Official fees
Minnesota registration fee chart
Registration tax
$10 + base value × 1.575%
depreciates yearly per schedule
Statutory minimum (year 10+)
$20
Filing fee
$8.00
renewal transactions
Technology surcharge
$2.25
Administrative fee
$1.00
County wheelage tax
$0–$20/yr
roughly 40+ of 87 counties
BEV registration surcharge
greater of $150 or 0.5% × depreciated value
PHEV registration surcharge
greater of $75 or 0.25% × depreciated value
Figures verified July 2026 against official sources (listed below). Always confirm the final amount with your local deputy registrar office (MN Driver and Vehicle Services) - counties can add small local fees.
Step by step
How Minnesota calculates your registration tax
- 1
Start from the vehicle's original base value - MSRP plus destination charge, not what you paid.
- 2
Apply the depreciation percentage for its current registration year (100% down to 25% across years one through nine).
- 3
Multiply by 1.575% (or 1.54% for vehicles continuously registered since before Nov. 16, 2020) and add the $10 base fee.
- 4
Compare the result to the $20 statutory minimum that applies from year ten on - whichever is higher is your tax.
- 5
Add the flat filing fee, technology surcharge, county wheelage tax if any, and an EV/PHEV surcharge if it applies.
- Tax formula
- $10 + 1.575% of base value
- Depreciation
- 100%→25% over 9 yrs
- Statutory minimum
- $20 (year 10+)
- Filing/tech fees
- ≈$11.25/yr
- BEV surcharge
- ≥$150/yr
Overview
On top of the registration tax itself, every plate carries an $8 filing fee, a $2.25 technology surcharge, and a $1 administrative fee - about $11.25 that doesn't depend on your vehicle at all. Add a county wheelage tax (up to $20/year, adopted by roughly half of Minnesota's 87 counties) and, for EVs and plug-in hybrids, a dedicated surcharge that can run well above its stated minimum on pricier vehicles. Enter your numbers below.
Same state, other costs
More Minnesota vehicle costs
Common questions
Minnesota registration fees FAQ
- How is Minnesota's registration tax actually calculated?
- Statute 168.013 sets it at $10 plus 1.575% of the vehicle's base value (MSRP + destination) for vehicles first registered on or after November 16, 2020 - older continuously-registered vehicles use a 1.54% legacy rate. The base value depreciates yearly: 100%, 95%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 25% across years one through nine.
- What happens after year nine?
- From the tenth registration year on, nearly every vehicle's calculated tax falls below Minnesota's $20 statutory minimum, so $20 becomes the effective tax - a 15-year-old car and a 25-year-old car often pay the identical $20.
- My new EV's registration seems way higher than $150 - why?
- The $150 (BEV) / $75 (PHEV) figures set in place January 1, 2026 are minimums, not flat fees. The actual surcharge is 0.5% (BEV) or 0.25% (PHEV) of the same depreciating base value used for the regular registration tax - on a new $55,000 EV that can compute to $275 or more.
- What's the wheelage tax, and does every county charge it?
- It's a county-option add-on capped at $20/year; roughly half of Minnesota's 87 counties have adopted it, including the full $20 in Hennepin and Ramsey counties and $10 in Dakota County. Counties that haven't adopted it add nothing.
- Does the $20 minimum apply to every vehicle type?
- It applies to passenger-vehicle registration tax specifically. Motorcycles use a separate flat $10 tax that never depreciates, and heavier trucks/trailers follow their own weight-based schedules not covered here.
- Can I estimate my registration tax without knowing the exact MSRP?
- DVS's own renewal notice already shows the calculated tax; for a rough estimate before buying, use the original window-sticker MSRP - not the negotiated price - since that's the number the formula actually uses.
Receipts
Official sources
Every number on this page comes from these documents - check them yourself.
