Out-the-door price in Maine
How Maine works
- Maine's sales tax is 5.5% in 2026, the same in every town and county. The dealer collects it at the sale, on the price after your trade-in and any dealer discount, plus the dealer's document fee and installed accessories. A manufacturer rebate does not lower it. A service contract is taxed on its own at the same rate; GAP coverage is not.
- The town excise tax is the large yearly cost. In the first year it is 2.4% of the car's original list price: about $876 on a $36,500 MSRP. You pay it to your town office, not the dealer, and it has to be paid before the car can be registered. It falls with each model year of age. It uses the original MSRP, not what you pay, so enter it for a used car or the figure here runs low.
- Registering the car: you register at your town office after paying the excise tax there, or at a BMV branch if your town does not issue registrations. A dealer may offer to do the paperwork for you; ask. The state fees are a $33 title and a $35 registration for a car; your town adds a service fee of up to $6.
- Maine sets no dollar cap on the dealer's document fee. The dealer has to post it on the car and tell you before the sale, and it is taxed at 5.5%. Maine's advertising rules put it in the advertised price, which matches what the FTC expects.
- If you move a registration from a car you are replacing, the transfer costs $8 and your town credits the excise tax you already paid on the old car. That credit depends on your old registration, so the total here does not subtract it and can run high.
- Buying from a Maine dealer to drive out of state right away: you do not pay Maine sales tax if you live elsewhere, and your home state may tax the car when you register it there. If you live in Maine and buy out of state, Maine collects its 5.5% when you register, less any sales tax you paid there.
Rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Our methodology.
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What a Maine advertised price has to include
Maine's Attorney General rules require a dealer's advertised price to include every extra charge the customer is asked to pay, document preparation fees included. Only state and local taxes, title fees and options you ask for may be left out. The FTC expects the same: every fee the dealer charges belongs in the advertised price, so only government charges like sales tax, title and registration 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.
Has to be in the advertised price
- The document preparation fee (Maine's doc fee; the state sets no dollar cap)
- Freight (destination) and dealer preparation or handling charges
- Anything the dealer has added to the car, such as installed accessories
- The temporary plate, if the dealer charges for it
- Any other extra charge the dealer asks you to pay
Can still be added on top
- Sales tax: 5.5% statewide in 2026
- The title fee ($33)
- Registration ($35 for a car), the town's service fee and the town excise tax
- Options you choose to buy, such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- The document fee: Maine has no cap. A dealer has to post it on the vehicle and disclose it before the final sale, and a violation is prima facie evidence of an unfair trade practice. The Attorney General's advertising rule counts "charges for preparing documents" as an extra charge that belongs in the advertised price. It is subject to the 5.5% sales tax.
- Titling: a dealer may not charge more than the state's $33 for titling purposes. Anything else it charges for document processing has to be disclosed to you first.
- Availability: an advertised vehicle has to be in the dealer's possession and sold at the advertised price. The price has to be offered to everyone, with no need to have seen the ad, unless the ad says you must bring it in.
- Identification: an ad with a price has to name the year, make and model, and say whether the car is new or used when it is the current or previous model year.
- Rebates and discounts: an ad can say "rebate" only for money paid to you after the sale or credited at the sale. A price that "includes all rebates" may count only rebates most customers qualify for. A discount on a new car has to be stated from the MSRP or the dealer's regular asking price.
- New cars: a dealer has to post each item it added to the car with its price, and the notice that Maine law does not let it require you to buy options, accessories or special features.
More in our guide: Do dealers have to put fees in the advertised price? What actually changed for 2026
Maine in detail
Maine OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Maine?
Yes — Maine taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Maine?
Effectively yes — tax is computed before the rebate is applied, so you pay tax on the pre-rebate price.
Is the doc fee capped in Maine?
No — doc fees are uncapped in Maine; buyers report a typical $550.00. It's negotiable as part of your total OTD.
What does a Maine dealer's advertised price have to include?
Every extra charge the dealer asks you to pay, the document preparation fee included. Maine's advertising rules let it leave out only state and local taxes, title fees and options you ask for, and the FTC expects the same. Sales tax, title, registration and the town excise tax are added on top.
Is there a cap on Maine dealer doc fees?
No. Maine sets no dollar cap. The dealer has to post the fee on the vehicle and disclose it before the final sale. Ask what it is before you negotiate, and ask for the out-the-door price in writing.
Do I pay sales tax at the dealership in Maine?
Yes. The dealer collects Maine's 5.5% sales tax at the sale. It is the same in every town. It applies to the price after your trade-in and any dealer discount, plus the document fee and accessories. A manufacturer rebate does not lower it.
What is Maine's excise tax and who collects it?
It is a yearly vehicle tax paid to your town, based on the car's original MSRP: 2.4% in the first year, less each year after. You pay it at your town office before the car can be registered. It is the town's tax, not the dealer's.