Vermont car sales tax: 6% and what it applies to

• Vermont charges 6%, and that rate is the same everywhere in the state — no county or city adds to it on a vehicle purchase.

• Taxed on top of the vehicle price: the dealer doc fee and dealer-installed accessories.
• Not part of the taxable amount: extended warranties and service contracts.
• Your trade-in comes off before tax is calculated.

• Vermont has no sales tax on a car. It charges a 6% purchase and use tax, the same rate in every town, with no local add-on. You pay it to the DMV when the car is registered and titled.
• Registering the car: a Vermont dealer normally prepares the registration, tax and title application and files it with the DMV within 15 days of the sale, and the tax and fees go in with it. They are in the calculator's total because you pay them either way. If you buy from a dealer outside Vermont, you file the application with the DMV yourself.
• Your trade-in lowers the taxable amount on a new or a used car, with no dollar cap. The trade-in must be registered or titled in your name. If you sell your old car yourself within three months before or after the purchase, the DMV gives a credit or refund based on its J.D. Power clean trade-in value, one car per purchase.
• A dealer discount lowers the price that is taxed. Whether a manufacturer rebate does is not confirmed from a Vermont source, so this estimate taxes the price before the rebate. If the DMV takes the rebate off first, the tax is 6% of the rebate lower.
• The doc fee is taxed: the DMV says it is part of the purchase price. Vermont does not cap it. Dealer-installed accessories are taxed. Extended warranties, service contracts and GAP are separate from the price and are not taxed, to our reading.
• The DMV taxes the greater of the purchase price and the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, so a car sold well under book value can be taxed on the book value. A buyer who disagrees can submit a dealer appraisal on form VD-012. This mostly affects private sales and gifts.
• If you already paid sales or use tax on the car to another state, Vermont credits it against the 6%. If the other state's tax was lower, you pay the difference. Proof of the payment is required.

Source: Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles - Tax & Title (Vehicle Taxation) · rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Methodology.