Out-the-door price in Pennsylvania
How Pennsylvania works
- Pennsylvania sales tax is based on the county you REGISTER the vehicle in (destination-based) — 6% statewide, plus 1% for Allegheny County and 2% for Philadelphia, even if you buy from a dealer elsewhere in the state.
- Your trade-in reduces the taxable amount, with no dollar cap.
- Manufacturer rebates AND dealer cash discounts both reduce the taxable amount in Pennsylvania — unlike some states that tax the rebate.
- The dealer's documentary fee is NOT subject to sales tax in Pennsylvania, and is capped: $490 max if filed electronically, $409 max if filed on paper (CPI-adjusted yearly).
- Extended warranties and other F&I products ARE taxable in Pennsylvania.
- An electric car or plug-in hybrid now pays its road user charge at the sale ($250 or $63 a year), collected by the dealer with the registration since July 2026.
- 27 counties add a $5-a-year "Fee for Local Use" at registration. The calculator adds it when your ZIP is in one of them.
Rules last verified Oct 3, 2026. Our methodology.
Try it for your ZIP
What a Pennsylvania advertised price has to include
Pennsylvania's own rules already require a dealer's advertised price to include freight, handling, dealer prep and every other charge needed before delivery, and the dealer has to sell at that price. 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 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.
Pennsylvania law and the FTC conflict on the doc fee
Pennsylvania's Board of Vehicles says a dealer's doc fee "may be excluded" from an advertised price (the fee also has to be posted on a sign in the dealership). The FTC expects every fee a dealer charges to be in the advertised price. Until regulators or the courts settle it, you may see Pennsylvania 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
- Freight (destination), handling and dealer preparation charges
- Any other charge needed before delivery, and the equipment the model comes with as standard
- Anything the dealer has added to the car, such as accessories and add-on packages
- The doc fee (at most $490 in 2026 if the dealer files electronically, $409 on paper)
- Notary, messenger or online-processing fees the dealer passes on
- The cost of a temporary or new plate, if the dealer passes it on
Can still be added on top
- Sales tax (6%, plus 1% in Allegheny County or 2% in Philadelphia)
- Title, registration, lien and county fees, the new-tire fee, and an electric car's road user charge
- Optional products you choose to buy, such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- Notary and messenger fees: Pennsylvania lets dealers pass on the actual cost of titling services, including notary, messenger and online-processing fees, and leave them out of the advertised price. They aren't government fees, so under federal law they belong in it. Notary fees are capped at $5 per signature.
- The doc fee amount: at most $490 in 2026 for a dealer that files electronically, $409 on paper, adjusted each year for inflation. It's negotiable, which is why it can't be pre-printed on the buyer's order, and it isn't taxed.
- Price honoring: the dealer has to sell at its advertised price, and an ad showing a price below the full cash price has to say what brings it down, such as a trade-in.
- Online ads count: since 2024 Pennsylvania's dealer advertising rules cover websites, apps and social media.
- Enforcement: in 2025 the Attorney General settled with a dealer group over inflated prices and hidden add-on costs, including $100,000 in restitution.
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?
Pennsylvania in detail
Rates by county in Pennsylvania
Counties where the rate differs from the rest of Pennsylvania, or changes from one city to the next. The 27 listed here are the ones where your county actually changes the number.
| County | Combined rate | ZIPs |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia County | 8% | 85 |
| Allegheny County | 7% | 142 |
| Beaver County | 6% | 20 |
| Bedford County | 6% | 24 |
| Berks County | 6% | 53 |
| Blair County | 6% | 16 |
| Bucks County | 6% | 67 |
| Butler County | 6% | 37 |
| Cambria County | 6% | 52 |
| Centre County | 6% | 31 |
| Chester County | 6% | 63 |
| Cumberland County | 6% | 21 |
| Dauphin County | 6% | 41 |
| Delaware County | 6% | 54 |
| Erie County | 6% | 46 |
| Greene County | 6% | 23 |
| Lackawanna County | 6% | 32 |
| Lycoming County | 6% | 22 |
| Mifflin County | 6% | 11 |
| Montgomery County | 6% | 83 |
| Pike County | 6% | 14 |
| Schuylkill County | 6% | 58 |
| Susquehanna County | 6% | 26 |
| Union County | 6% | 14 |
| Wayne County | 6% | 26 |
| Westmoreland County | 6% | 85 |
| York County | 6% | 49 |
Pennsylvania OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Pennsylvania?
Yes — Pennsylvania taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Pennsylvania?
No — rebates passed to you are treated like a cash discount and reduce the taxable amount.
Is the doc fee capped in Pennsylvania?
Yes — the cap is $490.00 (63 P.S. Sec.818.327(c) (Board of Vehicles Act) — two-tier CPI-adjusted cap, electronic ($490) vs. non-electronic ($409) filing). A dealer may not exceed it.
What does a Pennsylvania dealer's advertised price have to include?
Freight, handling, dealer prep and every other charge needed before delivery (Pennsylvania rules), plus every fee the dealer charges, including the doc fee and any notary or messenger fees it passes on (the FTC's position; Pennsylvania lets dealers leave those out, so the two conflict). Only sales tax, title, registration and other government fees can be added on top.
Is Pennsylvania's EV road user charge part of the out-the-door price?
Yes. Since July 2026 the dealer collects it when the car is registered: $250 a year for an electric car or $63 for a plug-in hybrid, or the first installment of a payment plan. After that it comes due with each registration renewal.