Do I own my vehicle? What percentage of it do I own?
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Whether or not you own your vehicle depends on whether you purchased it using a loan or leased it from a dealer or other agency.
Written by Attorney Andrea Wimmer.
Updated November 19, 2020
Whether you own a car you're still making payments on depends on whether you purchased it by taking out a loan or leased it.
If you purchased your vehicle you own 100% of the vehicle. This is true even if you are still paying on the loan. If you have a co-signer for the car loan, check if they're on the title with you. Not all co-signers are co-owners. If you have a co-owner, you may only have a 50% ownership interest in the vehicle, depending on state law. Learn more about the difference between co-signers and co-owners and where to list them on your forms here.
Equity in a car is calculated as follows:
| HOME | CAR | |
|---|---|---|
| Value | $100,000 | $12,000 |
| Loan Balance | $80,000 | $9,000 |
| Equity | $20,000 | $3,000 |
If you have a co-owner, divide the resulting equity by the number of co-owners to determine your share of the equity.
If you're leasing your car, you don't own it. Learn more about leases in bankruptcy here.
