Illinois Tax, Title and License Calculator (IL Car TTL 2026)

Illinois taxes a car two different ways. Buy from a dealer, and you pay 6.25% state tax plus local taxes on the price after your trade-in. Buy from a private seller, and you pay a flat tax from a state chart (RUT-50), based on the car’s age or price. Either way, the title is $165 and standard plates are $151 a year.

Use our Illinois tax, title and license calculator online to estimate your total for a new or used car. The guide below shows how each part works, with the 2026 charts, so you can check the numbers yourself.

Rates and fees checked against the Illinois Department of Revenue and Illinois law on October 1, 2026. This is an independent estimate. The Secretary of State and your dealer set the final amount.

Illinois Vehicle Tax and Fees at a Glance

How Much Is Tax, Title and License in Illinois?

On a $30,000 car, tax, title and license in Illinois runs about $1,900 to $3,200, depending on local taxes and who you buy from. From a dealer at the 6.25% state rate with no trade-in, it’s $2,191: $1,875 tax, $165 title and $151 plates. Local taxes add more.

From a private seller, the same $30,000 car costs $1,916: a flat $1,600 RUT-50 tax plus $316 for title and plates. Cook County residents add $90 to $225.

Illinois Car Sales Tax at a Dealer

Illinois dealers charge the 6.25% state rate plus the local taxes that apply to vehicles at their location. In the Chicago area, that can include a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) tax.

Here’s a detail most calculators get wrong. Home rule sales taxes, like the ones that push Chicago store receipts to 10.25%, don’t apply to cars. So your car’s tax rate is usually lower than the rate on a store receipt in the same town.

Chicago and Cook County residents pay more

If your address is in Chicago, you owe the 1.25% Chicago Home Rule Use Tax on a car from a dealer in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry or Will County. Cook County residents, including Chicago, also owe a 1% Cook County use tax. Dealers in the area add both to your bill.

Dealer tax = (price + doc fee − trade-in) × (6.25% + local vehicle rate)

Your dealer’s vehicle tax rate is printed on the tax form it files (ST-556), so you can ask for it before you sign.

Trade-Ins, Rebates and Doc Fees

Does a trade-in lower car tax in Illinois?

Yes, at a dealer. You’re taxed on the price minus your trade-in. There’s no cap. Illinois limited the credit to $10,000 in 2020 and 2021, but that limit ended on January 1, 2022.

Some states never allowed it. California vehicle sales tax is figured on the full selling price, so a $12,000 trade saves you nothing on tax there.

A trade-in doesn’t matter in a private sale, because the RUT-50 tax is a flat amount.

Are rebates taxed?

Yes. A manufacturer rebate that goes to the dealer doesn’t lower the taxable price. You pay tax on the price before the rebate. That isn’t universal. Iowa vehicle tax leaves manufacturer rebates out of the taxable price, so the same rebate would lower your bill there.

Is the doc fee taxed?

Yes. The dealer’s documentary fee is part of the taxable price. Illinois caps it, and the cap goes up with inflation each year. For 2026, it’s about $378.

Dealer vs Private Sale: Tax at Common Prices

This table compares dealer tax at the 6.25% state rate (most of downstate Illinois) and at 7% (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties) with the flat private-party tax. It assumes no trade-in.

Private-party tax is often lower, especially for older cars under $15,000 and for prices between $30,000 and $49,999.

Private-Party Car Tax in Illinois (Form RUT-50)

When you buy from a private seller, you pay a flat tax with Form RUT-50. It’s due within 30 days of the purchase, and you pay it when you title the car with the Secretary of State. Illinois isn’t the only state that ignores what you actually paid. Texas car sales tax on private sales still uses a percentage, but applies it to the state’s own value for the car when your price comes in low.

The amounts come from the state’s RUT-5 chart, a PDF the Illinois Department of Revenue updates every year. Here are the 2026 amounts.

Table A: cars under $15,000 (by age)

Table B: cars $15,000 and up (by price)

Cook County private-sale tax

If you live in Cook County, the county adds its own tax on private sales. The state collects it when you register.

Family Transfers and Gifts

You pay just $15 in state tax when the car comes from your spouse (including a civil union partner), parent, brother, sister or child.

Grandparents, grandchildren, step-relatives and in-laws don’t qualify for the $15 rate. They pay from the regular chart. In Cook County, family transfers and gifts pay the county’s $25 rate. Where the line falls varies a lot. Tennessee car sales tax exempts grandparents and grandchildren outright, and reaches as far as great-grandparents.

Illinois Title and Plate Fees

If you already have Illinois plates from a car you sold or traded, transferring them costs $25 instead of $151 for new plates. Your renewal date stays the same.

Electric vehicles

Battery electric vehicles pay a $100 surcharge on top of the regular registration fee every year. That makes standard EV plates $251. Hybrids don’t pay it. Illinois sits mid-range on this. North Carolina tax, title and license charges $214.50 a year for an electric vehicle, and bills plug-in hybrids too.

Motorcycle Tax, Title and License in Illinois

Motorcycles bought from a private seller pay a flat $25 state tax, no matter the price. The title is $30, and a standard motorcycle plate is about $41 a year. Cook County residents also pay the county’s $90 motorcycle tax.

A motorcycle from a dealer is taxed like a car: 6.25% plus local taxes on the price after any trade-in.

Buying Out of State or Moving to Illinois

Moving to Illinois

If your car was titled in another state for more than three months before you moved, you don’t owe Illinois tax on it. You’ll still pay the $165 title and plate fees.

Illinois residents buying out of state

If you buy from an out-of-state dealer, you file Form RUT-25 within 30 days of bringing the car into Illinois. Illinois gives credit for sales tax you paid to the other state, so you pay only the difference. Worth checking before you cross a border to save money. Missouri car sales tax is charged at your home address rate rather than the dealer’s, which can wipe out the saving on a St. Louis-area purchase.

Out-of-state buyers at an Illinois dealer

If you live in another state, the dealer can issue a drive-away permit. How much tax, if any, the dealer collects depends on your home state. Ask before you sign.

How to Use a Tax, Title and License Calculator for Illinois by Hand

Dealer purchase:

1. Start with the price and add the doc fee. Don’t subtract a manufacturer rebate.
2. Subtract your trade-in.
3. Multiply by 6.25% plus your dealer’s local vehicle rate.
4. Add 1.25% if you live in Chicago and 1% if you live in Cook County.
5. Add $165 for the title and $151 for plates (or $25 to transfer plates).
6. Add $100 if it’s an electric vehicle.

Private purchase:

1. Find your tax on the RUT-5 chart: by model year if the price is under $15,000, by price if it’s $15,000 or more.
2. Use $15 instead if the seller is your spouse, parent, child, brother or sister.
3. Add the Cook County tax if you live there.
4. Add $165 for the title and $151 for plates.

Worked Examples

Example 1: New car from a dealer

Assumptions: $38,000 price, $350 doc fee, $1,500 manufacturer rebate, $12,000 trade-in, dealer and buyer in DuPage County, so the rate is 7% (6.25% state plus 0.75% RTA tax), new plates.

In Chicago, the same deal is taxed at about 9.5% (6.25% state, 1% RTA, 1% Cook County and 1.25% Chicago): $2,503.25 in tax.

Example 2: Private sale in suburban Cook County

You buy a 2021 car from a private seller for $18,000. The price is over $15,000, so Table B applies: $850. The car is five years old, so Cook County adds $175. With the $165 title and $151 plates, the total is $1,341.

Example 3: Older car from a private seller

You buy a 2019 car for $8,000 outside Cook County. The price is under $15,000, so Table A applies: $155. Add $316 for title and plates. Total: $471.

Example 4: Car from your sister

Your sister sells you her car. The state tax is $15. Add $165 for the title and $25 to move your plates from a car you just sold. Total: $205, plus $25 county tax if you live in Cook County.

What This Estimate Includes

• 6.25% state tax and the local rate you enter (dealer sales)
• RUT-50 flat tax from the 2026 chart (private sales)
• $15 family rate
• Trade-in credit at dealers
• $165 title and $151 plates
• $100 EV surcharge

What This Estimate Does Not Include

• Chicago 1.25% and Cook County 1% use taxes, unless you add them to your local rate
• Cook County private-sale tax
• Dealer doc fee, unless you add it to the price
• Plate transfer savings and specialty or vanity plates
• Chicago city sticker and other local vehicle stickers
• Emissions testing, insurance and loan costs

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using the store sales tax rate. Home rule sales taxes don’t apply to cars.
• Forgetting the Chicago and Cook County use taxes. They add 2.25% for Chicago residents.
• Figuring private-sale tax as a percentage. It’s a flat amount from the RUT-5 chart.
• Using last year’s chart. The Table A amounts change every January.
• Assuming a $10,000 trade-in cap. It ended in 2022.
• Subtracting a manufacturer rebate. It’s taxed.
• Expecting the $15 rate from a grandparent. Only a spouse, parent, child, brother or sister qualifies.
• Paying $151 when you can transfer plates for $25.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the car sales tax rate in Illinois?

At a dealer, it’s 6.25% state tax plus local taxes that apply to vehicles. Chicago residents add 1.25%, and Cook County residents add 1%. Private sales use a flat tax from the RUT-5 chart instead.

How much is tax, title and license on a $30,000 car in Illinois?

About $2,191 from a dealer at the 6.25% state rate, before local taxes. From a private seller, it’s $1,916.

Where can I find the Illinois tax, title and license chart PDF?

The private-party tax chart is Form RUT-5, a PDF on the Illinois Department of Revenue website. The 2026 amounts are in the tables above.

Does Illinois still cap the trade-in credit at $10,000?

No. The cap applied only in 2020 and 2021. Since January 1, 2022, there’s no limit.

How much are title and plates in Illinois?

The title is $165, and standard plates are $151 a year. Moving plates from your old car costs $25.

How much is tax, title and license on a motorcycle in Illinois?

From a private seller, it’s $25 tax, a $30 title and about $41 for plates. From a dealer, the tax is 6.25% plus local taxes.

Do I pay Illinois tax when I move to Illinois?

Not if your car was titled in your old state for more than three months. You still pay the title and plate fees.

Official Sources

• Illinois Department of Revenue: Tax on Vehicles (individuals)
• Illinois Department of Revenue: Form RUT-5, 2026 Private Party Vehicle Use Tax Chart
• Illinois Department of Revenue: Form ST-556 Instructions (R-12/24)
• Illinois Department of Revenue: Home Rule Sales Taxes (local governments’ guide)
• Illinois Department of Revenue: General Information Letter ST 22-0021-GIL (end of the $10,000 trade-in cap)
• Illinois Compiled Statutes: 625 ILCS 5/3-821 (title and transfer fees)
• Illinois Compiled Statutes: 625 ILCS 5/3-805 (electric vehicle fee)
• Cook County Department of Revenue: Non-Retailer Use Tax and Use Tax (titled property, 1%)
• Illinois Department of Revenue: General Information Letter ST 15-0047-GIL (local taxes on vehicle sales)
• Illinois Department of Revenue: PIO-114, local taxes that apply to titled vehicles
• City of Chicago Department of Finance: Use Tax for Titled Personal Property

This page is an independent estimate tool and guide. It isn’t affiliated with the Illinois Secretary of State, the Illinois Department of Revenue or any local government. Rates and fees can change, so confirm your final amount before you pay.