Out-the-door price in New Jersey
How New Jersey works
- New Jersey sales tax is flat statewide at 6.625% — no county or city variation applies to vehicle sales (New Jersey's reduced-rate Urban Enterprise Zones and Salem County both explicitly exclude motor vehicles).
- New Jersey registers a new car for four years and collects all four at the sale: $211 up to 3,500 lb, $311 above.
- Your trade-in reduces the taxable amount, with no dollar cap, as long as it's part of the same dealer transaction.
- Manufacturer rebates are taxed in New Jersey: tax is computed on the price before the rebate, since that's what the dealer is ultimately paid. A dealer's own cash discount (not reimbursed by a third party), by contrast, does lower your taxable price.
- New Jersey no longer exempts electric vehicles from sales tax; that exemption ended July 1, 2025. A new electric car also pays four years of the ZEV fee at the sale (about $1,130 for one registered between July 2026 and June 2027); a used one pays $270 a year.
- The dealer's documentary fee is NOT capped by New Jersey law (just required to be itemized in the paperwork) and is part of the taxable price.
- A new car priced at $45,000 or more pays a one-time 0.4% luxury surcharge, unless it gets 40 mpg or better or is zero-emission.
- Extended warranties and service contracts are taxed in New Jersey.
Rules last verified Oct 3, 2026. Our methodology.
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What a New Jersey advertised price has to include
New Jersey's rules already require a dealer's advertised price to include every cost you pay except licensing costs, registration fees and taxes, the doc fee included, and federal law requires the same. 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 doc fee, which New Jersey doesn't cap
- Freight, transportation, shipping and dealer preparation charges
- Manufacturer-installed options and any options the dealer has added
- The temporary tag, if the dealer passes on its $3 cost
Can still be added on top
- The 6.625% sales tax and the 0.4% luxury surcharge on a new car priced at $45,000 or more
- Title and registration fees (a new car's four years of registration are paid up front) and an electric car's ZEV fee
- The $1.50-per-tire fee on new tires and the 50-cent used car lemon law fee
- Optional products you choose to buy, such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- New Jersey and federal law agree: every price ad has to say "price(s) include(s) all costs to be paid by a consumer, except for licensing costs, registration fees, and taxes," and that covers the doc fee. In February 2026 a court ordered a Rahway dealer to pay more than $840,000 for, among other things, leaving dealer prep fees out of its online prices.
- The doc fee: New Jersey doesn't cap it, but the dealer has to itemize each document service and its price on the sale document in at least 10-point type, and can't say the government requires it. It's subject to sales tax.
- Rebates: New Jersey lets an ad take a manufacturer rebate or dealer discount off the price if it says so next to the price. Federal law is stricter: an advertised price can't depend on a rebate or discount only some buyers can get.
- Price honoring: an advertised car has to be on the lot and available at the advertised price while the ad runs, from two days before it's published until three days after it last runs, unless it has already been sold.
- Junk fees: in June 2026 New Jersey's Attorney General warned that drip pricing, showing a low price and adding fees later, may break the state's Consumer Fraud Act.
More in our guide: Do dealers have to put fees in the advertised price? What actually changed for 2026
New Jersey in detail
New Jersey OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in New Jersey?
Yes — New Jersey taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in New Jersey?
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 New Jersey?
No — doc fees are uncapped in New Jersey; buyers report a typical $695.00. It's negotiable as part of your total OTD.
What does a New Jersey dealer's advertised price have to include?
Every cost you pay except licensing costs, registration fees and taxes, including the doc fee, freight, dealer prep and options already on the car. New Jersey's rules and federal law agree. Only sales tax, title and registration fees and other government charges can be added on top.
Why is registration so high on a new car in New Jersey?
New Jersey registers a new car for four years and collects all four up front: $211 for a car up to 3,500 lb and $311 above that. A new electric car also pays four years of the ZEV fee at the sale, about $1,130 for one registered between July 2026 and June 2027.