Sales tax, title and fees on a total loss

A settlement that pays the value of your car and stops there has left money out. Replacing a car costs the car plus tax plus the fees to put it on the road, and in most states the insurer owes some or all of that too.

This is the single most commonly missing line on a total-loss settlement, and it is also the easiest to check: look at the settlement summary and see whether there is a sales tax line at all. Not whether the number looks right — whether the line exists. A great many settlements simply do not have one.

When tax is owed, by state

States fall into three groups, and which one you are in decides what your letter should ask for.

State	When tax is owed	Fees	Citation
Alabama	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Ala. Admin. Code r. 482-1-125-.08(b)
Alaska	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	3 AAC 26.080(a)(1)
Arizona	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Ariz. Admin. Code R20-6-801(H)(1)(b)
Arkansas	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Ark. Code § 23-89-211(a)(1), (a)(2), (d); Ark. Ins. Rule 43 § 10
California	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	10 CCR § 2695.8(b)(1), (b)(1)(A)
Colorado	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	C.R.S. § 10-4-639(1)
Connecticut	Owed whether or not you replace the car	No rule	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 38a-816(16)
Delaware	No rule	No rule	18 Del. C. § 2304(16) (silent as to tax); 18 DE Admin. Code § 902 (silent)
Florida	Owed once you actually buy a replacement	No rule	Fla. Stat. § 626.9743(5)(a), (9)
Georgia	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 120-2-52-.06(a)
Hawaii	No rule	No rule	HRS §§ 431:10C-309, 310, 311 (silent as to excise tax); HAR ch. 16-23 (silent)
Idaho	No rule	No rule	Idaho Code § 41-1329 (silent as to tax); IDAPA Title 18 (no provision located)
Illinois	Owed once you actually buy a replacement — within 30 days	Included	50 Ill. Adm. Code 919.80(c)(3)(A)(i)
Indiana	No rule	No rule	IC 27-4-1-4.5; 760 IAC 1 (no tax provision)
Iowa	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Iowa Admin. Code r. 191-15.43(1)(a)(1)
Kansas	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	K.A.R. 40-1-34 (first-party cash settlement; third-party consideration provision)
Kentucky	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	806 KAR 12:095 § 7(1)(b)
Louisiana	No rule	No rule	La. R.S. 22:1892 (silent as to tax); La. R.S. Title 22 (no provision located)
Maine	Owed whether or not you replace the car	No rule	24-A M.R.S. § 2907
Maryland	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	COMAR 31.15.12.04A(2), B(2)
Massachusetts	No rule	No rule	211 CMR 133.05 (silent); Ramirez v. Commerce Ins. Co., 91 Mass. App. Ct. 144 (2017)
Michigan	No rule	No rule	None found (no statute, admin rule, or DIFS bulletin located)
Minnesota	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Minn. Stat. § 72A.201 subd. 6(1)(a)
Mississippi	No rule	No rule	Miss. Code § 83-11-551 (silent as to tax); Miss. Code Title 83 (no provision located)
Missouri	No rule	No rule	20 CSR 100-1.050 (silent); Mo. Rev. Stat. § 144.027.1 (sales tax credit on a replacement)
Montana	No rule	No rule	MCA §§ 33-23-202, 33-18-201 (silent as to tax)
Nebraska	No rule	No rule	210 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 60, § 009 (silent); Neb. Rev. Stat. ch. 44 (no provision located)
Nevada	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	NAC 686A.680(1)(a), (1)(b)
New Hampshire	No rule	No rule	N.H. Admin. Code § Ins 1002.15 (silent as to tax)
New Jersey	Owed whether or not you replace the car	No rule	N.J.A.C. 11:3-10.4(a), (e); 11:3-10.2 (definition of actual cash value)
New Mexico	No rule	No rule	NMSA § 59A-16-20 (silent as to tax); NMSA ch. 59A and Title 13 NMAC (no provision located)
New York	Owed whether or not you replace the car	No rule	11 NYCRR § 216.6(b)
North Carolina	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	11 NCAC 04 .0418(f)
North Dakota	No rule	No rule	N.D.C.C. § 26.1-04-03(9) (silent as to tax); N.D.C.C. § 57-40.3-01(5) (excise tax credit on a replacement)
Ohio	Owed once you actually buy a replacement — within 30 days	No rule	Ohio Adm. Code 3901-1-54(H)(7)(f)-(g); (H)(6)(c)
Oklahoma	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	36 O.S. § 1250.8(A)(1), (A)(2)
Oregon	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	OAR 836-080-0240(2), (3)
Pennsylvania	Owed whether or not you replace the car	No rule	31 Pa. Code § 62.3(e)(4)
Rhode Island	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	230-RICR-20-40-2.8(E)(3); (A)(5)(a)
South Carolina	No rule	No rule	S.C. Code ch. 38-59 (silent); S.C. Code § 56-3-627 (Infrastructure Maintenance Fee, not read)
South Dakota	No rule	No rule	SDCL title 58; ARSD article 20:06 (no tax provision)
Tennessee	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-01-05-.09(1)(a), (1)(b)
Texas	No rule	No rule	28 TAC ch. 5, subch. A (automobile insurance) and ch. 21, subch. C (unfair claims settlement practices); Tex. Ins. Code chs. 542, 1952 — no total-loss tax provision in any of them
Utah	No rule	No rule	Utah Admin. Code R590-190-12 (silent); Utah Code Title 31A (no provision located)
Vermont	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	Vt. Reg. I-79-2 § 8(B)(1), (B)(2)
Virginia	No rule	No rule	14 VAC 5-400-80 (silent); Va. Code Title 38.2 (no provision located)
Washington	Owed whether or not you replace the car	Included	WAC 284-30-391(4)(e)
West Virginia	Owed whether or not you replace the car	No rule	W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-7.4.a.4
Wisconsin	No rule	No rule	Wis. Admin. Code Ins 6.11 (silent); Wis. Stat. ch. 632 (no provision located)
Wyoming	No rule	No rule	Wyo. Stat. § 26-13-124 (silent as to tax); Wyo. Stat. tit. 26 (no provision located)

Owed regardless. Most states with a rule treat tax as part of what the insurer owes, whether or not you go and buy another car. If your settlement shows zero tax in one of these, that is a shortfall you can ask for now, in figures, today.

Owed on replacement. A small group lets the insurer wait until you actually buy a replacement, and puts a clock on it. That changes the letter completely: you are not asking for a payment today, you are asking them to confirm in writing what they will reimburse and by when — and you need to keep the purchase paperwork, because you will be asked for it.

No rule, or none we could find. These two are not the same thing and the distinction is the whole reason this ledger exists. A state that affirmatively sets no rule leaves you arguing from the policy's own actual-cash-value language. A state where no rule could be located might have one we have not found, so the audit labels the finding unverified and keeps it out of the headline number rather than leading with a figure we cannot cite.

How much the tax is, by state

The table above says whether your insurer owes the tax. This one says what the tax is: the rate your state charges on the purchase of a vehicle, quoted from the state's tax statute or its revenue department and dated. Some states charge their general sales tax; others replace it with a vehicle excise tax, and the table says which.

Two things make the real figure on a replacement differ from the state rate. Counties and cities in many states add their own sales tax, so the state rate is a floor, not the answer. And a few states tax vehicles in tiers or above a price threshold, so a single rate is right for some cars and wrong for others; those rows are marked as partly settled and say why, and the audit does not price a tax finding from them.

The free audit prices a missing tax line from this table where the rate is verified, and a rate you type in from your own paperwork always replaces it. Your paperwork is the better number: it carries the local rate this table cannot.

State sales or excise tax on the purchase of a replacement vehicle, with the statute or tax authority each rate comes from and the day it was read.

State	State tax on a vehicle	Source	Read
Alabama	2%	Alabama Department of Revenue — What are the state sales tax rates?	Sep 13, 2026
Alaska	No state tax; local taxes varypartly verifiedAlaska has no state sales tax, but its boroughs and cities may levy one, and many do, so what a replacement vehicle carries depends on where it is bought. The quote is the borough's power to tax; the absence of a state sales tax is an absence in the statute book that no sentence asserts, which is why the row is partial. Nothing is priced from it and the finding is not silenced: the audit still asks for the local rate on the claimant's own paperwork.	AS 29.45.650(a)	Sep 13, 2026
Arizona	5.6%	Arizona Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Sales (transaction privilege tax)	Sep 13, 2026
Arkansas	6.5%partly verifiedArkansas taxes a used vehicle in tiers by price: no tax under $4,000, a reduced state rate of 3.5 percent from $4,000 up to $10,000, and 6.5 percent from $10,000 up, with local taxes not reduced. One rate cannot price a tiered tax without being wrong for part of the range, so this row prices nothing until the tiers are modeled. It is partial for that reason, not because the rates are in doubt.	Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration — Recent Changes in the Law (Act 1013)	Sep 13, 2026
California	7.25%	California Department of Tax and Fee Administration — Know Your Sales and Use Tax Rate	Sep 13, 2026
Colorado	2.9%	Colorado Department of Revenue — Sales Tax Guide, Part 3: Calculation of Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Connecticut	6.35%partly verifiedConnecticut taxes a vehicle at 6.35 percent, or 7.75 percent once its price exceeds $50,000, and no local jurisdiction adds a sales tax. The threshold makes a single rate wrong above it, so the row prices nothing until both rates are modeled; it is partial for that reason only.	Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles — Sales tax on first time vehicle registrations	Sep 13, 2026
Delaware	Nonepartly verifiedDelaware levies no sales tax. It does charge a document fee on a vehicle transfer, which is a real cost on a replacement — but it is a fee rather than a tax, and the audit raises fees through the title-and-registration check rather than this one. Partial because the absence of a sales tax is shown by the tax code containing no sales-tax chapter rather than by any sentence saying so; the chapter quoted is the charge Delaware levies instead.	30 Del. C. ch. 30 (Motor Vehicle Document Fee)	Sep 7, 2026
Florida	6%	Florida Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Georgia	7%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	Georgia Department of Revenue — Vehicle Taxes: Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT)	Sep 13, 2026
Hawaii	4%	HRS § 237-13(2)(A)	Sep 13, 2026
Idaho	6%	Idaho State Tax Commission — Sales and Use Taxes: Basics Guide	Sep 13, 2026
Illinois	6.25%	Illinois Department of Revenue — What are the retailers' occupation and use tax rates in Illinois?	Sep 13, 2026
Indiana	7%	IC 6-2.5-2-2(a)	Sep 13, 2026
Iowa	5%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	Iowa Department of Revenue — Iowa Tax/Fee Descriptions and Rates (fee for new registration)	Sep 13, 2026
Kansas	6.5%	Kansas Department of Revenue — Retailers' Compensating Use Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Kentucky	6%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	KRS 138.460(1)	Sep 13, 2026
Louisiana	5%	Louisiana Department of Revenue — General Sales & Use Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Maine	5.5%	36 M.R.S. § 1811(1)(D)	Sep 13, 2026
Maryland	6.5%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration — Excise Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Massachusetts	6.25%	Massachusetts Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle and Trailer Sales and Use Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Michigan	6%	Michigan Department of Treasury — Sales and Use Taxes	Sep 13, 2026
Minnesota	6.875%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	Minnesota Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Sales	Sep 13, 2026
Mississippi	5%	Mississippi Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Frequently Asked Questions	Sep 13, 2026
Missouri	4.225%	Missouri Department of Revenue — Buying a Vehicle	Sep 13, 2026
Montana	Not settledunverifiedMontana levies no general sales tax, which is why the rate is zero. Unverified because that is a fact about what the tax code does not contain, and neither the code's own table of contents nor the Department of Revenue publishes a sentence asserting it. The zero is acted on — pricing a tax the state does not levy would put a wrong number in a letter — but it is not claimed as verified, and it wants a person with a primary source.	MCA Title 15 (no general sales tax chapter)	Sep 7, 2026
Nebraska	5.5%	Nebraska Department of Revenue — Nebraska Sales and Use Tax FAQs	Sep 13, 2026
Nevada	6.85%	Nevada Department of Taxation — Sales Tax & Use Tax	Sep 13, 2026
New Hampshire	Not settledunverifiedNew Hampshire levies no general sales tax. Same position as Montana: the fact is an absence in the statute book, and the Department of Revenue's own list of the taxes it administers does not include one. Recorded, acted on, and not claimed as verified.	RSA (no general sales tax chapter)	Sep 7, 2026
New Jersey	6.625%	New Jersey Division of Taxation — Motor Vehicle Casual Sales Frequently Asked Questions	Sep 13, 2026
New Mexico	4%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department — Motor Vehicle Excise Tax	Sep 13, 2026
New York	4%	New York State Department of Taxation and Finance — Sales Tax Rates, Additional Sales Taxes, and Fees	Sep 13, 2026
North Carolina	3%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles — Vehicle Taxes	Sep 13, 2026
North Dakota	5%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner — Special Taxes (motor vehicle excise tax)	Sep 13, 2026
Ohio	5.75%	Ohio Department of Taxation — Sales and Use Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Oklahoma	3.25%vehicle excise tax in place of sales taxpartly verifiedOklahoma taxes a vehicle purchase with a tiered excise tax and a separate state sales tax. The motor vehicle excise tax is 3 1/4 percent of a new vehicle's value, but on a used vehicle it is $20 on the first $1,500 of value and 3 1/4 percent of the rest; the sale also carries 1.25 percent state sales tax and no city or county sales tax (68 O.S. § 1355(2)). One rate is wrong for a used replacement, so the row is partial and prices nothing until the tiers are modeled. The statute was read in the Legislature's compiled title, a PDF, so the weekly source check cannot re-read it.	68 O.S. § 2103(A)(1); 68 O.S. § 1355(2)	Sep 13, 2026
Oregon	None	ORS 320.405(2)	Sep 12, 2026
Pennsylvania	6%	Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — Local Sales Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Rhode Island	7%	Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles — Sales Tax	Sep 13, 2026
South Carolina	5%, at most $500vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	S.C. Code § 56-3-627(B)	Sep 13, 2026
South Dakota	4%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	SDCL 32-5B-1	Sep 13, 2026
Tennessee	7%	Tennessee Department of Revenue — VTR-34, Sales Tax on a Vehicle Purchase	Sep 13, 2026
Texas	6.25%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts — Motor Vehicle Tax Guide: Tax Rates	Sep 13, 2026
Utah	4.85%	Utah State Tax Commission — Publication 25, Sales and Use Tax General Information (Rev. 9/26)	Sep 13, 2026
Vermont	6%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles — Vehicle Taxation (Purchase and Use Tax, 32 V.S.A.)	Sep 13, 2026
Virginia	4.15%vehicle excise tax in place of sales tax	Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles — Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax	Sep 13, 2026
Washington	6.5%	RCW 82.08.020(1)	Sep 13, 2026
West Virginia	6%	W. Va. Code § 11-15-3c(b)	Sep 13, 2026
Wisconsin	5%	Wisconsin Department of Revenue — Tax Rates FAQ	Sep 13, 2026
Wyoming	4%	Wyoming Excise Tax Division — Excise Tax FAQs	Sep 13, 2026

The states with a clock

Where reimbursement is conditioned on replacing the vehicle, there is usually a window to buy and a slightly longer one to produce the paperwork.

One of these adds something useful: the insurer has to tell you about the right at the time it sends the settlement check. If it did not, that is a separate failure worth naming in the letter, and it is the kind of thing a regulator's consumer division takes seriously — a missed disclosure is easier to establish than a disputed valuation.

Put the deadline on your calendar the day the check arrives. These windows are short enough that people miss them while they are still car shopping, and a missed window turns a reimbursement you were owed into one you are asking for as a favor.

Title and registration fees

Tax gets most of the attention, but the fees to transfer a title and register a replacement are money too, and a number of states name them.

State	What the rule says	Citation
Alabama	yes — license fees and other fees incident to transfer of ownership, in the same clause as taxes and subject to the same cap at what would have been paid on the totaled vehicle.	Ala. Admin. Code r. 482-1-125-.08(b) checked Sep 5, 2026
Alaska	yes — license fees, destination or delivery charges, and other fees incident to transfer of ownership, in the same clause as taxes and, on the replacement route, at no cost to the claimant beyond the deductible.	3 AAC 26.080(a)(1) checked Sep 5, 2026
Arizona	yes — the same provision includes 'license fees and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership of a comparable automobile' in the cash settlement basis. Certificate-of-title fees are not separately named.	Ariz. Admin. Code R20-6-801(H)(1)(b) checked Sep 5, 2026
Arkansas	yes, with a qualifier on the cash-settlement route. Under the replacement limb, license and transfer fees are paid at no cost to the insured beyond the deductible. Under the cash limb, the settlement includes fees 'actually incurred' incident to transfer of ownership. The statute separately requires the insurer to take all applicable taxes, license fees and other fees into consideration.	Ark. Ins. Rule 43 § 10(a)(1), (a)(2); Ark. Code § 23-89-211(a)(1), (b) checked Sep 5, 2026
California	yes — one-time fees incident to transfer of ownership of a comparable automobile, plus the license fee and other annual fees prorated for the remaining term of the loss vehicle's current registration; insurer must also tell the claimant of the right to seek a DMV refund of unused license fees when salvage is retained	10 CCR § 2695.8(b)(1), (b)(1)(A) checked Sep 4, 2026
Colorado	yes — title fees and any other transfer or registration fee, in the same sentence as sales tax. The Division of Insurance has narrowed 'registration fee' to the weight-based passenger-vehicle fees in C.R.S. § 42-3-306(2)(b), roughly $2 to $20; other amounts collected at registration are outside the statute.	C.R.S. § 10-4-639(1); Colorado DOI Bulletin B-5.51 checked Sep 5, 2026
Connecticut confirmed: no rule	No rule located. § 38a-816(16) provides for a sales-tax uplift on the settlement but does not mention title, registration or transfer fees, and § 38a-353 addresses valuation and disclosure rather than fees.	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 38a-816(16); § 38a-353 (both silent as to fees) checked Sep 5, 2026
Delaware confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	18 Del. C. § 2304(16) (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Florida confirmed: no rule	no rule found	Fla. Stat. § 626.9743 (silent) checked Sep 4, 2026
Georgia	yes — 'license fees and other fees incident to the transfer of ownership' must be included, limited to what would have been paid on the totaled vehicle	Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 120-2-52-.06(a), (b) checked Sep 4, 2026
Hawaii confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the total-loss statutes or the motor vehicle insurance rules requires an insurer to include ownership, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	HRS §§ 431:10C-309, 310, 311 (silent as to fees); HAR ch. 16-23 (silent) checked Sep 6, 2026
Idaho confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	Idaho Code § 41-1329 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Illinois	yes — transfer and title fees are reimbursed on the same 30-day purchase / 33-day documentation terms as sales tax for cash settlements, and paid outright when a replacement vehicle is provided.	50 Ill. Adm. Code 919.80(c)(3)(A) checked Sep 4, 2026
Indiana confirmed: no rule	No rule requiring the insurer to pay title, registration or transfer fees. Indiana lets the owner move the unexpired registration of a wrecked or destroyed vehicle to another vehicle, and credits the unused vehicle excise tax.	IC 27-4-1-4.5; 760 IAC 1 (silent as to fees); IC 9-18.1-11-6; IC 6-6-5-7.2(e) checked Sep 13, 2026
Iowa	yes — license fees and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership, in the same clause as taxes and likewise at no cost to the insured.	Iowa Admin. Code r. 191-15.43(1)(a)(1) checked Sep 5, 2026
Kansas	yes — license fees and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership, in the same clause as taxes on the first-party cash settlement, and subject to the same weaker 'consideration' standard on third-party claims.	K.A.R. 40-1-34 (automobile total loss provisions) checked Sep 5, 2026
Kentucky	yes — license fees (to the extent not refundable by the Transportation Cabinet) and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership, in the same clause as applicable taxes.	806 KAR 12:095 § 7(1)(b) checked Sep 5, 2026
Louisiana confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	La. R.S. 22:1892 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Maine confirmed: no rule	No rule located. § 2907 provides the sales tax credit coverage but does not address title, registration or transfer fees.	24-A M.R.S. § 2907 (silent as to fees) checked Sep 5, 2026
Maryland	yes — transfer fees pursuant to COMAR 11.11.05, in the same clause as taxes and likewise regardless of whether the claimant retains salvage rights.	COMAR 31.15.12.04A(2), B(2); COMAR 11.11.05 checked Sep 5, 2026
Massachusetts confirmed: no rule	No rule located. 211 CMR 133.05 addresses neither title, registration nor transfer fees.	211 CMR 133.05 (silent as to fees) checked Sep 5, 2026
Michigan partly verified	no rule	None found checked Sep 4, 2026
Minnesota	yes — license fees at least pro rata for the unexpired term of the replaced automobile's license, plus other fees incident to the transfer or evidence of ownership.	Minn. Stat. § 72A.201 subd. 6(1)(a) checked Sep 5, 2026
Mississippi confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	Miss. Code § 83-11-551 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Missouri confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	20 CSR 100-1.050 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Montana confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	MCA §§ 33-23-202, 33-18-201 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Nebraska partly verified	No rule requiring the insurer to pay title, registration or transfer fees. Nebraska instead refunds the owner: after a salvage title issues on a total loss settlement, the prior owner may claim back the unused months of registration fees and motor vehicle taxes (§ 60-397).	210 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 60, § 009 (silent as to fees); Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-397 (refund of unused fees and taxes) checked Sep 6, 2026
Nevada	Yes: a cash settlement includes license fees and the other fees incident to transferring evidence of ownership of a comparable automobile. For a replacement-automobile offer the insurer pays those fees but may prorate license fees to the unused period.	NAC 686A.680(1)(a), (1)(b) checked Sep 13, 2026
New Hampshire confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	N.H. Admin. Code § Ins 1002.15 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
New Jersey confirmed: no rule	No rule located. N.J.A.C. 11:3-10 addresses sales tax repeatedly but never mentions title, registration or transfer fees.	N.J.A.C. 11:3-10 (silent as to fees) checked Sep 5, 2026
New Mexico confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	NMSA § 59A-16-20 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
New York partly verified	no express rule — Regulation 64 §§ 216.6–216.7 address sales tax but are silent on title, registration or plate-transfer fees; recovery of such fees is policy-based / negotiable in NY	11 NYCRR § 216.6(b) (mentions sales taxes only); § 216.7(c) (silent) checked Sep 4, 2026
North Carolina	Registration fees: yes, included in ACV settlement (except owner-retained salvage). Title/transfer fee not expressly named.	11 NCAC 04 .0418(f) checked Sep 4, 2026
North Dakota confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	N.D.C.C. § 26.1-04-03(9) (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Ohio	Only when the insurer elects to provide a replacement vehicle: it must pay all applicable taxes, license fees and other fees incident to transfer of ownership. For cash settlements the rule addresses sales tax only; title/registration fees are not expressly required.	Ohio Adm. Code 3901-1-54(H)(6)(c) checked Sep 23, 2026
Oklahoma	Yes: a cash settlement includes license fees and the other fees incident to transferring evidence of ownership, and a replacement-vehicle offer must come with those fees paid.	36 O.S. § 1250.8(A)(1), (A)(2) checked Sep 13, 2026
Oregon	yes — license fees and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership, in the same clause as taxes and likewise at no cost to the insured beyond the deductible.	OAR 836-080-0240(2), (3) checked Sep 5, 2026
Pennsylvania confirmed: no rule	no rule found — § 62.3(e) requires sales tax only and is silent on title, transfer and registration fees for total losses.	31 Pa. Code § 62.3(e)(4) (silent as to fees) checked Sep 4, 2026
Rhode Island	yes — title, registration and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership of a comparable automobile, named expressly alongside taxes in the cash settlement basis.	230-RICR-20-40-2.8(A)(5)(a) checked Sep 5, 2026
South Carolina confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	S.C. Code ch. 38-59 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
South Dakota confirmed: no rule	No rule requiring the insurer to pay title, registration or transfer fees. When a registered vehicle is destroyed by collision or fire or disposed of for salvage, the owner may move its plates to a newly acquired vehicle and receive credit for the remaining months of registration.	SDCL title 58 (silent as to fees); SDCL 32-5-23 checked Sep 13, 2026
Tennessee	yes — 'license fees and other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership', in the same clause as sales tax. Certificate-of-title fees are not separately named.	Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-01-05-.09(1)(a), (1)(b) checked Sep 5, 2026
Texas confirmed: no rule	No rule requiring an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement. The same sections that carry no tax provision carry no fee provision either.	28 TAC ch. 5, subch. A and ch. 21, subch. C; Tex. Ins. Code chs. 542, 1952 — no title, registration or transfer fee provision in any of them checked Sep 8, 2026
Utah confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	Utah Admin. Code R590-190-12 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Vermont	yes — REGISTRATION fees are named expressly, alongside other fees incident to transfer of evidence of ownership, in both settlement routes.	Vt. Reg. I-79-2 § 8(B)(1), (B)(2) checked Sep 5, 2026
Virginia confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	14 VAC 5-400-80 (silent); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Washington	yes — the same provision covers 'all applicable government taxes and fees', which reaches license and registration fees as well as sales tax. Certificate-of-title fees are not separately named.	WAC 284-30-391(4)(e) checked Sep 5, 2026
West Virginia confirmed: no rule	No separate fee rule located. W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-7 provides the 5 percent excise-tax uplift on a cash settlement but does not separately address title, registration or transfer fees.	W. Va. Code R. § 114-14-7 (silent as to fees) checked Sep 5, 2026
Wisconsin confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	Wis. Admin. Code Ins 6.11 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026
Wyoming confirmed: no rule	No rule located. Nothing in the settlement regulation or the wider code requires an insurer to include title, registration or transfer fees in a total-loss settlement.	Wyo. Stat. § 26-13-124 (silent as to fees); wider code searched, no fee provision located checked Sep 6, 2026

These are small figures individually and worth asking for anyway. They cost the insurer almost nothing to concede, which makes them a useful thing to have in a letter that is otherwise asking for a four-figure adjustment: a counteroffer that includes something easy to say yes to is easier to respond to than one that does not.

If you kept the car

Owner-retained salvage changes this analysis in more than one state, and not always in a documented way.

Where a state expressly carves tax out for an owner who keeps the vehicle, the audit will not raise it — that is the state's own rule and arguing against it wastes the letter's credibility. Where a state's rule is simply silent on the point, ClaimMath suppresses the finding anyway, as its own choice rather than a claim about that state's law. Suppressing a finding can only ever under-claim, which is the safe direction when the alternative is asserting something we cannot cite.

If you are keeping the car, say so early in the conversation. It changes the tax question, it changes the fee question, and in some states it changes the title you end up holding.

The states where no tax is owed at all

Four states levy no sales tax on a vehicle purchase, and in those the whole argument on this page falls away. There is no shortfall to claim, because there is no tax for the settlement to have left out. The audit knows this and stays silent about tax in those states rather than raising a demand for money the state never charges.

That is worth saying plainly, because a good deal of general advice about total losses assumes a sales tax exists. If you are in one of the four, an insurer that has not added tax to your settlement has not shortchanged you, and leading a letter with that complaint will cost you credibility on the points that matter.

What does not fall away is the rest of the transfer cost. Registering a replacement still costs money in all four, and at least one of them levies a document fee on a vehicle transfer that is substantial and looks very much like a tax without being one. Those are argued through the fee rules below rather than the tax rules above, and the distinction is not pedantry: a fee that the state calls a fee is outside every statute that says "sales tax", so a demand built on the tax rule will be refused on its own terms.

Where a state has been read and has no rule

Separately from the four with no tax, a number of states do levy sales tax but have no rule requiring an insurer to include it in a total-loss settlement. Those sections have been opened and read; the requirement is not there.

That combination — a real tax and no rule compelling its payment — is the hardest position on this page to argue from, and it is worth recognizing early so you spend your effort where it can move something. The argument in those states is not statutory. It rests on what the policy promises: if the insurer agreed to pay actual cash value, and actual cash value means what it would cost you to replace the car, then a figure that leaves you unable to buy the equivalent vehicle without finding the tax yourself has not delivered what was promised. That is a contract argument, made to an adjuster rather than a regulator, and it is meaningfully weaker than citing a rule — but it is not nothing, and insurers settle on it.

What to ask for

If your state owes tax up front and the settlement shows none, ask for it as a figure. Use the rate on your own registration paperwork rather than a number from the internet: vehicle taxation is not plain sales tax everywhere — some states levy a title ad valorem tax or a highway use tax instead, at a different rate and on a different base — and a wrong rate in a letter is worse than no rate at all. It gives the adjuster something to correct instead of something to answer.

If your state owes it on replacement, ask them to confirm the amount and the deadline in writing, and put it on your calendar.

If your state has no rule, or none we could locate, ask anyway — but ask from the policy rather than from a regulation. What the policy promises is the actual cash value of the vehicle, and the cost of putting an equivalent car on the road is part of a serious answer to what that value is.