How to pay your motor vehicle excise tax

Residents who own motor vehicles have to pay taxes based on the value of their vehicles each year. You pay an excise instead of a personal property tax. If your vehicle isn't registered, you’ll have to pay personal property taxes on it.

We send you a bill in the mail. You need to pay the bill within 30 days of the date we issued the bill. Payments are considered made when received by the Collector.

The state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles determines the value of motor vehicles each year based on the list price and age of the vehicle. We use that information to figure out your excise tax.

You are taxed at a rate of $25 per thousand dollars of your car’s value. If you registered your car after January 31, we tax you from the month that you registered your car until the end of the year. For example:

• if you register your car on April 20, you will be taxed for nine months of the year, from April 1 until December 31.

For more information, we created a page all about motor vehicle and boat taxes.

You can pay your excise tax through our online payment system. You need to enter your last name and license plate number to find your bill.

Go to our online system

Residents who own motor vehicles have to pay taxes based on the value of their vehicles each year. You pay an excise instead of a personal property tax. If your vehicle isn't registered, you’ll have to pay personal property taxes on it.

We send you a bill in the mail. You need to pay the bill within 30 days of the date we issued the bill. Payments are considered made when received by the Collector.

The state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles determines the value of motor vehicles each year based on the list price and age of the vehicle. We use that information to figure out your excise tax.

You are taxed at a rate of $25 per thousand dollars of your car’s value. If you registered your car after January 31, we tax you from the month that you registered your car until the end of the year. For example:

• if you register your car on April 20, you will be taxed for nine months of the year, from April 1 until December 31.

For more information, we created a page all about motor vehicle and boat taxes.

You will need your bill number to pay by phone. It can be found on your bill next to the ward and parcel numbers.  If the bill number is less than 6 digits, you will need to add leading zeros.

You can pay over the phone using an interactive voice response operator by calling 855-731-9898. We accept payments made using a credit or debit card, or a checking account. Our pay-by-phone system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Residents who own motor vehicles have to pay taxes based on the value of their vehicles each year. You pay an excise instead of a personal property tax. If your vehicle isn't registered, you’ll have to pay personal property taxes on it.

We send you a bill in the mail. You need to pay the bill within 30 days of the date we issued the bill. Payments are considered made when received by the Collector.

The state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles determines the value of motor vehicles each year based on the list price and age of the vehicle. We use that information to figure out your excise tax.

You are taxed at a rate of $25 per thousand dollars of your car’s value. If you registered your car after January 31, we tax you from the month that you registered your car until the end of the year. For example:

• if you register your car on April 20, you will be taxed for nine months of the year, from April 1 until December 31.

For more information, we created a page all about motor vehicle and boat taxes.

Residents who own motor vehicles have to pay taxes based on the value of their vehicles each year. You pay an excise instead of a personal property tax. If your vehicle isn't registered, you’ll have to pay personal property taxes on it.

We send you a bill in the mail. You need to pay the bill within 30 days of the date we issued the bill. Payments are considered made when received by the Collector.

The state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles determines the value of motor vehicles each year based on the list price and age of the vehicle. We use that information to figure out your excise tax.

You are taxed at a rate of $25 per thousand dollars of your car’s value. If you registered your car after January 31, we tax you from the month that you registered your car until the end of the year. For example:

• if you register your car on April 20, you will be taxed for nine months of the year, from April 1 until December 31.

For more information, we created a page all about motor vehicle and boat taxes.

At City Hall, we accept cash, credit cards, pinless debit cards, and checks or money orders made payable to the City of Boston.

If you use a credit card or pinless debit card, there is a non-refundable service fee of 2.5% of the total payment, with a $1 minimum. This fee is paid to the card processor and not kept by the City.

If your debit card requires you to enter your pin to process a payment, you CANNOT use it to pay your fee.

Please bring your payment and bill to:

1 City Hall Square - Collector’s Office
Mezzanine Level, Window 10, 11, 12
Boston, MA 02201
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.