This car loan calculator works out the monthly payment the way a dealer’s finance office does: the price, minus your trade-in and cash down, plus your state’s vehicle sales tax, the documentation fee and the title fee, borrowed at an APR that fits your credit. An auto loan is a fixed-rate installment debt secured by the vehicle, and most car payment calculators skip the taxes and fees that end up inside it. This one counts them, for every state.
Use this calculator to determine the full auto loan payment. Enter the price, pick new or used car, add any trade-in and choose your state. Then set a credit score range or a quoted interest rate, and the loan term. You get the payment, loan amount, total interest, cash due at signing, payoff month and a yearly amortization schedule summary.
Car Loan Calculator by State
Enter the price, your down payment and trade-in, the state where you will register it, a credit range or quoted APR and the term. You get the monthly payment with sales tax and dealer fees rolled in, the amount financed, the total interest and a year by year payoff summary.
Your Payment Estimate
Estimates only, not a quote or an offer of credit. Built from September 2026 planning figures: statewide vehicle sales tax rates and trade-in rules, typical dealer documentation fees and state caps, state title fees, and average APRs by credit range for new and used financing. Local add-on sales taxes, registration, dealer add-ons and the rate a lender actually offers will move the real number.
What a Rate Quote Leaves Out: Sales Tax, Doc and Title Fees
A lender’s rate quote prices the money; it says nothing about the tax and fees stacked on the vehicle price before you borrow. Texas makes a clean worked example. It charges a 6.25 percent motor vehicle sales tax on the price minus any trade-in allowance, according to the Texas Comptroller. Private sales are taxed on the higher of price or standard presumptive value. The tool uses $250 as a typical dealer documentary fee there; state rules presume $225 is reasonable, and a dealer charging more must first file a notice and cost analysis with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner. The title fee is $33 in emissions counties and $28 elsewhere.
Here’s a $35,000 new car purchase with $4,000 down, 7.00 percent APR and a 60-month term, everything rolled in:
- Sales tax: $2,188 (6.25 percent of $35,000)
- Doc fee and title: $250 plus $33
- Amount financed: $33,471
- Monthly car payment: $663
- Interest over 60 months: $6,295
- All-in cost: $43,765
Rolling the $2,471 of tax and fees in adds $465 of interest; paying them at signing drops the payment to $614. A $10,000 trade-in value also lowers the tax: Texas taxes only the $25,000 difference, which cuts it by $625. California gives no trade-in credit, so the same trade saves nothing on tax there. Still owe on the trade? See how a trade-in with a payoff balance works.
Matching Your Estimate to the Dealer Worksheet
The amount financed is the line to compare first. If it sits above purchase price minus cash down and trade, the tax and fees went into the loan. If the dealer’s figure still runs higher than the estimate at the same rate and term, the gap is usually a service contract, GAP coverage or another add-on. Ask for an itemized buyer’s order before you sign.
Does Your State Change the Monthly Payment? One $35,000 Car, Ten States
Only a little. With the same deal, the spread across ten states is $29 a month:
| State | Sales tax | Doc and title | Payment | Interest paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $2,188 | $283 | $663 | $6,295 |
| New Jersey | $2,319 | $760 | $675 | $6,409 |
| Minnesota | $2,275 | $133 | $662 | $6,283 |
| Pennsylvania | $2,100 | $531 | $666 | $6,325 |
| New York | $1,400 | $225 | $646 | $6,136 |
| Ohio | $2,013 | $265 | $659 | $6,259 |
| Tennessee | $2,450 | $614 | $675 | $6,406 |
| Arizona | $1,960 | $454 | $662 | $6,284 |
| Illinois | $2,188 | $523 | $668 | $6,340 |
| Utah | $1,698 | $306 | $654 | $6,207 |
These are statewide rates. New York, Tennessee, Arizona, Illinois and Utah add local sales tax, so real figures there run higher. The car sales tax calculator breaks out each state’s trade-in rule and cap, and the out-the-door price breakdown walks from sticker to amount financed line by line.
Credit Score Moves the Payment More Than Location
Credit moves the payment far more than location: $107 a month between 661 to 780 credit and the 501 to 600 band, against $29 across ten states. The defaults run 0.69 to 1.09 points above Experian’s Q2 2026 averages in the top two tiers and within half a point of them in the lower three, so a blank rate field errs high for good credit:
| Score | New, default | New, Experian | Used, default | Used, Experian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 781 and up | 5.50% | 4.41% | 7.00% | 6.29% |
| 661 to 780 | 7.00% | 6.15% | 9.50% | 8.81% |
| 601 to 660 | 10.00% | 9.71% | 14.00% | 13.93% |
| 501 to 600 | 13.50% | 13.52% | 19.00% | 19.10% |
| Under 500 | 16.00% | 16.11% | 22.00% | 21.62% |
On the $35,000 example, 661 to 780 credit pays $663 a month; 501 to 600 pays $770 and $6,444 more interest. Used-car rates sit 1.5 to 6 points above new at every default tier, which is why the same price costs more to finance on a used vehicle. The credit score calculator prices each step up, and the used vehicle loan page covers age and mileage limits lenders apply.
Loan Term Sets the Total Cost, Not the Monthly Car Payment
Of the $39,765 paid over 60 months in the example above, $33,471 just returns what was borrowed. The $6,295 of interest is the price of the financing, so stretching the term to shrink the payment is a poor trade:
| Term (months) | Payment | Interest paid |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | $663 | $6,295 |
| 72 | $571 | $7,615 |
| 84 | $505 | $8,963 |
| 96 | $456 | $10,337 |
Going from five years to seven saves $158 a month and costs $2,668 more in interest. The relief shrinks as the term grows: 60 to 72 months cuts $92, while 84 to 96 cuts only $49. Long terms are common anyway: in Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market for Q2 2026, 31.84 percent of new-vehicle financing ran 73 to 84 months. The amortization calculator shows every month, and the payoff calculator shows what extra principal saves.
Which Payment Tool Fits Your Car Financing Situation?
This page handles the standard purchase: one vehicle, one lender, tax and fees in or out. Two situations need a narrower tool:
- Already have a loan and a lower interest rate offer: the refinance break-even math weighs the new rate against title and lender fees.
- Torn between two terms at different APRs: the term-by-term comparison puts them side by side, since longer terms usually carry a higher rate too.
Before you visit a dealer, get one preapproval from a bank or credit union and enter that APR in the car loan calculator above. Then compare the dealer’s offer on total interest, not the monthly payment. If it still looks tight, run the affordability calculator before you shop.
Frequently Asked Questions About Auto Financing
How do I calculate the monthly payment by hand?
Use the standard amortization formula: payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where P is the amount financed, r is the APR divided by 12 and n is the number of months. For $33,471 at 7.00 percent over 60 months, r is about 0.005833 and the payment comes to $663.
What is the average interest rate on an auto loan in Texas?
Experian’s quarterly report doesn’t break rates out by state. Nationally, the Q2 2026 average was 6.35 percent for new vehicles and 11.19 percent for used.
How much would I pay monthly for a $30,000 auto loan for 60 months?
At 7.00 percent APR, $594 a month and $5,642 in interest. Enter $30,000, no down payment and “pay at signing” to reproduce it.
Is an 84-month auto loan a bad idea?
It costs more. On $33,471 at 7.00 percent, a seven-year term adds $2,668 of interest compared with five years and keeps you owing more than the vehicle is worth for longer.
Estimates only, not a quote or an offer of credit. Your lender, county and dealer set the real terms. Last reviewed: October 2026.