North Carolina charges highway use tax (HUT) of 3% statewide on vehicles, with no local add-on. A trade-in does reduce the taxable price, which is real money on the deal.
Type your own numbers and see the same car priced as cash and as a loan, with the taxes and state fees for North Carolina. Nothing you type leaves this page.
To see a lease, pick a vehicle. A lease is priced on one car: what it is expected to be worth at the end (its residual) and the leasing company's money factor change by model and by month.
An estimate on the numbers you type, not an offer of credit or a quote from any dealership. Starting loan rates are Rateous's rates for each credit range and term; they are not an offer from any lender. The documentary fee starts at an example figure, the state's legal cap where it has one or $599 where it does not, not any dealership's fee; each dealership sets its own. Taxes and state fees are estimates for North Carolina; the dealership's paperwork and your motor vehicle agency have the final numbers. Nothing you type is sent, saved, or used to check your credit.
North Carolina charges the 3% HUT instead of sales tax when a title is issued; county sales taxes do not apply to titled vehicles.
Manufacturer rebates are not deducted from the sales price for HUT (retail value is the price before rebates); dealer discounts are.
Long-term leases: the lessor may pay the 3% alternate gross receipts tax on each lease payment instead of HUT on the vehicle.
Title and registration fees are quadrennially adjusted under G.S. 20-4.02; the July 1, 2024 schedule applies through mid-2028.
On a $35,000 new car with a $37,000 sticker, registered in Charlotte, no trade-in: the same figures the calculator above uses. The dealership's documentary fee is its own and is not included.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Title fee | $66.75 |
| Registration (est., flat based) | $46.25 |
| In all | $113.00 |
North Carolina taxes a lease one payment at a time: the tax is added to each monthly payment, so you pay it as you go.
Pick your city for the exact combined rate where you register, plus what title and registration run there.
3%. North Carolina applies one rate statewide on vehicles, so it does not change from city to city.
Retail value = sales price less the allowance for a motor vehicle taken in trade (G.S. 105-187.3).
On a $35,000 new car with a $37,000 sticker, registered in Charlotte: Title fee $66.75, Registration (est., flat based) $46.25, about $113.00 in all. Private passenger registration $46.25 per year since July 1, 2024 (plates included); the county vehicle property tax is billed and collected with the registration under the Tag & Tax Together program. EVs add $214.50, PHEVs $107.25.
No. North Carolina sets no statutory cap. Each dealership sets its own documentary fee (not a government fee), and each car shows its dealership's fee.
North Carolina taxes a lease one payment at a time: the tax is added to each monthly payment, so you pay it as you go.