Out-the-door price in Arizona
How Arizona works
- Arizona's sales tax (TPT) is set by the DEALERSHIP's location, not yours: 5.6% state, plus a county rate and, if the dealer is in a city, that city's rate. This estimate uses your ZIP's rates; if the dealer is elsewhere, its location's rate applies.
- About 30 Arizona cities tax a big-ticket item like a car at a lower city rate above a threshold: Phoenix charges 2.8% on the first $14,338 and 2% on the rest, Yuma nothing on the part over $35,000, and Glendale, Avondale and Goodyear a lower rate on the whole price over $5,000. The calculator applies these.
- Your trade-in reduces the taxable amount in Arizona, and so does a manufacturer rebate you assign to the dealer.
- Doc fees are UNCAPPED in Arizona (the widely repeated “$295 cap” has no basis); the law only allows a “reasonable charge” for the dealer's services. A separately itemized doc fee isn't subject to sales tax, and any ad has to say a doc fee will be charged.
- The Vehicle License Tax is the big registration number here: 60% of the base price × $2.80 per $100 in year one.
Rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Our methodology.
Try it for your ZIP
What an Arizona advertised price has to include
Arizona doesn't say what a dealer's advertised price has to include. It only requires a dealer that charges a doc fee to say so in its ads. The FTC expects more: every fee the dealer charges, the doc fee included, belongs in the advertised price, so only government charges like tax, title, registration and the Vehicle License Tax can be added on top. That still isn't your out-the-door number; the calculator above adds the rest for your ZIP.
Federal law comes first
The FTC requires a dealer's advertised price to include every fee the dealer charges. Only charges the government requires you to pay, like tax, title and registration, can be left out. Where a state's rules let a dealer leave a fee out, the dealer still has to follow the federal rule, so the fee goes in. The FTC says a state's doc-fee rules can add disclosures, but they don't change the price that has to be advertised. Read the FTC's guidance.
Arizona law and the FTC conflict on the doc fee
Arizona's law only requires an ad to say that a doc fee will be charged, which lets a dealer leave the fee itself out of the advertised price. The FTC expects every fee a dealer charges to be in the advertised price. A 2026 bill to require an all-in price in Arizona died in committee. Until regulators or the courts settle it, you may see Arizona ads that leave it out. Ask whether a price includes it, and get the out-the-door price in writing.
What the FTC expects in the advertised price
- The doc fee, which Arizona doesn't cap
- Freight (destination) and dealer preparation charges
- Add-ons the dealer requires or has already installed
- A temporary plate, electronic filing or title service charge, if the dealer charges one
- An emissions test on a used car, if the dealer passes it on, though Arizona law puts that cost on the dealer
Can still be added on top
- Sales tax (TPT): 5.6% state plus county and city rates
- Title and registration fees, the Vehicle License Tax and the air quality fees
- The waste tire fee on a new car
- Optional products you choose to buy, such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- The doc fee amount: Arizona doesn't cap it; the law allows only a "reasonable charge" for the dealer's services. Itemized separately, it isn't subject to sales tax.
- Emissions tests: in the Phoenix and Tucson areas a used car has to pass before delivery, and Arizona law says the dealer bears the cost of the test and any repairs.
- Enforcement: Arizona's Attorney General treats refusing to sell at an advertised price as consumer fraud. A 2024 order requires Desert Toyota of Tucson to include every mandatory fee and add-on in its advertised prices, and the FTC and Arizona's Attorney General won a $2.6 million settlement from the Coulter dealer group the same year.
More in our guide: Do dealers have to put fees in the advertised price? What actually changed for 2026
See every state: Which states let dealers leave the doc fee out of the advertised price?
Arizona in detail
Rates by county in Arizona
Counties where the rate differs from the rest of Arizona, or changes from one city to the next. The 15 listed here are the ones where your county actually changes the number.
| County | Combined rate | ZIPs |
|---|---|---|
| Maricopa County | 6.3%–9.8% | 198 |
| Pima County | 6.1%–8.7% | 69 |
| Yuma County | 6.712%–10.712% | 12 |
| Coconino County | 6.9%–10.9% | 28 |
| Pinal County | 6.7%–10.7% | 30 |
| Cochise County | 6.6%–10.4% | 27 |
| Gila County | 6.6%–10.48% | 14 |
| Graham County | 6.6%–9.1% | 9 |
| La Paz County | 6.6%–9.1% | 9 |
| Santa Cruz County | 6.6%–9.6% | 10 |
| Navajo County | 6.43%–9.43% | 29 |
| Yavapai County | 6.35%–10.35% | 32 |
| Apache County | 6.1%–9.1% | 28 |
| Greenlee County | 6.1%–9.1% | 4 |
| Mohave County | 5.6%–8.6% | 31 |
Arizona OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Arizona?
Yes — Arizona taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Arizona?
No — rebates passed to you are treated like a cash discount and reduce the taxable amount.
Is the doc fee capped in Arizona?
No — doc fees are uncapped in Arizona; buyers report a typical $500.00. It's negotiable as part of your total OTD.
What does an Arizona dealer's advertised price have to include?
Every fee the dealer charges, including the doc fee and any add-ons already on the car (the FTC's position; Arizona only requires an ad to say a doc fee will be charged, so the two conflict). Only sales tax, title, registration, the Vehicle License Tax and other government fees can be added on top.
Why is the sales tax lower on a car in Phoenix?
Phoenix taxes a big-ticket single item at its full 2.8% city rate only up to $14,338 and at 2% above that. About 30 Arizona cities have a similar break; Yuma charges no city tax on the part over $35,000. The tax follows the dealer's city, not yours.