Iowa Auto Loan Calculator

Your monthly payment and total cost for a car bought in Iowa, with the 5% state tax and Iowa's trade-in rules already filled in.

What do you know?
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The negotiated price of the vehicle before rebates, taxes and fees.

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Get pre-approved by a bank or credit union to know your real rate before visiting the dealer.

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Manufacturer or dealer cash back. Some states tax the price before the rebate; pick your state to apply its rule.

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What the dealer will give you for your current car.

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Your current loan balance. If it is more than the trade-in value, the difference gets added to the new loan.

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Picking a state fills in the state rate. Add your county or city rate on top for a closer estimate.

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Doc fee, title, registration, plates and destination charge. Ask the dealer for an out-the-door price to see them all.

Monthly payment

$650.57

for 60 months at 6.5% APR

Vehicle price
$35,000
Amount financed
$33,250
Sales tax
$1,750
Due at signing
$5,000
Total of payments
$39,034
Total interest
$5,784
Total cost of the car
$44,034
Car (after rebates): $35,000Interest: $5,784Tax & fees: $3,250
  • Car (after rebates)$35,00079%
  • Interest$5,78413%
  • Tax & fees$3,2507%

Compare loan terms

Same car, same rate. Longer loans lower the payment but raise the total you pay.

TermMonthlyInterestTotal cost
36 mo (3 yr) $1,019.08 $3,437 $41,687
48 mo (4 yr) $788.52 $4,599 $42,849
60 mo (5 yr) $650.57 $5,784 $44,034
72 mo (6 yr) $558.93 $6,993 $45,243
84 mo (7 yr) $493.74 $8,224 $46,474

Payment schedule

YearPaymentPrincipalInterestBalance
1$7,806.89$5,816.91$1,989.98$27,433.09
2$7,806.89$6,206.48$1,600.41$21,226.61
3$7,806.89$6,622.14$1,184.75$14,604.47
4$7,806.89$7,065.64$741.26$7,538.83
5$7,806.89$7,538.83$268.06$0.00
Show all 60 monthly payments
MonthPaymentPrincipalInterestBalance
1$650.57$470.47$180.10$32,779.53
2$650.57$473.02$177.56$32,306.51
3$650.57$475.58$174.99$31,830.93
4$650.57$478.16$172.42$31,352.77
5$650.57$480.75$169.83$30,872.03
6$650.57$483.35$167.22$30,388.68
7$650.57$485.97$164.61$29,902.71
8$650.57$488.60$161.97$29,414.10
9$650.57$491.25$159.33$28,922.86
10$650.57$493.91$156.67$28,428.95
11$650.57$496.58$153.99$27,932.36
12$650.57$499.27$151.30$27,433.09
13$650.57$501.98$148.60$26,931.11
14$650.57$504.70$145.88$26,426.41
15$650.57$507.43$143.14$25,918.98
16$650.57$510.18$140.39$25,408.80
17$650.57$512.94$137.63$24,895.86
18$650.57$515.72$134.85$24,380.14
19$650.57$518.52$132.06$23,861.62
20$650.57$521.32$129.25$23,340.30
21$650.57$524.15$126.43$22,816.15
22$650.57$526.99$123.59$22,289.16
23$650.57$529.84$120.73$21,759.32
24$650.57$532.71$117.86$21,226.61
25$650.57$535.60$114.98$20,691.01
26$650.57$538.50$112.08$20,152.51
27$650.57$541.41$109.16$19,611.10
28$650.57$544.35$106.23$19,066.75
29$650.57$547.30$103.28$18,519.46
30$650.57$550.26$100.31$17,969.20
31$650.57$553.24$97.33$17,415.95
32$650.57$556.24$94.34$16,859.72
33$650.57$559.25$91.32$16,300.47
34$650.57$562.28$88.29$15,738.18
35$650.57$565.33$85.25$15,172.86
36$650.57$568.39$82.19$14,604.47
37$650.57$571.47$79.11$14,033.00
38$650.57$574.56$76.01$13,458.44
39$650.57$577.67$72.90$12,880.77
40$650.57$580.80$69.77$12,299.96
41$650.57$583.95$66.62$11,716.01
42$650.57$587.11$63.46$11,128.90
43$650.57$590.29$60.28$10,538.61
44$650.57$593.49$57.08$9,945.12
45$650.57$596.71$53.87$9,348.41
46$650.57$599.94$50.64$8,748.48
47$650.57$603.19$47.39$8,145.29
48$650.57$606.45$44.12$7,538.83
49$650.57$609.74$40.84$6,929.10
50$650.57$613.04$37.53$6,316.05
51$650.57$616.36$34.21$5,699.69
52$650.57$619.70$30.87$5,079.99
53$650.57$623.06$27.52$4,456.93
54$650.57$626.43$24.14$3,830.50
55$650.57$629.83$20.75$3,200.67
56$650.57$633.24$17.34$2,567.44
57$650.57$636.67$13.91$1,930.77
58$650.57$640.12$10.46$1,290.65
59$650.57$643.58$6.99$647.07
60$650.57$647.07$3.50$0.00

How Iowa taxes car purchases

State vehicle tax rate
5%
Trade-in lowers the tax
Yes
Tax cap
None
Source
Official source, checked 2026-10-05

These are the rules for a new car bought from a dealer. Used-car and private-sale rules can differ. How we check this data.

Iowa charges 5% at the state level. A one-time fee for new registration, instead of sales tax. That rate is higher than 16 states and lower than 29 states. County and city taxes may add to it, so check your local rate and enter the total in the calculator.

What to know in Iowa

Iowa doesn't charge sales tax on cars. Instead, a one-time fee for new registration of 5% of the purchase price is due when the car is first registered in your name in Iowa.

The fee is figured on the price after your trade-in, so trading in at the dealer lowers it. Because it's a registration fee rather than a sales tax, you don't add local sales tax rates to it. Budget separately for Iowa's annual registration fee, which is charged every year after that.

Does Iowa tax your trade-in?

No. Iowa only taxes the difference between the new car's price and your trade-in. On a $35,000 car with a $10,000 trade-in, you'd pay $1,250.00 in state tax instead of $1,750.00, a saving of $500.00. That saving is worth counting when you compare a dealer's trade-in offer with selling the car yourself.

Example: a car loan in Iowa

A $35,000 car with $5,000 down, $1,500 in fees, and a 60-month loan at 6.5% APR ($1,750.00 state tax, rolled into the loan):

Change any number in the calculator above to see your own figures.

Rebates and fees

The calculator charges tax on the price before any manufacturer rebate. Ask the dealer how Iowa treats your specific rebate. Title, registration and dealer documentation fees vary, so ask for an itemized out-the-door price and put the fee total in the calculator.

Other states

States with similar vehicle tax rates:

Compare car sales tax in all 50 states and DC