Maryland Vehicle Property Tax: Excise Tax, Exemptions, and EV Credit

Maryland does not levy an annual property tax on personally owned vehicles. Instead, the state collects a one-time excise tax when you title a vehicle with the Motor Vehicle Administration, currently set at 6.5% of the vehicle’s value for most cars. Once that titling tax is paid, your only recurring vehicle cost from the state is a flat registration fee based on weight, not value. So when people search for the Maryland vehicle property tax, what they’re really looking at is the titling excise tax plus registration.

How the One-Time Excise Tax Works

The excise tax rate is 6.5% for most vehicles and 3.5% for rental vehicles. Both rates took effect July 1, 2025 under HB 352.¹

How the MVA determines the vehicle’s value depends on how you bought it. If you bought from a private party, the MVA uses the purchase price on a notarized bill of sale (Form VR-181), cross-checked against a national used-car valuation guide. If the guide value is higher, the MVA may use that figure instead, and mileage can adjust the number up or down. If you bought from a dealer, the tax is based on the agreed price including any dealer processing charge. Trade-in credit reduces the taxable amount and dealer discounts are not taxable, but manufacturer rebates are.²

For used vehicles seven model years old or older bought from a private party, the tax is based on the purchase price or a minimum book value of $640, whichever is greater. Older trailers use a $320 minimum. Regardless of age, the excise tax is never less than $100.³

What New Maryland Residents Pay

If you’ve moved to Maryland from another state, you have 60 days to title and register your vehicle. That deadline controls whether you get credit for the titling or sales tax you already paid elsewhere.⁴

For vehicles six model years old or newer, the amount depends on your previous state’s rate:

If the previous state’s rate was 6.5% or higher, you pay a flat $100.
If it was below 6.5%, you pay the difference between what you already paid and Maryland’s rate.
If it was 0%, you owe the full 6.5% of the vehicle’s retail value.

For vehicles seven model years old or older, new residents pay $41.60 for vehicles or $20.80 for trailers. Active-duty military members and their immediate families can claim the credit within one year of establishing Maryland residency instead of 60 days, with proof of military status.⁴

When You Don’t Owe the Excise Tax

Family Gift Transfers

Transferring a vehicle to a close family member with no money or other consideration exchanged is fully exempt. Maryland’s list of qualifying relationships is broad: spouse, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, half-sibling, stepparent, stepchild, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, aunt, and uncle. Transfers from an aunt or uncle to a niece or nephew also qualify, but only if the person giving the vehicle is at least 65 at the time of the transfer.⁵

Both parties complete the Application for Maryland Gift Certification (Form VR-103) and submit it with the properly assigned title. If last names differ, include proof of the relationship. Both people must certify under penalty of perjury that no money or other consideration changed hands. If the title shows an unsatisfied lien, you also need a statement from the lienholder authorizing the lien transfer.⁶

Other Exemptions

Several categories of vehicles are exempt outright: vehicles owned or leased by the federal government, the State of Maryland, or a Maryland political subdivision; fire engines, other fire apparatus, and ambulances or rescue vehicles operated by nonprofit rescue squads; vehicles owned and held for public use by a unit of a national veterans’ organization; Civil Air Patrol vehicles; and mobile homes over 35 feet long. Vehicles transferred between a business entity and its owner qualify in certain situations, as do repossessed vehicles returned under a security agreement. The full list is in Maryland Transportation Code Section 13-810.⁵

Electric Vehicle Credit

Maryland offers a one-time excise tax credit for qualifying zero-emission plug-in electric or fuel cell vehicles: $3,000 for a four-wheeled vehicle, $2,000 for a three-wheeled electric motorcycle, and $1,000 for a two-wheeled electric motorcycle. The vehicle must be new, have a base purchase price of $50,000 or less, have a battery capacity of at least 5 kilowatt-hours (4.0 for motorcycles), and be purchased and titled for the first time between July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2027. Plug-in hybrids do not qualify. Individual owners and lessees can claim the credit; business entities can apply it to up to ten vehicles.⁷

The credit depends on annual state funding. The MVA has indicated that fiscal year 2026 funding is no longer available, so check the MVA’s EV credit page before counting on it; the program may reopen for fiscal year 2027.⁷

Your Annual Cost: Registration, Not Property Tax

After the excise tax at titling, your ongoing vehicle cost in Maryland is the registration fee. It is not based on the vehicle’s value. It is a flat fee tied to weight class. As of September 2025, annual fees for passenger cars are:

Up to 3,500 lbs: $120.50
3,501 to 3,700 lbs: $125.50
Over 3,700 lbs: $191.50

Those amounts include a $40 surcharge for the Emergency Medical Services system. You can renew for one, two, or three years at a time, and pay online through the MVA, by mail, or in person at an MVA branch or designated county office.⁸

Business Vehicles

The one place a recurring vehicle tax can appear is on the business side, and even there most vehicles are excluded. Maryland’s personal property tax, administered by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, requires businesses to file an annual return on personal property, but any vehicle registered in Maryland with a standard classification (classes A through P) does not need to be reported. What does get reported: vehicles with interchangeable registrations (dealer, recycler, finance company, special mobile equipment, and transporter plates) and any unregistered or unlicensed vehicles. Those are reported at original cost and assessed as Category C property, depreciating 20% per year to a floor of 25% of original cost, with local rates applied by the county.⁹

If you drive a personally owned car and title it in your own name, none of that applies to you.

Disputing the Value the MVA Used

If you think the MVA calculated your excise tax on the wrong value, you can challenge it. The most common dispute involves a private-party purchase where the book value the MVA used is significantly higher than what you actually paid. Bring documentation supporting the purchase price and condition: a detailed bill of sale, photographs, or an independent appraisal.

If you can’t resolve it directly with the MVA, you can file a formal appeal with the Comptroller’s Office, which handles disputes over state tax assessments. You have 30 days from the date of the assessment notice to file. A hearing officer reviews the case, and if you disagree with the final determination, you can appeal to the Maryland Tax Court within 30 days for a de novo review, meaning nothing from the earlier proceedings carries over.

1
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration. Industry Bulletin – HB 352 (BRFA) (2025) Changes
2
Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. Maryland Vehicle Title and Registration Information
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Code Transportation 13-809
4
Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. New to Maryland Titling and Registering Your Vehicle Information
5
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Maryland Code Transportation 13-810 – Exemptions from Excise Tax
6
Maryland MVA. Application for Maryland Gift Certification
7
Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. Excise Tax Credit for Plug-in Electric Vehicles
8
Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration. MVA Fee Listing
9
Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Departmental Forms and Applications