes as a fixed-rate installment loan:

where $P$ is the financed amount, $i$ is the monthly rate (APR divided by 12), and $n$ is the term in months. Each period's interest is the outstanding balance times $i$, the remainder reduces principal, and the schedule reconciles to zero at maturity.

Registration is deliberately excluded from the fixed fees. Maryland's Class A passenger registration is weight-tiered and was restructured on July 1, 2025, and no figure for it could be confirmed from a primary source. Reported annual amounts run roughly $80.50 for vehicles at or under 3,500 pounds, $85.50 from 3,501 to 3,700 pounds, and $151.50 above 3,700 pounds, issued on a two-year term, plus a $40 EMS surcharge. Those are secondary numbers and are not used in any total on this page. Budget for them separately.

Maryland is routinely listed as a state that gives no trade-in credit. Section 13-809 says otherwise, and the difference on this purchase is $650. The rate also rose to 6.5% on 1 July 2025, so older tables understate the tax as well.

• Vehicle price: $35,000
• Trade-in allowance: $0
• Cash down: $5,000
• Dealer processing charge: $800 (the statutory cap)
• Term: 60 months at 7.25% APR

Step 1 -- The total purchase price. Price agreed plus the dealer processing charge, less the trade-in allowance: $35,000 + $800 - $0 = $35,800.00

Step 2 -- Maryland excise tax at 6.5%. $35,800.00 x 6.5% = $2,327.00

Step 3 -- The certificate of title, outside the base. $200.00

Step 4 -- Total delivered price. $35,000 + $800.00 + $2,327.00 + $200.00 = $38,327.00

Step 5 -- Amount financed. $38,327.00 - $0 trade-in - $5,000 cash down = $33,327.00

Step 6 -- The monthly payment. $33,327.00 at 7.25% over 60 months = $663.85

Step 7 -- Month 1. $33,327.00 x (7.25% / 12) = $201.35 interest, $462.50 principal, balance $32,864.50

Step 8 -- Month 2. $32,864.50 x (7.25% / 12) = $198.56 interest, $465.29 principal, balance $32,399.21. Cumulative interest: $399.91

Step 9 -- The running total. Interest through month 12 is $2,228.04, balance $27,588.84. Total finance charge over 60 months: $6,504.25

Now add a $10,000 trade-in through the dealer. The base drops to $25,800, excise falls to $1,677.00, and the payment drops to $451.71. The trade saved $650.00 in tax on top of the $10,000 it removed from the loan. That $650 is the number a buyer loses by believing Maryland gives no credit and selling privately instead. A private sale has to beat the dealer's trade offer by more than $650 to come out ahead.

Negotiate the processing charge to zero and the base drops to $35,000, excise to $2,275.00, and the payment to $646.88. The capped charge costs $852 all in.

• Registration fees. Weight-tiered, restructured July 1, 2025, and unverifiable from a primary source at build time. No amount is asserted, so every total here is short by whatever your tier costs plus the $40 EMS surcharge.
• The $100 excise minimum. The MVA applies a floor of $100 on the excise tax. A purchase below roughly $1,538 of taxable base pays the $100 floor rather than 6.5%. This calculator applies the straight 6.5% and will understate tax on very cheap purchases.
• Private-party valuation rules. For a private sale of a vehicle under seven years old, the excise base is generally the greater of the price paid or book retail value, with a $500 tolerance. For vehicles seven years old and over it is $640. A purchase-price-only model understates tax on a below-book private sale.
• Trade-ins outside a licensed dealer. COMAR 11.15.33.06 requires dealer certification on the VR-5 or an original bill of sale. Leave the trade-in field at zero if your trade is not going through the dealer.
• Leased-vehicle trades, which follow a separate rule using the dealer-certified retail value.
• GAP insurance, service contracts, and aftermarket add-ons, unless you fold them into the vehicle price yourself.

• Using 6% instead of 6.5%. The rate rose on July 1, 2025 and much published material has not caught up, including statute text mirrored on third-party sites. On a $35,800 base the stale rate understates your tax by $179.
• Assuming the vehicle rate equals the sales tax rate. Maryland's general sales tax is 6%. Titled vehicles are taxed at 6.5% under a different statute. The vehicle rate is now the higher of the two.
• Believing Maryland gives no trade-in credit. It does, under section 13-809, and it is worth $650 on a $10,000 trade. The condition is that the trade goes through a licensed dealer and is certified on the paperwork.
• Trading in a vehicle worth more than the car you are buying. If the allowance meets or exceeds total purchase price the excise is zero, and Maryland does not refund the difference. The surplus buys you nothing on the tax side.
• Treating the $800 processing cap as a fixed cost. It is a ceiling, and it is taxed. Maryland dealers routinely charge the maximum, which does not make it non-negotiable.
• Judging a loan by the monthly payment alone. Stretching this $33,327.00 balance from 60 to 72 months drops the payment to $572.20 and raises total finance charges from $6,504.25 to $7,871.53.

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.22) disclosure requirements for installment credit. ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1026
• Comptroller of Maryland, the official state tax authority for Maryland rates, rules and forms. marylandtaxes.gov

Also consulted: Md. Code, Transportation section 13-809 (vehicle excise tax, total purchase price definition, trade-in allowance, dealer processing charge inclusion); HB 352 (2025), Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act, Ch. 604 (rate raised to 6.5% and title fee doubled to $200, both effective July 1, 2025) and its fiscal note; COMAR 11.15.33.06 (applying the trade-in allowance, dealer certification requirement); Md. Code, Transportation section 15-311.1 (dealer processing charge cap history: $300, $500, $800); MDOT MVA, vehicle excise tax guidance ($100 minimum excise; private-sale valuation rules); Experian, State of the Automotive Finance Market, Q1 2026, slide 45 (average new and used auto loan APR by VantageScore 4.0 credit tier; national, no state level cut published).