Excise Tax Information

Motor Vehicle / Trailer / Boat

All Massachusetts residents who register a Motor vehicle will receive a Motor vehicle Excise Tax bill. The excise is levied by the town or city where the vehicle is garaged. 

Excise bills are created by the registry of motor vehicles according to the information provided from the vehicle registration. The town then sends the bills and collects payments from the registered owners - to pay your Motor Vehicle Excise Tax bill go onto City Hall Systems or call 508-381-5455. 

Calculating Excise Tax in Massachusetts

$25 per 1,000 of value or value x 0.025 = annual excise amount

The excise rate is $25 per $1,000 of your vehicle's value. It is charged for a full calendar year and billed by the community where the vehicle is usually garaged. 

If you own any motor vehicle that has been registered for less than a full calendar year, you will pay the excise based on the entire month when you registered that vehicle, as well as for the remaining months of the year.

 For example, a vehicle registered on April 9th will be billed an excise for April through December.

The minimum motor vehicle excise is $5. If your calculated excise is less than $5, you will be taxed the minimum $5.

Vehicle value

Your vehicle's value for excise purposes isn't the actual purchase price or "book value" of the vehicle. Instead, it's a percentage of the manufacturer's list price in the year of manufacture. The manufacturer’s list price for any vehicle is the price the manufacturer recommends as the selling price of that vehicle (for vehicles of the same make, type, model, and year of manufacture) when new.

Per M.G.L. 60A Section 1, the vehicle valuation is a percentage of the original Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). The percentage is determined by the year of the vehicle. Once a vehicle reaches the 5th year, that vehicle will remain at 10% of the original MSRP for the life of the vehicle. Please refer to the table below for the MSRP change over time. For excise tax purposes, the price paid and conditions are not considered. If the owner believes the valuation is incorrect, they can contact the Registry of Motor Vehicles at 1(857) 368-8000.

Learn more about Excise Taxes in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.