RTO Tax Calculator Himachal Pradesh 2026

Rates verified August 2026

Calculate road tax, registration charges, and on-road price for vehicles in Himachal Pradesh. Updated for 2026.

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Himachal Pradesh RTO Road Tax Rates 2026

Vehicle Type	Tax Rate	Registration Fee	HSRP Charge
Car / SUV — Petrol, Diesel or CNG (up to ₹15 lakh)	6% (one-time, 15 years)	₹600	₹400–₹1,100
Car / SUV — Petrol, Diesel or CNG (above ₹15 lakh)	7% (one-time, 15 years)	₹600	₹400–₹1,100
Two-Wheeler (up to ₹1 lakh)	6% (one-time, 15 years)	₹300	₹200–₹600
Two-Wheeler (above ₹1 lakh)	7% (one-time, 15 years)	₹300	₹200–₹600
Electric Vehicle (EV)	0% (exempt under EV Policy 2022)	₹600	₹400–₹1,100
Commercial Vehicle (goods)	Annual: ₹1,500–₹2,500 by class	₹1,000	₹400–₹1,100
Vehicle re-registered from another state	8% (up to ₹15 lakh) / 9% (above)	₹600	₹400–₹1,100

Private-vehicle road tax is a one-time tax covering 15 years from registration, charged on the ex-showroom / invoice price. Rates are fixed by state notifications under the HP Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1972; HSRP prices vary by vehicle class and fitment location (book at bookmyhsrp.com). Verify the system-computed amount on vahan.parivahan.gov.in before payment.

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How HP Road Tax Works — Rates and Slabs

Road tax in Himachal Pradesh is levied under the Himachal Pradesh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1972. Unlike most states that charge a lifetime tax, HP charges private (non-transport) vehicles a one-time tax at registration that covers the first 15 years of the vehicle's life (Section 3(2) of the Act). It is calculated as a percentage of the vehicle's ex-showroom / invoice price, with simple price-based slabs rather than fuel-based rates:

Cars / SUVs (private): 6% one-time tax up to ₹15 lakh ex-showroom, 7% above ₹15 lakh. The same slabs apply to petrol, diesel and CNG cars.
Two-wheelers: 6% up to ₹1 lakh, 7% above ₹1 lakh.
Electric vehicles: fully exempt (0%) under the Himachal Pradesh Electric Vehicle Policy 2022.
Vehicles re-registered in HP from another state: higher slabs of 8% (up to ₹15 lakh) and 9% (above ₹15 lakh) apply.
Commercial / transport vehicles: taxed annually by class, seat or weight — never as a one-time percentage.

Because the slabs are set by state notification, the exact payable is computed automatically by the VAHAN registration system. HP's private-vehicle rates are among the lowest in India — most other states charge between 10% and 15% — which makes HP one of the cheapest states in the country to register a new car.

Worked examples (ex-showroom price × rate):

₹10 lakh petrol car → 6% = ₹60,000 road tax (plus ₹600 registration fee and roughly ₹400–₹1,100 for HSRP)
₹12 lakh diesel hatchback → 6% = ₹72,000
₹20 lakh SUV (petrol or diesel) → 7% = ₹1,40,000
₹90,000 two-wheeler → 6% = ₹5,400 (plus ₹300 registration fee)
₹30 lakh electric car → ₹0 road tax under the EV exemption

HP RTO Offices and Registration Codes

Himachal Pradesh allocates registration codes by office location rather than by district, so a single district can carry several codes — Shimla alone uses HP-01, HP-02, HP-03, HP-50, HP-51, HP-52, HP-62 and HP-63, and Dharamshala uses HP-04, HP-39 and HP-68. Busy offices get fresh second-series codes (HP-62 to HP-99) when their number series run out. Key codes used across the state:

HP-01, HP-02, HP-03, HP-63 — Shimla (urban); HP-51, HP-52 — Shimla (rural)
HP-04, HP-39 — Dharamshala; HP-40 — Kangra
HP-05, HP-33 — Mandi
HP-14 — Solan; HP-15 — Parwanoo; HP-12 — Nalagarh; HP-93 — Baddi (Baddi-Nalagarh industrial belt)
HP-34 — Kullu; HP-58 — Manali; HP-49 — Banjar
HP-22 — Hamirpur; HP-24 — Bilaspur
HP-18 — Nahan; HP-17 — Paonta Sahib (Sirmaur)
HP-20 — Una; HP-48 — Chamba; HP-47 — Dalhousie
HP-25 — Kalpa (Kinnaur); HP-42 — Keylong (Lahaul); HP-41 — Kaza (Spiti)
HP-06 — Rampur Bushahr; HP-08 — Chaupal; HP-09 — Theog; HP-10 — Rohru; HP-11 — Arki; HP-13 — Kandaghat; HP-37 — Palampur

A registration number follows the standard format, e.g. HP-93-AB-1234 — state code, office code, series letter and running number. You can check which office a number belongs to on the official registration-code list published by the HP Transport Department, or search any registration number on the VAHAN portal.

Vehicle Registration Process in HP — Step by Step

The procedure below follows the official process published by the Transport Department, Government of Himachal Pradesh, and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (CMVR):

Buy from the dealer and take the temporary registration. The dealer issues the sale certificate (Form 21), the roadworthiness certificate (Form 22; Form 22A for body-built vehicles such as buses and goods carriers) and a temporary registration or trade certificate that lets you drive for up to one month while the permanent registration is processed.
Fill Form 20 (application for registration of a motor vehicle). If the vehicle is financed, the financier (bank/NBFC) also signs the form for hypothecation.
Assemble your documents: Form 20, Form 21, Form 22 (and 22A where applicable), a valid insurance certificate, proof of address as listed under rule 4 of the CMVR (Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, utility bill etc.), identity proof, PAN or Form 60/61, and the temporary registration certificate.
Pay the fees and road tax at the RTO counter, a treasury, or online. For private vehicles this is the one-time 6% / 7% tax; for transport vehicles, the applicable annual tax plus permit proceedings.
Submit everything to the Registering Authority of your area (the office matching your address), along with the vehicle for physical inspection.
Receive the registration number. Once verified, a number in the HP-XX series is allotted, and the smart-card Registration Certificate (RC) is issued to your registered address.

Employees of private-sector companies and government offices can instead opt for the BH-series (Bharat) registration mark, which allows a vehicle to be registered once and used in any state without re-registration when the owner transfers cities. BH-series applicants submit Form 60 (working certificate) or an official identity card, respectively.

Documents required at a glance: Form 20, Form 21, Form 22 / 22A, valid insurance, address proof (CMVR rule 4), identity proof, PAN / Form 60 / Form 61, temporary registration certificate, and the tax and fee payment challans.

Paying HP Road Tax Online

Road tax and related transport services in Himachal Pradesh can be handled entirely online through three official systems:

VAHAN 4.0 (Citizen Services) — vahan.parivahan.gov.in: the national portal through which HP offers 17 vehicle services, including new vehicle registration applications, tax payment, duplicate RC, change of address and NOC.
e-District Himachal (Him Seva) — himseva.hp.gov.in: the state citizen-services portal. Under the Transport department it lists "Pay Your Tax", "Application for Motor Vehicle Registration", "Apply for Transfer of Ownership" (buyer and seller), "Change of Address", "Renewal of Registration", "Application for NOC", "Duplicate RC", and "Register and Pay SRT (Special Road Tax) Online".
HP Transport e-Parivahan Vyavastha — online.himachaltransport.hp.gov.in: the department's own portal for transport permits — contract carriage permit applications, stage carriage permit renewal, special permits (Section 88(8) of the Motor Vehicles Act), permit transfer, vehicle replacement and duplicate permits.

Offline, tax can still be paid at RTO counters or government treasuries. Pay on time: late payment of road tax attracts a penalty of 25% per annum on the tax due, and stage-carriage operators who skip the composite/SRT fee face a penalty of five times the fee under the HP Motor Vehicle Rules.

EV Road Tax Exemption in HP

Himachal Pradesh notified the Himachal Pradesh Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 in January 2022, in force for five years (until early 2027). Under the policy:

Battery electric vehicles get 100% exemption from road (token) tax for the policy period — both two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
EVs are exempt from state highway toll taxes, and commercial EVs get a waiver of annual commercial permit fees.
The policy targets battery EVs reaching 15% of new vehicle registrations.
Shimla, Mandi, Baddi and Dharamshala are notified model EV cities, with charging targets of at least one public charging point per 1 km × 1 km grid, one point every 25 km on state highways and every 50 km on national highways.

The official state EV mission portal is edrivehimachal.in (Department of Transport, GoHP), which publishes the policy documents, roadmaps and charging-infrastructure updates. Because exemptions are tied to the active policy notification, confirm the current status at your RTO before buying an EV.

Commercial Vehicles: Annual Tax in HP

Transport (commercial) vehicles in Himachal Pradesh pay annual tax under Schedule I of the HP Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1972, not a one-time percentage. Current annual rates:

Goods carriages: light motor vehicles ₹1,500, medium ₹2,000, heavy ₹2,500 per year (₹1,650 / ₹2,200 / ₹2,750 after 15 years)
Motor cabs (taxis): ₹350 per seat per year, subject to a maximum of ₹10,000
Maxi cabs: ₹750 per seat per year, maximum ₹15,000
Auto rickshaws: ₹200 per seat per year, maximum ₹5,000
Buses for contract carriages: ₹1,000 per seat per year, maximum ₹52,000
Stage-carriage buses (ordinary/deluxe/AC): ₹500 per seat per year, maximum ₹35,000; minibuses maximum ₹25,000
Private service vehicles and institutional buses: ₹500 per seat per year
Ambulances and hearses: ₹1,500 per year

Stage carriages also pay Special Road Tax (SRT) in paise per seat per kilometre (with separate rates for hilly and plain roads), last revised by notification TPT-A(3)-7/2019-II issued on 1 November 2023. The state enforces these taxes strictly — a 2025 enforcement drive by the Transport Department targeted vehicles from other states plying on contract carriage permits without paying SRT.

Tourist Vehicles and Taxis in HP

As a hill state with heavy tourism, Himachal has its own rules for tourist and hire vehicles:

Tourist permits: a tourist vehicle (including motor cabs) requires a tourist permit applied for in Form 45 to the State Transport Authority under the CMVR. Contract carriages need a valid permit under Section 66(1) read with Section 74 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
All-India Tourist Permit (AITP) vehicles: tourist vehicles from other states entering HP on AITP permits must pay a composite fee under the Himachal Pradesh Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Rules, 2019. Central AITP fees (2023 rules) are ₹20,000 per year for up to 5 seats, ₹30,000 for 5–10 seats, ₹80,000 for 10–20 seats and ₹3 lakh for 20+ seats.
AITP vehicle life extended to 15 years (July 2026): the state notified an SOP extending the operational life of AITP taxis from 12 to 15 years, with eligibility subject to valid fitness, RC, insurance, PUC and tax clearance — a major relief for taxi operators.
Rohtang Pass e-permit: all vehicles entering Rohtang Pass must hold a daily permit from rohtangpermits.hp.gov.in (managed by the Kullu district administration under NGT directions). Daily quota: 800 petrol + 400 diesel vehicles; the vehicle must be less than 10 years old with a valid PUC; permits are valid one day (to and fro), can be applied for only 2 days in advance, and a maximum of 3 permits per vehicle per week is allowed. Congestion charges apply for crossing the Gulaba bridge.
State entry tolls: vehicles entering HP pay entry fees at 55 toll barriers under the HP Entry Tax Rules, 2012 — from 1 April 2025 the private-vehicle fee is ₹70, 6–12 seater vehicles ₹110, and over-12-seater vehicles ₹180.

Bringing a Vehicle into HP, Used Vehicles and Refunds

Vehicles from other states: a vehicle registered elsewhere that is re-registered in HP pays the higher slabs of 8% (up to ₹15 lakh) or 9% (above ₹15 lakh). For a second-hand vehicle registered in HP for the first time, Section 3(3) of the Act instead taxes the depreciated value — 8% depreciation per year from the original price, subject to floor values (₹50,000 for vehicles originally priced up to ₹2.5 lakh; ₹1 lakh up to ₹5.5 lakh; ₹2 lakh up to ₹10 lakh; ₹4 lakh above ₹10 lakh; ₹5,000 for two-wheelers).

Refunds when leaving HP: if a private vehicle is re-registered in another state, HP refunds a portion of the one-time tax under Schedule II of the Act: 60% if the vehicle is less than 3 years old, 40% (3–6 years), 20% (6–9 years) and 10% (9 years or more). Apply for the NOC and refund through the e-District portal or your RTO.

HSRP: high-security registration plates are mandatory for all vehicles in HP. Book online at bookmyhsrp.com; prices vary by vehicle class and fitment location — roughly ₹200–₹600 for two-wheelers and ₹400–₹1,100+ for cars. Older vehicles had a compliance deadline of 1 November 2024.

Sources

HP Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1972 (Section 3, Schedule I & II) — indiankanoon.org
Transport Department, Government of Himachal Pradesh — registration procedure & office lists: himachal.nic.in
HP Transport e-Parivahan Vyavastha (permits): online.himachaltransport.hp.gov.in
e-District Himachal (Him Seva) transport services: himseva.hp.gov.in
VAHAN 4.0 Citizen Services (tax payment, registrations): vahan.parivahan.gov.in
HP Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 / EV Mission: edrivehimachal.in
Rohtang Pass Permit MIS (daily quota, vehicle rules): rohtangpermits.hp.gov.in
BOOK-MY-HSRP portal: bookmyhsrp.com
RTO codes by office: Wikipedia — List of RTO districts
Road tax slabs 2025–26: Cars24, Spinny, Bajaj General Insurance
AITP vehicle life extension (July 2026): The News Himachal
Entry toll fees 2025-26: The Indian Express

Rates and notifications change periodically — always confirm the final amount on the VAHAN portal or with your RTO before paying.

FAQs

Himachal Pradesh uses the HP prefix with codes assigned by RTO office rather than district — 90+ codes exist. Key codes: HP-01, HP-02, HP-03 (Shimla), HP-04, HP-39 (Dharamshala, Kangra), HP-05, HP-33 (Mandi), HP-14 (Solan), HP-93 (Baddi), HP-34 (Kullu), HP-58 (Manali), HP-22 (Hamirpur), HP-24 (Bilaspur), HP-18 (Nahan, Sirmaur), HP-20 (Una), HP-48 (Chamba), HP-25 (Kalpa, Kinnaur), HP-42 (Keylong, Lahaul-Spiti).

A ₹10 lakh car in Himachal Pradesh pays 6% one-time road tax = ₹60,000, whether petrol, diesel or CNG (slabs: 6% up to ₹15 lakh, 7% above ₹15 lakh). Registration fee ₹600 and HSRP (roughly ₹400–₹1,100) are additional.

Yes. Under the Himachal Pradesh Electric Vehicle Policy 2022 (in force for five years from January 2022, i.e. until early 2027), battery electric vehicles get 100% exemption from road (token) tax and state highway tolls, and commercial EVs get annual permit fee waivers. Confirm the current notification at your RTO before purchase.

Yes, if they can produce a valid proof of address in HP as listed under rule 4 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 — this can be property ownership or rental documents. HP's one-time rates (6%–7%) are among the lowest in India, which is why many people with property or holiday homes in the state register vehicles there.

Tourist vehicles need a tourist permit (Form 45 to the State Transport Authority). Vehicles on All India Tourist Permits (AITP) entering HP pay a composite fee under the HP Motor Vehicle Rules, and in July 2026 HP extended AITP vehicle life from 12 to 15 years. Vehicles entering Rohtang Pass need a daily e-permit from rohtangpermits.hp.gov.in (daily quota 800 petrol + 400 diesel; vehicle must be under 10 years old with valid PUC).

Yes, HSRP is mandatory for all vehicles in Himachal Pradesh. Book online at bookmyhsrp.com; prices vary by class and fitment location — roughly ₹200–₹600 for two-wheelers and ₹400–₹1,100+ for cars. Older vehicles had a compliance deadline of 1 November 2024.

Vehicles brought into HP from another state attract 8% (up to ₹15 lakh) or 9% (above ₹15 lakh). For second-hand vehicles registered in HP for the first time, Section 3(3) of the HP Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1972 taxes the depreciated value (8% depreciation per year, subject to notified floor prices).

Yes. If a private vehicle is re-registered outside HP, the state refunds part of the one-time tax under Schedule II of the HP Motor Vehicles Taxation Act: 60% if under 3 years old, 40% (3–6 years), 20% (6–9 years) and 10% (9 years or more). Apply for the NOC and refund through the e-District portal or your RTO.

Commercial vehicles in HP pay annual tax, not a one-time percentage: goods vehicles ₹1,500–₹2,500 per year by class, motor cabs ₹350 per seat (max ₹10,000), maxi cabs ₹750 per seat (max ₹15,000), auto rickshaws ₹200 per seat (max ₹5,000), and buses ₹500 per seat (max ₹35,000). Stage carriages also pay Special Road Tax (SRT) per seat-km.

Late payment of HP road tax attracts a penalty of 25% per annum on the tax due. Under the HP Motor Vehicle Rules, stage-carriage operators who skip the composite/SRT fee for AITP vehicles face a penalty of five times the fee.