Car Trade-In Calculator

Trade-in equity is the dealer's offer for your current vehicle minus the loan payoff. When the offer is higher, equity is positive and can go toward the next purchase if the contract applies it that way. When the payoff is higher, equity is negative — a shortfall that may be rolled into the next loan if the deal is structured that way.

Trade-in equity = trade-in offer − loan payoff. Enter the offer you received and the lender's current payoff quote. The calculator then shows equity, the taxable amount after the trade (next vehicle price minus trade-in, never below zero), sales tax on that amount, and the difference versus tax on the full next-vehicle price.

A trade-in offer is the credit a dealer gives you — not a retail listing price. Condition, mileage, options, and local demand shape that offer before you open this page. This tool does not look up year, make, or model.

Positive equity example: a $14,000 trade-in offer and a $9,000 payoff is $5,000 of positive equity. Your offer is $5,000 higher than the payoff. Whether that amount becomes a down payment depends on the buyer's order — read the contract before you assume it.

Negative equity example: a $14,000 offer and a $16,000 payoff is −$2,000. You owe $2,000 more than the dealer's trade-in offer. If that shortfall is rolled into the next auto loan, the amount financed can increase. Use the Loan Calculator or the EMI Calculator to model a payment, and the Loan Comparison Calculator to compare two rates.

Trade-in value is the credit on a dealer deal. A private-sale price is what another person pays you. Private sales often net more because you keep the margin a dealer holds for reconditioning and resale, but they take longer and the lender usually must be paid before the title transfers. If you already have either figure, type it into Trade-in value and read the equity the same way.

This calculator needs an existing trade-in offer. It does not estimate market value from make, model, or mileage. Mileage and condition usually move a dealer's offer before you get a number to enter here.

For a separate year-by-year projection from a depreciation rate you choose, use the Vehicle Depreciation Calculator. That projection is an assumption you set — not a dealer quote and not a substitute for an actual trade-in offer.

Use the lender's payoff quote — the amount required to close the loan through a specific date — not an older principal balance. Equity moves one-for-one with that payoff: raise the payoff by $1,000 and equity falls by $1,000.

For a payment on the next car, use the Loan Calculator. If negative equity is one of several balances you are paying down, the Debt Payoff Calculator compares snowball and avalanche schedules.

Sample inputs (not a market price): trade-in $14,000, payoff $9,000, next vehicle $28,000, sales tax 6.5%. Equity = $5,000. Taxable amount = $14,000. Sales tax = $910. Tax on the full $28,000 with no trade = $1,820, so tax saved vs no trade = $910.

Change any field above and the live breakdown updates from your inputs. If your jurisdiction does not reduce sales tax by the trade-in amount, ignore the tax lines and use the Sales Tax Calculator on the full price. The equity line does not depend on the tax rate.