For this example, Texas comes to $645.75 less than California. That's before the items marked "not available".
- Registration fee$73.00
- Alternative fuel/technology feePart of the DMV's $76 registration fee$3.00
- CHP fee$34.00
- Vehicle License Fee0.65% of value$195.00
- Transportation Improvement FeeValue $25,000 – $34,999$132.00
- Smog abatement feeInstead of a smog check, first 8 years$20.00
- County / district feesVaries by countynot available
- Sales tax7.25% of price$2,175.00
Total excludes items marked "not available".
Assumes: Bought new from a California dealer; City or county where you'll register the car: Not listed / type the rate myself; Your local sales/use tax rate: 7.25%; Include sales/use tax; Zero-emission vehicle (electric or hydrogen)?: No.
Open the California calculator to change these.
- Base registration (1 yr)6,000 lbs or less$50.75
- Insurance verification feeTexasSure, every registration$1.00
- County local feesHarris County, 2026 chart$11.50
- Inspection replacement feeReplaces the safety inspection$7.50
- Emissions fee, state shareEmissions county; station charges its share separately$2.75
- Processing & handling$4.75
- Title application feeSet by county$33.00
- Motor vehicle sales tax6.25% of price minus trade-in$1,875.00
Assumes: Bought from a dealer; Vehicle weight: 6,000 lbs or less (most cars, SUVs, light pickups); County where you register: Harris County ($11.50 local fee); Title application fee in your county: $33.
Open the Texas calculator to change these.
| Fee line | California | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $2,632.00 + not available | $1,986.25 |
| Taxes | $2,370.00 | $1,875.00 |
| Registration and other fees | $262.00 + not available | $78.25 |
| Title | No separate line | $33.00 |
| Renewal at today's rates | $457.00/yr + not available | $78.25/yr |
Cheapest and most expensive of the states we cover
Same $30,000 car: $3,021.50 apart. See the full ranking
How the comparison works
Each column is that state's own calculator, run on the same starting example its state page shows (listed under "Assumes"), with the price you enter. Where a state's fee depends on the list price (MSRP), we use the price you enter, as for a new car. Totals match the state pages for the same price.
Situations differ from state to state: county, weight class, car age and local tax rates all change the bill. For your own situation, open each state's calculator from its column. Fees we can't confirm from an official source show as "not available" and are left out of the total, so a state with more of those can look cheaper than it is.
Nothing you type leaves your browser. The link in your address bar keeps the two states and the price, so you can share a comparison.