Out-the-door price in Ohio
How Ohio works
- Ohio sales tax is based on the county you live in, not where the dealership is — the clerk of courts collects it at titling using your county of residence rate. Rates run 6.50% to 8.00% and change quarterly.
- Your trade-in only reduces the taxable amount when you are buying a NEW vehicle from a new-car dealer. On a used or certified pre-owned purchase, Ohio taxes the full price with no trade-in credit.
- Manufacturer rebates are taxed in Ohio — tax is figured on the price before the rebate. A dealer's own cash discount does lower your taxable price.
- The dealer's documentary fee is NOT subject to sales tax in Ohio, and it is capped at the lesser of the current CPI-adjusted amount or 10% of the contract price.
- Extended warranties, service contracts and GAP are taxable when sold as part of the vehicle purchase agreement. Buying them later in a separate transaction is treated differently.
- Registering the car: in Ohio you can register it and get plates yourself at a deputy registrar before your 45-day temporary tag runs out. Or the dealer can do it for you: for a registration service fee (up to $50 with titling, and the registration part has to be labeled optional), or at the sale for the usual $8 deputy registrar fee if the dealer is a limited-authority deputy registrar. Registration isn't in the calculator's total; the notes with your result show what to budget.
- If you live in Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Union or Wood County, your rate can be 0.50 to 1.00 point higher than shown when your address falls inside the COTA or TARTA transit district. Check your exact address at thefinder.tax.ohio.gov.
Rules last verified Oct 4, 2026. Our methodology.
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What an Ohio advertised price has to include
Ohio's Attorney General rule already requires a dealer's advertised price to include every cost to you except tax, title and registration fees and the doc fee. 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 temporary tag 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.
Ohio law and the FTC conflict
Ohio's Attorney General rule lets a dealer leave the doc fee out of an advertised price, as long as it's within the legal cap, and an Ohio BMV rule says the dealer's title or registration service fee (up to $50) can't be in the advertised price at all. The FTC expects every fee a dealer requires to be in the advertised price. Until regulators or the courts settle it, you may see Ohio ads that leave them out. Ask whether a price includes them, and get the out-the-door price in writing.
What the FTC expects in the advertised price
- The doc fee (at most $398 in 2026 and $412 in 2027, and never more than 10% of the price)
- Freight (destination) and dealer preparation charges
- Anything the dealer has added to the car, such as accessories and add-on packages
- A title or registration service fee (up to $50), if the dealer charges it on every sale
- Any other charge the dealer requires
Can still be added on top
- Sales tax (5.75% plus your county's rate)
- The title fee ($18, or $23 in five counties) and the $23 temporary tag
- Registration and plates, which you usually buy yourself at a deputy registrar
- Optional products you choose to buy, such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- The doc fee amount: the lesser of $398 or 10% of the price in 2026, rising to $412 on January 1, 2027, and adjusted each year for inflation. It isn't subject to sales tax.
- The title and registration service fee: since March 2026 an Ohio dealer can charge up to $50, plus mailing, to e-file your title through a paid provider or take your paperwork to the deputy registrar. Ohio's rule says this fee can't be in the advertised price, but federal law says every fee the dealer requires has to be. The two only fit together if the fee is optional, and Ohio already requires the registration part to be labeled optional. If a dealer charges it on every sale, the FTC would expect it in the advertised price.
- Rebates: an Ohio ad can take a rebate off the price only if every buyer qualifies for it and the ad says so.
- Price honoring: a dealer can't raise the price on you except to re-value your trade-in, adjust for negative equity on it, or with your consent, and if it does raise the price you can pay it or cancel. It also has to tell you the car's currently advertised price.
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?
Ohio in detail
Rates by county in Ohio
Counties where the rate differs from the rest of Ohio, or changes from one city to the next. The 33 listed here are the ones where your county actually changes the number.
| County | Combined rate | ZIPs |
|---|---|---|
| Cuyahoga County | 8% | 62 |
| Franklin County | 8% | 63 |
| Hamilton County | 7.8% | 78 |
| Lucas County | 7.75% | 42 |
| Mahoning County | 7.5% | 32 |
| Montgomery County | 7.5% | 51 |
| Columbiana County | 7.25% | 21 |
| Crawford County | 7.25% | 9 |
| Lake County | 7.25% | 11 |
| Noble County | 7.25% | 6 |
| Brown County | 7% | 12 |
| Holmes County | 7% | 12 |
| Miami County | 7% | 14 |
| Ottawa County | 7% | 16 |
| Portage County | 7% | 17 |
| Putnam County | 7% | 14 |
| Richland County | 7% | 14 |
| Allen County | 6.85% | 13 |
| Ashtabula County | 6.75% | 17 |
| Clermont County | 6.75% | 16 |
| Fairfield County | 6.75% | 14 |
| Geauga County | 6.75% | 13 |
| Greene County | 6.75% | 13 |
| Hancock County | 6.75% | 13 |
| Medina County | 6.75% | 16 |
| Summit County | 6.75% | 48 |
| Trumbull County | 6.75% | 28 |
| Tuscarawas County | 6.75% | 20 |
| Wood County | 6.75% | 30 |
| Butler County | 6.5% | 21 |
| Lorain County | 6.5% | 16 |
| Stark County | 6.5% | 42 |
| Wayne County | 6.5% | 16 |
Ohio OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Ohio?
Yes — Ohio taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Ohio?
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 Ohio?
Yes — the cap is $398.00 (Ohio Rev. Code Sec. 4517.261(B)-(C) (lesser of CPI-adjusted amount or 10% of contract price, excl. tax/title/registration)). A dealer may not exceed it.
What does an Ohio dealer's advertised price have to include?
Every cost to you except tax, title and registration fees and the doc fee (Ohio's rule), plus the doc fee itself and every other fee the dealer requires (the FTC's position; Ohio lets dealers leave the doc fee out, so the two conflict). Only sales tax, the title fee, registration, the temporary tag and other government charges can be added on top.
Can an Ohio dealer charge a title or registration service fee?
Yes, up to $50 plus mailing since March 2026, for e-filing your title through a paid provider or taking your paperwork to the deputy registrar. It has to be disclosed in writing, and the registration service has to be labeled optional. Ohio's rule keeps it out of the advertised price; under federal law, a dealer that charges it on every sale should include it.