Figures checked October 24, 2026
Get the free Car Buyer’s Cheat Sheet, 7 things to know before you sign anything. The numbers that matter, in plain English, on one page.
Join the Driveonomics email list. Occasional useful updates, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.
The excise tax: Boston's yearly car-ownership bill
Massachusetts charges a motor vehicle excise tax, a yearly tax the city charges just for owning the car, based on what the car is worth. The rate is $25 for every $1,000 of value, and the bill comes from the city where the car is kept (garaged). In Boston, that bill arrives once a year. The taxable value falls as the car ages: 90% of the list price in the model year, then 60%, 40%, 25%, and 10% from year five on. On a $30,000 car, the first-year bill is about $675. The part newcomers miss: an unpaid excise bill blocks renewal of your driver's license and your registration, and clearing the block costs another $20 at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The bill goes to the address on your Registry record, so moving without updating it can build up penalties on a bill you never saw.
Sales tax, title, registration, inspection
The day-one stack: Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25% of the price. The title fee, the paperwork that proves you own the car, is $75. Registration runs $60 every two years. The yearly inspection, a required check that the car is roadworthy, is $35 a year.
Insurance: above the state average
Full coverage, insurance that covers damage to your own car, not just damage you cause to others, runs $1,730–$3,016 a year in Boston, depending on the source, above the Massachusetts average. Where you live inside the city matters: downtown neighborhoods generally cost more than residential ones. The example below uses the middle of the range.
Parking: free permit, hard hunt
A Boston resident parking permit is free, but a free permit is not a free spot: street parking is a hunt, and cars must move for weekly street cleaning. Garage and lot spaces run $150–$500 a month. Boston is also a walkable city with strong public transit (the T), which is why many residents weigh the car question differently here, the comparison, not the conclusion, is what the numbers below are for.
A full Boston example: a $42,000 car
Every figure below uses the same $42,000 vehicle as the Texas example, so the cities compare fairly: 10% down ($4,200), 8% APR (the yearly interest rate on the loan), 60 months, $21,000 resale value after five years, $1,000 a year maintenance. Where a cost comes as a range, the example uses the middle of the range, and the range is shown. The financed amount is $40,425 (price, minus down payment, plus the 6.25% sales tax), which works out to about $820 a month.
- Value lost: $21,000 ($42,000 minus $21,000 resale)
- Insurance: $11,865 ($2,373 a year, the middle of $1,730–$3,016, x 5 years)
- Maintenance: $5,000 ($1,000 x 5 years)
- Sales tax: $2,625 (6.25% x $42,000)
- Title, registration, inspection: $430 ($75 title, $60 registration paid three times in five years, $35 inspection x 5 years)
- Excise tax: $2,363 (year by year on the $42,000 car: $945 + $630 + $420 + $263 + $105, as the taxable value falls from 90% to 10% of list price)
- Parking: $19,500 ($325 a month, the middle of $150–$500, x 60 months)
- Loan interest: $8,755
That totals roughly $71,538 over five years, or about $1,192 a month, before fuel. Fuel is not in this total: our checked Boston figures did not pin down a Boston gas price, so it is left out rather than guessed. As a guide, at 12,000 miles a year and 19 miles per gallon, every $1 a gallon works out to $3,158 over five years. As context, one published figure puts all-in Boston ownership at about $10,728 a year, on a different basis from this example.
Formula
The five-year total is the sum of eight lines: value lost, insurance, maintenance, sales tax, title, registration and inspection, excise tax, parking, and loan interest. Value lost is the $42,000 price minus the $21,000 resale value after five years, which is $21,000. Insurance is $2,373 a year times 5 years, which is $11,865. Maintenance is $1,000 a year times 5 years, which is $5,000. Sales tax is 6.25% of $42,000, which is $2,625. Title, registration and inspection is $430: a $75 title, $60 registration paid three times in five years, and a $35 inspection times 5 years. Excise tax is $2,363, year by year on the $42,000 car: $945 plus $630 plus $420 plus $263 plus $105, as the taxable value falls from 90% to 10% of list price. Parking is $325 a month times 60 months, which is $19,500.
Added together, $21,000 plus $11,865 plus $5,000 plus $2,625 plus $430 plus $2,363 plus $19,500 plus $8,755 equals $71,538, or about $1,192 a month, before fuel. Fuel is not in this total: the page's checked Boston figures did not pin down a Boston gas price, so it is left out rather than guessed. As a guide, at 12,000 miles a year and 19 miles per gallon, every $1 a gallon works out to $3,158 over five years. The financed amount is $40,425, the $42,000 price minus the $4,200 down payment plus the $2,625 sales tax, which works out to about $820 a month at 8% APR over 60 months, and the loan costs $8,755 in interest over five years.
Set the sales tax to 6.25%, add the excise tax year by year as the car's value falls, and use a Boston insurance quote instead of a state average. Those three changes move the answer more than any other inputs on the page.
Calculation transparency
Jurisdiction. Boston, Massachusetts. Excise tax, sales tax, titling, registration, inspection, and insurance rules are set by your state and city, so your exact numbers depend on where you buy and keep the car. The excise bill comes from the city where the car is kept (garaged).
Rules and time period. Five years, a $42,000 car, 10% down, 8% APR, 60 months. Massachusetts sales tax 6.25% ($2,625), $75 title, $60 registration every two years, $35 yearly inspection, excise tax $2,363 year by year as the taxable value falls from 90% to 10% of list price, insurance at the $2,373 example value, $1,000 a year maintenance, $325 a month parking, $21,000 resale after five years. Fuel is not in this total: no Boston gas price was pinned down, so it is left out rather than guessed.
Scope and limitations. Educational estimate only. Not in this total: fuel, because no Boston gas price was pinned down; garage and lot parking above the $325 example value; and any unpaid-excise penalties. An unpaid excise bill blocks renewal of your driver's license and your registration, and clearing the block costs another $20 at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. Insurance quotes, gas prices, and local rates vary by driver and address. Get a real quote for the same car, coverage, and loan before you decide.
Source links checked November 6, 2026. Figures: Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and the City of Boston excise tax, $25 for every $1,000 of value, taxable value 90% in the model year, then 60%, 40%, 25%, and 10% from year five on; The Zebra city insurance table and Insure.com metro insurance averages, full coverage $1,730 to $3,016 a year; AAA (2026). No Boston gas price was pinned down, so fuel is left out of the total rather than guessed.
Primary sources: Massachusetts General Laws, motor vehicle excise; AAA gas prices. How the numbers are calculated is written down on the methodology page, and every source is listed on the sources page.
Definitions
Excise tax. A yearly tax the city charges just for owning the car, based on what the car is worth. Massachusetts charges a motor vehicle excise tax at $25 for every $1,000 of value, and the bill comes from the city where the car is kept (garaged). The taxable value falls as the car ages: 90% of the list price in the model year, then 60%, 40%, 25%, and 10% from year five on.
Sales tax. The tax on the price of the car, paid when you buy it. Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25% of the price, which is $2,625 on a $42,000 car.
Title fee. The one-time fee for the paperwork that proves you own the car. In Massachusetts it is $75.
Registration. The fee to keep the car legally on the road. In Massachusetts it runs $60 every two years, paid three times in five years in this example.
Inspection. A required check that the car is roadworthy, done every year. The yearly inspection is $35 a year.
Full-coverage insurance. Insurance that covers damage to your own car, not just damage you cause to others. In Boston it runs $1,730 to $3,016 a year, depending on the source, above the Massachusetts average. The example uses the middle of the range.
Parking permit. A Boston resident parking permit is free, but a free permit is not a free spot: street parking is a hunt, and cars must move for weekly street cleaning. Garage and lot spaces run $150 to $500 a month.
APR. Annual percentage rate, the yearly interest rate on the loan. This example uses 8%. For context, Experian reported average rates of 6.35% on new cars and 11.19% on used cars in the second quarter of 2026.
Depreciation. The value the car loses over time. On this page, the $42,000 price minus the $21,000 resale value after five years, which is $21,000.
Common questions
What is the total cost of owning a car in Boston?
For the worked example on this page, a $42,000 car, the five-year cost in Boston is roughly $71,538, about $1,192 a month, before fuel. Fuel is not in this total: our checked Boston figures did not pin down a Boston gas price, so it is left out rather than guessed.
What is the motor vehicle excise tax in Boston?
Massachusetts charges a motor vehicle excise tax, a yearly tax the city charges just for owning the car, based on what the car is worth. The rate is $25 for every $1,000 of value, and the bill comes from the city where the car is kept (garaged). The taxable value falls as the car ages: 90% of the list price in the model year, then 60%, 40%, 25%, and 10% from year five on. Excise tax: $2,363 (year by year on the $42,000 car: $945 + $630 + $420 + $263 + $105, as the taxable value falls from 90% to 10% of list price).
How much is sales tax, title, registration, and inspection in Boston?
Massachusetts sales tax is 6.25% of the price. The title fee, the paperwork that proves you own the car, is $75. Registration runs $60 every two years. The yearly inspection, a required check that the car is roadworthy, is $35 a year.
How much is car insurance in Boston?
Full coverage runs $1,730 to $3,016 a year in Boston, depending on the source, above the Massachusetts average. Where you live inside the city matters: downtown neighborhoods generally cost more than residential ones. The example below uses the middle of the range.
How much is parking in Boston?
A Boston resident parking permit is free, but a free permit is not a free spot: street parking is a hunt, and cars must move for weekly street cleaning. Garage and lot spaces run $150 to $500 a month. Parking: $19,500 ($325 a month, the middle of $150 to $500, x 60 months).
See the same math for other cities
The same $42,000 example, run with each city's own costs: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Texas, St. Louis, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, San Antonio, Austin, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Detroit, Maine, and New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and Providence, and Massachusetts.
Figures from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and the City of Boston (excise tax), The Zebra city insurance table, Insure.com metro insurance averages, and AAA (2026). Excise bills, parking, and insurance quotes vary by driver, neighborhood, and vehicle, the structure above is the part that does not change.
Related: Nearby, Hartford runs the same math with Connecticut costs. How much car insurance costs explains the insurance side in plain words, and cheapest versus priciest states to own a car puts Massachusetts in context.