Maryland car-buying rules
These are the rules the Before the Lot planner uses for Maryland, with the source and date for each. They describe the rules and the planner's estimate; they are not legal or tax advice, and the dealer's quote and your state's documents are what count.
Dealer doc fee in Maryland
Cap: $800.
- How the figure changes: fixed (stepped in statute; $800 since July 1, 2024).
- Law: Md. Code, Transp. 15-311.1(b).
Earlier caps were $500 (2020 to 2024), $300 and $200. The fee must also be 'reasonable' and reflect expenses the dealer generally incurs. The contract must show 'Dealer processing charge (not required by law)'. It must be in the advertised price unless the ad clearly states its amount.
Sales tax in Maryland
- Tax: Motor vehicle excise (titling) tax.
- State rate used: 6.5%.
- Local add-ons: None on cars.
- Dollar cap on the tax: none in the data.
6.5% since July 1, 2025 (was 6%), on price minus trade-in, paid at titling. No local tax.
Trade-in tax credit
Yes. Maryland takes the trade-in value off the taxed price.
Does a maker's rebate lower the taxed price?
No. MVA taxable-price bulletin (4/23/2026). Excise is 6.5% since 7/1/2025.
Cancellation and return rights
No Maryland-specific right to cancel or return a dealership purchase is in the planner's data.
There is no federal cooling-off period for buying a car at a dealership; the FTC's door-to-door Cooling-Off Rule excludes dealers with a permanent place of business (16 CFR 429.3(a)). The FTC CARS Rule was vacated by the Fifth Circuit in January 2025 and formally withdrawn effective Feb 12, 2026 (91 FR 6507). No other state with a general used-car cooling-off right was found; NCLC calls California's the first in the nation.
Worked out-the-door example: a $35,000 vehicle
Built with the planner's own out-the-door formula: the tax is the state base rate times the vehicle price plus the doc fee, with no trade-in, rounded to the cent. Local taxes are not included.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Vehicle price (example) | $35,000 |
| Doc fee (the Maryland cap) | $800 |
| Sales tax at 6.5% on $35,800 | $2,327 |
| Title and registration (the planner's default estimate) | $250 |
| Out-the-door total | $38,377 |
Title and registration fees differ by state and vehicle; $250 is a placeholder, not a Maryland figure.
Plan a purchase in Maryland
Plan a purchase in Maryland opens the free planner with Maryland already chosen. Nothing is sent to a server; the choice rides in the link's fragment.
These rules feed two steps of the method: set your numbers and let dealers compete. To read a dealer's quote line by line, see reading an out-the-door quote. All states.