On-road price & car cost calculator · India · state-wise RTO road tax
The ex-showroom price is not the price
The number in the advertisement is the ex-showroom price. What you hand over is the on-road price, and between the two sit road tax, insurance, registration, a fastag, and whatever the dealer has decided to call "handling". On a ₹10 lakh car in Karnataka that gap is well over ₹2 lakh. On the same car in Gujarat it is closer to ₹90,000. Same car, same day, ₹1.2 lakh apart — because road tax in India is set by the state, not the manufacturer.
This on-road price calculator applies your state's actual RTO slabs — including the ones that change with fuel type — then keeps going where every other calculator stops: what the car costs to run across petrol, diesel, CNG and electric, what the loan costs across Indian banks, what it will be worth in ten years, and whether a cab would have been cheaper all along.
RTO road tax by state — the table that explains the price difference
Road tax is charged as a percentage of the ex-showroom price, and almost every state slabs it by price band. Several also charge diesel cars more than petrol, and most exempt electric vehicles entirely. These are the slabs the calculator applies.
Lifetime road tax as a percentage of ex-showroom price, for private four-wheelers. Slabs are indicative and change with state budgets and EV policy — confirm with your RTO or dealer before you commit.
| State | Petrol | Diesel | CNG | Electric |
|---|
| Gujarat | 6% flat | 6% flat | 6% flat | 1% |
| Delhi | 4% / 7% / 10%
under ₹6L / ₹10L / above | 5% / 8.75% / 12.5% | 4% / 7% / 10% | Exempt |
| Haryana | 5% / 8% / 10%
under ₹6L / ₹20L / above | 5% / 8% / 10% | 5% / 8% / 10% | Exempt under ₹20L, then 5% |
| Uttar Pradesh | 8% under ₹10L, 10% above | 9% / 11% | 8% / 10% | Exempt |
| Rajasthan | 6% under ₹8L, 9% above | 8% / 11% | 6% / 9% | Exempt |
| Punjab | 9% under ₹15L, 11% above | 9% / 11% | 9% / 11% | Exempt |
| West Bengal | 10% under ₹10L, 12% above | 10% / 12% | 10% / 12% | 2% |
| Maharashtra | 11% / 12% / 13%
under ₹10L / ₹20L / above | 13% / 14% / 15% | 7% / 8% / 9% | Exempt |
| Tamil Nadu | 12% / 13% / 18% / 20%
under ₹5L / ₹10L / ₹20L / above | Same as petrol | Same as petrol | Exempt |
| Telangana | 13% / 14% / 17% / 18%
under ₹5L / ₹10L / ₹20L / above | Same as petrol | Same as petrol | Exempt |
| Karnataka | 13% / 14% / 17% / 18%
under ₹5L / ₹10L / ₹20L / above | Same as petrol | Same as petrol | Exempt under ₹25L, then 10% |
| Kerala | 9% / 11% / 15% / 21%
under ₹5L / ₹15L / ₹20L / above | Same as petrol | Same as petrol | 5% under ₹15L, then 8% |
Three things worth knowing before you pick a state or a fuel. Gujarat charges a flat 6% and is the cheapest large state to register a car in. Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Tamil Nadu run to 18–21% on expensive cars, which on a ₹30 lakh car is a difference of several lakh rupees. And in the NCR, diesel cars are deregistered after 10 years against 15 for petrol — a rule that hits your resale value far harder than the extra road tax ever will.
What makes up an on-road price
- Ex-showroom price — the manufacturer's price including GST and cess. The only part that is the same across India.
- RTO road tax — a one-time lifetime levy, from 1% to over 20% of ex-showroom depending on your state, the price band and the fuel.
- Insurance — third-party cover is compulsory and priced by engine capacity; own-damage cover is optional but sensible. New cars require a longer bundled third-party policy.
- Registration and fastag — a smaller fixed charge, plus a hypothecation entry if the car is financed.
- Dealer handling and extras — logistics, handling, accessories, extended warranty. This is the negotiable part, and it is usually the only one anybody argues about.
Worked example — ₹10,00,000 petrol car, Karnataka vs Gujarat
- Ex-showroom
- ₹10,00,000
- Road tax — Karnataka (17% band)
- ₹1,70,000
- Road tax — Gujarat (flat 6%)
- ₹60,000
- Insurance (indicative, first year)
- ₹42,000
- Registration, fastag and handling
- ₹18,000
- On-road — Karnataka
- ₹12,30,000
- On-road — Gujarat
- ₹11,20,000
₹1.1 lakh of difference on an identical car. Registering in another state to capture it requires actually living there — an address, and eventually a re-registration if you move the car — so treat this as a reason to check your own slab, not as a scheme.
Petrol, diesel, CNG or electric — the running cost comparison
Fuel choice is usually argued on the sticker price and settled on the running cost, which is the wrong way round. The right measure is cost per kilometre, and it depends on three things: the price premium of the variant, the efficiency, and how much you actually drive.
Indicative running cost per kilometre on a compact car. Fuel and electricity prices vary by state — the calculator uses your state's rates.
| Fuel | Typical efficiency | Rate | Cost per km | Price premium over petrol |
|---|
| Petrol | 18 km/L | ≈ ₹105/L | ≈ ₹5.83 | — |
| Diesel | 22 km/L | ≈ ₹95/L | ≈ ₹4.32 | ≈ ₹1,50,000 |
| CNG | 26 km/kg | ≈ ₹87/kg | ≈ ₹3.35 | ≈ ₹1,00,000 |
| Electric | 7 km/kWh | ≈ ₹8/kWh | ≈ ₹1.14 | ≈ ₹3,00,000 |
The premium is what decides it. An EV saves roughly ₹4.70 a kilometre against petrol, so a ₹3 lakh premium is recovered at about 64,000 km. Drive 1,500 km a month and that is three and a half years — comfortably inside the ownership period. Drive 500 km a month and it is over ten years, by which point the battery warranty is the more interesting question. The break-even distance, not the fuel, is the decision.
Do not forget the road tax when comparing fuels. Most states exempt EVs entirely, which claws back a large part of the price premium before you have driven a metre. In Maharashtra a CNG car also sits in a lower tax slab than the same car in petrol. The calculator applies these automatically, because comparing running costs while ignoring a ₹1.5 lakh tax difference produces the wrong answer confidently.
Depreciation — the largest cost of owning a car, and the one nobody budgets for
Fuel is visible every week. Depreciation is invisible until you sell, and it is almost always bigger. A car in India typically loses around 15% the moment it is registered, and roughly 15% of its remaining value each year after that.
Indicative resale value as a percentage of ex-showroom price. Well-kept, low-mileage cars from brands with strong resale hold better; diesel cars in the NCR hold much worse.
| Age | Typical resale value | Value lost so far |
|---|
| 1 year | ≈ 80% | 20% |
| 3 years | ≈ 60% | 40% |
| 5 years | ≈ 47% | 53% |
| 7 years | ≈ 37% | 63% |
| 10 years | ≈ 25% | 75% |
Put that beside the fuel bill. A ₹10 lakh car driven 12,000 km a year burns roughly ₹70,000 of petrol annually — and sheds roughly ₹1,06,000 of value in the same year. Depreciation is the bigger line, every year, for most owners. It is also why the total cost of ownership matters more than the EMI, and why buying a two-year-old car is mathematically defensible in a way most people never consider.
Car loan EMI in India
Car loans in India typically run three to seven years at rates between roughly 7.75% and 9.5% for salaried borrowers, with public sector banks usually undercutting private ones and dealer-arranged finance usually the most expensive of the three. Lenders fund up to about 85–90% of the ex-showroom price — note that they lend against ex-showroom, so road tax and insurance normally come out of your own pocket.
A longer tenure is how an unaffordable car is made to look affordable. Stretching a ₹10 lakh loan at 9% from three years to seven drops the EMI from about ₹31,800 to about ₹16,100 — and raises the total interest from roughly ₹1.45 lakh to roughly ₹3.5 lakh. Worse, by year four you owe more than the car is worth, because the loan amortises more slowly than the car depreciates. If the EMI only works at seven years, the honest reading is that the car is too expensive.
How to use this on-road price calculator
- Pick your state. This is the single biggest lever on the on-road price. The calculator loads that state's slabs, its fuel prices and any local rules worth knowing.
- Choose the car, or enter your own ex-showroom price. Popular Indian models are pre-loaded with indicative prices and efficiency; the custom option takes any figure.
- Read the on-road breakdown. Ex-showroom, road tax, insurance and registration, itemised — so you know which line the dealer is padding.
- Enter your monthly running. Be honest. Most people overestimate by a third, and the fuel comparison swings entirely on this number.
- Compare the fuels. Cost per kilometre, and the distance at which each premium pays for itself.
- Set the loan tenure and compare banks. Watch the total interest, not just the EMI.
- Check the resale forecast and the buy-vs-cab tab. If you drive under about 500 km a month, the cab answer is often uncomfortable and worth seeing anyway.
Frequently asked questions
How is on-road price calculated in India?
On-road price = ex-showroom price + RTO road tax + insurance + registration and fastag + dealer handling and any accessories. Road tax is the largest and most variable component; it is set by your state as a percentage of ex-showroom price and usually rises with the price band.
Which state has the lowest car road tax in India?
Among the large states, Gujarat is the cheapest at a flat 6% regardless of price. Delhi is low at the bottom of the range (4% under ₹6 lakh) but rises to 10%. Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana and Tamil Nadu are the most expensive, running to 18–21% on premium cars.
Why is road tax higher on diesel cars?
Several states — Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh among them — deliberately price diesel higher on emissions grounds. Delhi charges 12.5% on expensive diesel cars against 10% on petrol. Others, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, apply the same rate to every fuel.
Are electric cars exempt from road tax in India?
In most states, yes — Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan and Punjab exempt EVs fully. Some have started tapering it: Karnataka charges 10% on EVs above ₹25 lakh, Haryana 5% above ₹20 lakh, Kerala 5–8%, West Bengal 2% and Gujarat 1%. EV policies are revised often, so confirm the current position with your RTO.
Is an EV actually cheaper than petrol in India?
Per kilometre, comfortably — roughly ₹1.14 against ₹5.83 on typical rates. Whether it is cheaper overall depends on how far you drive. A ₹3 lakh premium takes about 64,000 km to recover on fuel savings alone, less where road tax is exempt. High-mileage drivers benefit quickly; occasional drivers may never reach break-even.
How much does a car depreciate in India?
Roughly 15–20% in the first year and around 15% of the remaining value each year after. Five years in, a typical car is worth about 47% of what it cost; at ten years, about 25%. Brand matters — Maruti and Toyota hold value noticeably better than the market.
Should I buy a car or use Ola and Uber?
It turns on your monthly distance. Below roughly 500–700 km a month, cabs usually win once depreciation, insurance, servicing and parking are counted — the fixed costs of a car do not care whether it moves. Above about 1,200 km a month, ownership usually wins. The calculator computes your own break-even rather than quoting these ranges.
Can I register my car in another state to save road tax?
Only if you genuinely live there. Registration requires a valid address in that state, and moving the car to a new state for more than a year requires re-registration — at which point you pay the new state's tax and reclaim a prorated refund of the old one, a slow process. It is not a saving scheme.
What is the 10-year diesel rule in Delhi NCR?
Diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years may not be used in the NCR. It affects resale directly: an eight-year-old diesel car in Delhi has very few local buyers, and sells at a steep discount or must be moved out of the region entirely.
How much car loan EMI can I afford?
A common guide is that the EMI should stay under about 15% of your monthly take-home, and all EMIs together under 40%. Use the salary calculator to establish your real in-hand first — budgeting a car EMI against CTC is how people end up over-committed.
Is car insurance included in the on-road price?
Yes, the first year is. Third-party cover is compulsory and new cars must carry a longer bundled third-party policy; own-damage cover is optional but almost always bought. Dealer-arranged insurance is convenient and rarely the cheapest — compare before you sign.
Do the prices update automatically?
Ex-showroom prices, fuel rates and loan rates are indicative figures maintained by us, not a live feed. Treat every output as an estimate and confirm with your dealer, RTO and insurer before committing.
Is my data stored?
The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Your figures stay on your device.
Is it free?
Everything on this page is free to read. Running the calculator needs an InvestVerdict account.
Glossary
- Ex-showroom price
- The manufacturer's price including GST and cess, before any state levy. The same across India.
- On-road price
- What you actually pay — ex-showroom plus road tax, insurance, registration and dealer charges.
- RTO
- Regional Transport Office. It registers the vehicle and collects the road tax your state has set.
- Lifetime road tax
- A one-time levy covering 15 years of registration, charged as a percentage of ex-showroom price.
- Hypothecation
- The lender's charge noted on the registration certificate while a car loan is outstanding.
- IDV
- Insured Declared Value — the current market value of your car, and the maximum an insurer pays on a total loss.
- Third-party insurance
- Compulsory cover for damage you cause to others. It does not cover your own car.
- Own-damage cover
- Optional cover for damage to your own vehicle. Together with third-party it forms a comprehensive policy.
- Depreciation
- The value your car loses with age and use. Usually the largest single cost of owning one.
- Cost per kilometre
- Running cost divided by distance. The only fair way to compare petrol, diesel, CNG and electric.
- Break-even distance
- The distance at which a fuel's price premium is repaid by its running-cost saving.
- Total cost of ownership
- Purchase, fuel, insurance, servicing and depreciation over the years you keep the car, less what you sell it for.
Road tax slabs, fuel prices and loan rates on this page match the engine powering the calculator above. All figures are indicative estimates — road tax, insurance and fuel prices change frequently. Verify with your dealer, RTO and insurer before deciding.