Road Tax Calculator – State-Wise RTO Charges

Compare Road Tax Between States

No two RTOs price the same car alike — registering across a border can move the bill by tens of thousands. Pick up to three states in the calculator above to compare road tax between states for your exact car; here is the same ₹10.00 Lakh petrol car across three southern neighbours:

Same car, same price — the cheapest total RTO outgo is highlighted.

How road tax is calculated on a new car

Your state's transport department publishes a slab table: find the row your ex-showroom price falls into (some states also check fuel type or engine size), and the road tax is that row's percentage of the price — occasionally plus a fixed amount or a named cess. Registration, smart card and HSRP plate fees are flat amounts stacked on top, and financing a car adds a hypothecation entry fee. The dealer collects the whole lot and pays the RTO before delivery, which is why it lands inside your on-road quote rather than as a separate bill — the process itself is covered in our car registration guide.

Road Tax Rates by State (2026)

Every state's private-car slab range and base registration fee, generated from the same policy data the calculator runs on — the table and the tool can never disagree. Jump into the calculator with any state pre-selected.

Need every individual slab, EV and commercial row? See the full state-wise RTO table.

One-time, lifetime or annual: which applies to you

For a private car, "road tax" and "lifetime tax" are the same thing in almost every state: one payment at first registration covering 15 years. Annual and five-year schemes exist mostly for taxis, transport and commercial fleets — if you are buying a car for personal use, you will not see them. After year 15, renewing the registration certificate triggers a fresh, much smaller green-tax-flavoured demand that varies by state and vehicle age.

BH series registration: who qualifies and how the rates work

The Bharat (BH) series exists for people whose job moves them across states: central and state government employees, defence personnel, and private-sector employees whose company has offices in four or more states or union territories. Instead of one state's lifetime tax, BH tax is paid in two-year blocks at slabs set by invoice price — 8% below ₹10 lakh, 10% between ₹10 and ₹20 lakh, 12% above — with diesel charged 2 points higher and EVs 2 points lower. The registration stays valid across India, so relocating never means re-registering or chasing a refund.

Which states waive road tax for EVs

In our current policy data (July 2026), Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand exempt electric cars from road tax. Two cautions before you count the saving: these waivers carry sunset dates that get extended (or quietly lapse) with each state EV policy revision, and several apply price caps above which the exemption vanishes. The EV toggle in the calculator applies whatever is currently notified for the state you pick — registration and plate fees usually remain payable either way.

Road tax refund when you move states

Re-registering in a new state means paying its road tax in full — but the original state owes you back the unused years of what you paid, on a depreciating scale. The sequence matters: obtain the NOC, re-register and pay tax in the new state first, then file the refund claim with your original RTO along with the new RC, the old registration papers and proof of migration. Refunds are slow and paperwork-heavy but real; the pro-rata amount shrinks every year you delay, so file early.

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