Ohio Private Party Car Tax Calculator

The certificate of title fee is $18, or $23 in counties that add $5. Noting a lien is included in the title fee. Titles are issued by county clerk of courts title offices, not the BMV.

No. A private sale is taxed on the full price paid. Ohio’s trade-in credit applies to new vehicles bought from a dealer.

Passenger registration is $36 a year and motorcycles are $30, plus an $8 deputy registrar fee and any local permissive tax of up to $30. Electric vehicles add $200 a year, plug-in hybrids $150, and hybrids $100.

Ohio gives credit for sales or use tax legally paid to another state, with proof of payment, so you owe only any difference. If you bought the vehicle at least six months before moving to Ohio, no Ohio tax is due when you title it here.

A sale between family members is taxed if any money or other payment changes hands, on the full amount paid. No tax is due on some transfers with no payment, such as an inheritance through probate court, a transfer-on-death beneficiary, or a divorce decree. For a gift, ask your county clerk of courts title office how to claim it.

Transfer the title at a county clerk of courts title office within 30 days of the sale; a late application costs $5 more. The seller’s signature on the title must be notarized. New residents have 30 days after establishing residency to transfer their title and registration to Ohio.