Out-the-door price in Washington
How Washington works
- Washington adds a 0.5% motor vehicle sales/lease tax ON TOP of your local combined retail rate — a line most generic calculators miss. It rose from 0.3% to 0.5% on January 1, 2026.
- Your trade-in reduces the taxable amount in Washington.
- Extended warranties and service contracts ARE taxed in Washington.
- Washington added an 8% luxury tax on January 1, 2026, on the part of a car's price over $102,000.
- Doc fees are capped at $200 and Washington law calls them negotiable — anything higher on your quote is over the legal cap.
- The doc fee itself is NOT subject to Washington sales tax — WA DOR treats it as a dealer service charge (B&O tax on the dealer's side), not part of the taxable sale.
- Washington charges the rate where the DEALERSHIP is, not where you live — vehicles are one of the few things the state sources to the seller's location. If you buy outside your own area the rate you actually pay is the dealer's, so treat this as the rate for a purchase made near you.
- Washington publishes a SEPARATE tax rate for vehicles, lower than the general sales tax rate in about half the state, because the county public-safety tax does not apply to cars. The rate shown here is the vehicle one — a general sales-tax lookup will give you a different number.
- If your ZIP straddles the Sound Transit district boundary, you will be offered two rates to pick from. The boundary runs through parts of Bellevue, Auburn, Kent, Redmond, Renton, Issaquah and others, and it can differ by well over a point, so it is worth knowing which side you are on.
- For an address outside any city, this uses your county's unincorporated rate. A few counties also have a transit-district rate for some unincorporated areas that is slightly higher; if you live in one, your real rate may be a little above the figure here.
Rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Our methodology.
Try it for your ZIP
What a Washington advertised price has to include
Washington's rules already require a dealer's advertised price to include every charge except sales tax, license fees, equipment you order and charges a statute allows, which in practice means 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 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.
Washington law and the FTC conflict on the doc fee
Washington lets a dealer add its doc fee on top of an advertised price, as long as every ad says a fee of up to $200 may be added. The FTC expects every fee a dealer charges to be in the advertised price. Until regulators or the courts settle it, you may see Washington 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
- The doc fee (at most $200, and Washington law calls it negotiable)
- Freight (destination) and dealer preparation charges
- Options and add-ons already installed on the car when it's advertised
- The $40 temporary plate, if the dealer passes it on
Can still be added on top
- Sales tax, including the 0.5% motor vehicle tax and the 8% luxury tax on the part of a price over $102,000
- Title, registration, plate and weight fees, the Sound Transit (RTA) tax where it applies, and the $6.50 EMS and $3 lemon law fees
- Equipment you order that isn't already on the car, and optional products such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- No disclosure, no fee: Washington's Attorney General says a dealer whose ads don't disclose the doc fee can't charge one at all. The fee also has to be listed separately from the price, and the dealer has to tell you in writing, in type that stands out, that it's negotiable.
- The doc fee amount: at most $200. A 2026 bill would have raised it to $250, but that part was dropped before the bill passed. It isn't subject to sales tax.
- Rebates: Washington lets a dealer build a manufacturer rebate into an advertised price if more than half of buyers would qualify. Federal law is stricter: an advertised price can't depend on a rebate only some buyers can get.
- Price honoring: a dealer can't sell an advertised car for more than the advertised price, whatever it offers for your trade-in.
- No other line-item fees: Washington's Attorney General says a dealer can't add any other fee, such as an advertising or business-tax charge, unless a state or federal law requires it.
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?
Washington in detail
Rates by county in Washington
Counties where the rate differs from the rest of Washington, or changes from one city to the next. The 34 listed here are the ones where your county actually changes the number.
| County | Combined rate | ZIPs |
|---|---|---|
| King County | 8.9%–10.55% | 160 |
| Pierce County | 8.2%–10.5% | 97 |
| Thurston County | 8.2%–9.7% | 21 |
| Snohomish County | 7.9%–10.7% | 49 |
| Kitsap County | 9.2%–9.3% | 26 |
| Island County | 9.1%–9.3% | 7 |
| Spokane County | 8%–9.1% | 53 |
| Clark County | 7.9%–8.9% | 23 |
| Clallam County | 8.6%–8.9% | 11 |
| Grays Harbor County | 8.6%–8.8% | 21 |
| Mason County | 8.6%–8.8% | 9 |
| Benton County | 7.8%–8.5% | 10 |
| Chelan County | 8.5%–9% | 14 |
| Columbia County | 8.2%–8.4% | 2 |
| Pacific County | 8.2%–8.4% | 14 |
| Garfield County | 8.1% | 1 |
| San Juan County | 8.05%–8.35% | 9 |
| Asotin County | 8%–8.2% | 3 |
| Kittitas County | 8%–8.3% | 9 |
| Lewis County | 8%–8.4% | 22 |
| Okanogan County | 8%–8.6% | 19 |
| Skagit County | 8%–8.7% | 14 |
| Walla Walla County | 8%–8.8% | 8 |
| Whatcom County | 8%–9% | 18 |
| Whitman County | 8%–8.2% | 22 |
| Douglas County | 7.8%–8.8% | 7 |
| Grant County | 7.9%–8.2% | 16 |
| Yakima County | 7.9%–8.3% | 25 |
| Franklin County | 7.8%–8.6% | 6 |
| Adams County | 7.7%–7.9% | 5 |
| Cowlitz County | 7.7%–8.1% | 11 |
| Skamania County | 7.7%–8% | 4 |
| Stevens County | 7.7% | 18 |
| Klickitat County | 7.6%–7.7% | 15 |
Washington OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Washington?
Yes — Washington taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Washington?
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 Washington?
Yes — the cap is $200.00 (RCW 46.70.180(2)(a)(ii)). A dealer may not exceed it.
What does a Washington dealer's advertised price have to include?
Every charge except sales tax, license fees and equipment you order (Washington's rules), plus the doc fee (the FTC's position; Washington lets dealers add it on top if their ads say so, so the two conflict). Only sales tax, title, registration and other government fees can be added on top.
Does Washington have a luxury car tax?
Yes, since January 1, 2026: 8% on the part of a car's price over $102,000 (through June 2027), on top of regular sales tax, and a trade-in doesn't reduce it. Trucks over 10,000 lb and nonresidents are exempt.