Car affordability calculator
Start from the monthly payment you are comfortable with and see the vehicle price it supports, with California tax and DMV charges inside the figure.
The calculator
What $500 a month buys
$25,072
The vehicle price this payment supports, before insurance and running costs. $27,646 out the door, with sales tax, DMV charges and the dealer's document charge.
Of the $32,000 you'd pay over 5 years, $25,072 buys the car and $4,354 goes to interest.
- The car $25,072
- Sales tax $2,075
- DMV and doc $499
- Interest $4,354
If your rate comes in higher
The payment stays $500. Two points more is $1,033 less car.
- 6.35%$25,072
- 8.35%$24,039
- 10.35%$23,016
Complimentary, 15 minutes. Your numbers come with the booking.
Representation covers purchases and leases from California dealers.
Your numbers
Example payment. The payment you are comfortable with, not the most a lender will approve.
Example down payment. Adds to the vehicle the payment reaches.
6.35%, the average new-vehicle loan rate (Experian, Q2 2026). Your lender sets yours.
Longer lowers the payment and raises the interest.
Your city sets the sales tax rate. Outside city limits, choose your county. Leave it blank for an example rate.
Example rate. Or enter your rate. District taxes follow the address, not the ZIP code. Look up a rate by address. The answer counts an $85 document processing charge and taxes it at this rate. The cap is $85 at a dealer that is a DMV private industry partner, $70 at one that isn’t.
Start over with the example numbers
Your entries stay in this browser tab until you close it or start over.
We find vehicles that fit this budget and negotiate on your behalf.
Next calculator: What will it cost out the door?
Every figure
- Vehicle price
- $25,072
- Estimated out the door
- $27,646
- Cash down
- −$2,000
- Amount financed
- $25,646
- Total interest over the loan
- $4,354
$500 a month over 5 years at 6.35%, $2,000 down. The last installment is $499.81, which absorbs the rounding.
Payment schedule
| Year | Paid | Interest | Principal | Balance at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6,000 | $1,499 | $4,501 | $21,145 |
| 2 | $6,000 | $1,205 | $4,795 | $16,350 |
| 3 | $6,000 | $891 | $5,109 | $11,241 |
| 4 | $6,000 | $557 | $5,443 | $5,798 |
| 5 | $6,000 | $201 | $5,798 | $0 |
| Month | Payment | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500.00 | $135.71 | $364.29 | $25,281.91 |
| 2 | $500.00 | $133.78 | $366.22 | $24,915.69 |
| 3 | $500.00 | $131.85 | $368.15 | $24,547.54 |
| 4 | $500.00 | $129.90 | $370.10 | $24,177.44 |
| 5 | $500.00 | $127.94 | $372.06 | $23,805.38 |
| 6 | $500.00 | $125.97 | $374.03 | $23,431.35 |
| 7 | $500.00 | $123.99 | $376.01 | $23,055.34 |
| 8 | $500.00 | $122.00 | $378.00 | $22,677.34 |
| 9 | $500.00 | $120.00 | $380.00 | $22,297.34 |
| 10 | $500.00 | $117.99 | $382.01 | $21,915.33 |
| 11 | $500.00 | $115.97 | $384.03 | $21,531.30 |
| 12 | $500.00 | $113.94 | $386.06 | $21,145.24 |
| 13 | $500.00 | $111.89 | $388.11 | $20,757.13 |
| 14 | $500.00 | $109.84 | $390.16 | $20,366.97 |
| 15 | $500.00 | $107.78 | $392.22 | $19,974.75 |
| 16 | $500.00 | $105.70 | $394.30 | $19,580.45 |
| 17 | $500.00 | $103.61 | $396.39 | $19,184.06 |
| 18 | $500.00 | $101.52 | $398.48 | $18,785.58 |
| 19 | $500.00 | $99.41 | $400.59 | $18,384.99 |
| 20 | $500.00 | $97.29 | $402.71 | $17,982.28 |
| 21 | $500.00 | $95.16 | $404.84 | $17,577.44 |
| 22 | $500.00 | $93.01 | $406.99 | $17,170.45 |
| 23 | $500.00 | $90.86 | $409.14 | $16,761.31 |
| 24 | $500.00 | $88.70 | $411.30 | $16,350.01 |
| 25 | $500.00 | $86.52 | $413.48 | $15,936.53 |
| 26 | $500.00 | $84.33 | $415.67 | $15,520.86 |
| 27 | $500.00 | $82.13 | $417.87 | $15,102.99 |
| 28 | $500.00 | $79.92 | $420.08 | $14,682.91 |
| 29 | $500.00 | $77.70 | $422.30 | $14,260.61 |
| 30 | $500.00 | $75.46 | $424.54 | $13,836.07 |
| 31 | $500.00 | $73.22 | $426.78 | $13,409.29 |
| 32 | $500.00 | $70.96 | $429.04 | $12,980.25 |
| 33 | $500.00 | $68.69 | $431.31 | $12,548.94 |
| 34 | $500.00 | $66.40 | $433.60 | $12,115.34 |
| 35 | $500.00 | $64.11 | $435.89 | $11,679.45 |
| 36 | $500.00 | $61.80 | $438.20 | $11,241.25 |
| 37 | $500.00 | $59.48 | $440.52 | $10,800.73 |
| 38 | $500.00 | $57.15 | $442.85 | $10,357.88 |
| 39 | $500.00 | $54.81 | $445.19 | $9,912.69 |
| 40 | $500.00 | $52.45 | $447.55 | $9,465.14 |
| 41 | $500.00 | $50.09 | $449.91 | $9,015.23 |
| 42 | $500.00 | $47.71 | $452.29 | $8,562.94 |
| 43 | $500.00 | $45.31 | $454.69 | $8,108.25 |
| 44 | $500.00 | $42.91 | $457.09 | $7,651.16 |
| 45 | $500.00 | $40.49 | $459.51 | $7,191.65 |
| 46 | $500.00 | $38.06 | $461.94 | $6,729.71 |
| 47 | $500.00 | $35.61 | $464.39 | $6,265.32 |
| 48 | $500.00 | $33.15 | $466.85 | $5,798.47 |
| 49 | $500.00 | $30.68 | $469.32 | $5,329.15 |
| 50 | $500.00 | $28.20 | $471.80 | $4,857.35 |
| 51 | $500.00 | $25.70 | $474.30 | $4,383.05 |
| 52 | $500.00 | $23.19 | $476.81 | $3,906.24 |
| 53 | $500.00 | $20.67 | $479.33 | $3,426.91 |
| 54 | $500.00 | $18.13 | $481.87 | $2,945.04 |
| 55 | $500.00 | $15.58 | $484.42 | $2,460.62 |
| 56 | $500.00 | $13.02 | $486.98 | $1,973.64 |
| 57 | $500.00 | $10.44 | $489.56 | $1,484.08 |
| 58 | $500.00 | $7.85 | $492.15 | $991.93 |
| 59 | $500.00 | $5.25 | $494.75 | $497.18 |
| 60 | $499.81 | $2.63 | $497.18 | $0.00 |
Each charge, and the statute behind it
| Charge | Authority | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Cal. Veh. Code §§9250, 9250.1 | $76.00 |
| California Highway Patrol | Cal. Veh. Code §§9250.8, 9250.13 | $34.00 |
| Vehicle license fee | Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §§10752, 10753.2 | $163.00 |
| Transportation improvement fee | Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §11052(b), as adjusted (DMV VIN 2025-10) | $132.00 |
| California tire fee, 5 tires | Cal. Pub. Res. Code §42885 | $8.75 |
| Document processing charge | Cal. Veh. Code §4456.5(a); CDTFA Publication 34, Motor Vehicle Dealers (October 2025), “Documentation fees” | $85.00 |
| Sales tax on $25,157.00 | CDTFA Publication 34, Motor Vehicle Dealers (October 2025), “Documentation fees”. The vehicle price and the document processing charge sit inside the taxable measure. Registration charges and the tire fee sit outside it. | $2,075.45 |
| Estimated out the door | $27,646.20 |
Not included, and not estimated
- County and district fees. They vary by where the vehicle is registered, and California publishes no single figure for them.
- Smog certification and smog abatement. Whether either applies turns on the vehicle's age, its fuel type and where it was last registered.
- Electronic filing charge. A dealer may pass through what a first-line service provider charges it, so there is no set amount.
- Weight fees. They apply to commercial vehicles rated by unladen or declared gross weight, not to passenger cars.
- Nonresident and out-of-state charges. A vehicle last registered outside California is charged under a different schedule.
Insurance is not in these figures. CarOracle’s representation fee is not in them either: $299 on a new vehicle, $399 on a certified pre-owned vehicle or a used vehicle still within the original manufacturer warranty period.
How much car can I afford?
Start from the payment you are comfortable with, not the most a lender will approve. Enter it with the cash you can put down, and the calculator works back to the vehicle price that payment supports, with California sales tax and DMV charges inside the total. A longer term or a lower rate raises the price it reaches.
A California car payment calculator, with tax and DMV fees
A payment worked from the vehicle price alone understates the loan in California. The amount financed also carries sales tax on the price and the document charge, and the registration charges the DMV sets. This calculator adds them before it solves for the price, so the payment covers the out-the-door amount, not the sticker.
A worked example
In California, $500 a month over five years at 6.35% with $2,000 down supports a $25,072 new vehicle, $27,646.20 out the door.
Those are the inputs in full: a $500 monthly payment, $2,000 cash down, sixty months, an annual percentage rate of 6.35% (the average new-vehicle loan rate, Experian, Q2 2026), sales tax at 8.25% and an $85 document processing charge. No trade-in. The rate is an average, not an offer.
| Monthly payment | $500.00 |
|---|---|
| Amount financed at that payment | $25,646.20 |
| Cash down | $2,000.00 |
| Estimated out the door | $27,646.20 |
| Sales tax at 8.25% | $2,075.45 |
| Registration charges | $413.75 |
| Dealer charges | $85.00 |
| Vehicle price | $25,072.00 |
| Total interest over the term | $4,353.61 |
Two points more on the rate, at the same $500 a month, reaches a $24,039 vehicle instead of $25,072. The payment does not change; the car does.
Where these figures come from
Registration charges come from the California DMV fee schedule, 2026 (DMV Vehicle Industry News VIN 2025-10), and the fee breakdown above names the statute behind each one. The schedule is reviewed each January, because the transportation improvement fee tiers move on January 1 by statute. The trade-in treatment is CDTFA Regulation 1654(b)(1). California does not deduct a trade-in from the taxable measure, and the out-the-door calculator works that through. The document processing charge is taxable. CDTFA Publication 34, Motor Vehicle Dealers (October 2025), “Documentation fees”. Your tax rate and the interest rate are figures you enter, not figures transcribed from a schedule. The document processing charge is assumed at the $85 cap.
Reviewed by CarOracle, a California-licensed auto dealer with an auto broker’s endorsement, license #43082.
Every figure on this page is an estimate, not a quote. A lender, a dealer and the DMV each set their own, and only a signed contract settles what you pay.
Run your own numbers with us
Bring the vehicle you are considering and we will tell you what the market is doing on it in California this month, and what the structure should look like.
Complimentary, 15 minutes. Your numbers come with the booking.