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Gift a Car

Gifting a Car: Taxes & Fees by state

Every state has a cheap path for keeping a car in the family - and a expensive trap for doing it wrong. Do it right (the state's gift affidavit, the qualifying-relative list) and the tax is $0 to $25. Do it wrong ('I'll just sell it to my son for $1') and several states tax the transfer on book value as if it were a market sale.

51 jurisdictionssources linked

Pick your state

Where are you registering?

Every figure is checked against that state's own DMV, tax office or comptroller - and the source is linked on the page.

Side by side

What it costs to gift a car to family in every state

A documented gift to an immediate family member, using the state's own exemption form: the title fee, any flat gift tax, and - in the states that bill it at the same visit - the recipient's first registration.

New Mexico comes in lowest at $5.00 and Nevada highest at $537.25, a spread of $532.25. The median jurisdiction pays $35.00.

Cheapest first

Gift to immediate family, all in

51
  1. 1New MexicoTitle application fee$5.00
  2. 2North DakotaCertificate of title$5.00
  3. 3UtahTitle transfer fee$6.00
  4. 4KentuckyTitle application fee$9.00
  5. 5MississippiTitle application fee$9.00
  6. 6KansasTitle fee$10.00
  7. 7NebraskaTitle fee$10.00
  8. 8South DakotaTitle fee + Technology fee$12.00
  9. 9TennesseeTitle fee$14.00
  10. 10MissouriTitle fee + Title processing fee$14.50
  11. 11AlabamaTitle application fee$15.00
  12. 12AlaskaTitle transfer fee$15.00
  13. 13CaliforniaTitle transfer fee$15.00
  14. 14IndianaTitle application fee$15.00
  15. 15MichiganTitle fee$15.00
  16. 16South CarolinaTitle fee$15.00
  17. 17VirginiaTitle fee$15.00
  18. 18West VirginiaTitle fee$15.00
  19. 19WyomingCertificate of title$15.00
  20. 20OhioCertificate of title$18.00
  21. 21IdahoTitle fee$20.00
  22. 22ConnecticutTitle fee$25.00
  23. 23OklahomaTitle fee + Ownership transfer fee$28.00
  24. 24Washington D.C.Title fee$30.00
  25. 25ArkansasTitle application fee + Registration$35.00
  26. 26DelawareTitle fee$35.00
  1. 27MinnesotaTitle fee + Transfer tax + Public Safety Vehicle fee + Technology surcharge + Filing fee$36.00
  2. 28TexasGift tax (Form 14-317) + Title application fee$38.00
  3. 29WashingtonTitle application fee + Office service fee (title) + Filing fee$39.50
  4. 30IowaFee for new registration (5% of $0 gift) + Title transfer fee$45.00
  5. 31Rhode IslandTitle fee$53.50
  6. 32New JerseyTitle fee$60.00
  7. 33North CarolinaCertificate of title$66.75
  8. 34PennsylvaniaCertificate of title$72.00
  9. 35New YorkTitle certificate fee + Plate fee (recipient)$75.00
  10. 36FloridaTitle fee$75.25
  11. 37LouisianaCertificate of title + Handling fee$76.50
  12. 38GeorgiaTAVT (immediate family, 0.5%) + Title application fee$93.00
  13. 39OregonTitle fee (20–39 combined MPG)$106.00
  14. 40VermontCertificate of title + Registration (1 year)$133.00
  15. 41MassachusettsCertificate of title + Registration (2 years)$135.00
  16. 42MaineExcise tax (year 4, on original MSRP) + Title application fee + Registration$168.00
  17. 43IllinoisFamily-transfer tax (flat) + Title fee$180.00
  18. 44MarylandTitle fee$200.00
  19. 45WisconsinTitle application fee$214.50
  20. 46MontanaTitle fee (gift - same as any transfer) + Registration (0-4 years old) + County option tax$298.36
  21. 47ArizonaTitle fee + Vehicle License Tax (year 1) + Registration fee + Air quality research fee$349.50
  22. 48HawaiiOwnership transfer fee + State registration fee + State highway beautification fee + State emblem fee + State weight tax (4,000 lbs) + County registration fee + County emblem fee + Honolulu (Oʻahu) weight tax$434.00
  23. 49New HampshireTitle application fee + Municipal permit fee (18 mills × MSRP) + State registration fee + Municipal agent fee + New plates$486.00
  24. 50ColoradoSpecific Ownership Tax (Year 1) + Title application fee$507.00
  25. 51NevadaTitle fee + Base registration + Governmental Services Tax (4% of depreciated DMV valuation) + Supplemental Governmental Services Tax (1%, Clark County)$537.25

Lowest to highest

$532.25

Held fixed: Immediate-family gift with the state's exemption paperwork filed and no money changing hands, at each state's default vehicle and county. States whose calculator registers the car at the same visit include that registration. Figures verified July 2026; open a state for the itemised receipt and the official sources behind it.

The basics

Gift a Car basics

The qualifying-family list differs by state, and so does whether non-family gifts count: California exempts any genuine gift; Texas restricts the $10 rate to immediate family. State pages below give the exact rules, forms, and a calculator for both scenarios.

Why a genuine gift beats a nominal sale

A gift and a sale are taxed under different rules, and the gift rules are almost always cheaper. Recording a nominal price instead converts the transfer into a sale, and in any state with a book-value floor the tax is then assessed on that floor rather than on the amount written down - which is exactly the outcome the nominal price was meant to avoid.

The paperwork difference is small: a gift affidavit or a gift box ticked on the transfer form, sometimes notarised. The financial difference is often several hundred dollars.

Family is defined more narrowly than you would expect

States publish a list of qualifying relationships, and it is a list rather than a principle. Spouses, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren and siblings are the common core. Step-relations, in-laws, domestic partners, aunts, uncles and cousins fall inside it in some states and outside it in others.

Where a relationship does not qualify, the transfer is treated as an ordinary sale - so it is worth checking the specific list before agreeing terms, rather than assuming that 'family' means what it means in conversation.

Inheritance and divorce follow their own path

A vehicle passing from an estate is usually not a gift in the tax sense but a transfer on death, with its own form and often no tax at all. Small-estate affidavits let many families avoid probate entirely for a single vehicle, provided the estate falls under the state threshold.

Transfers ordered in a divorce are similarly treated as a separate category in most states, with the decree standing in for the usual consideration. Both routes are cheaper than either a gift or a sale, and both are easy to miss if you start from the standard transfer form.

Common questions

Gift a Car, answered

Is gifting better than selling for $1?
Almost always. States with book-value floors (Texas taxes 80% of SPV on non-gift transfers) treat the $1 sale as a taxable sale at the floor value. The official gift route with the affidavit is the cheap, audit-proof path.
Who counts as 'family' for a tax-free gift?
The common core: spouse, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings. States diverge on step-relations, domestic partners, and in-laws - and gifts to friends are fully exempt in some states (California) and fully taxable in others (Texas).
Does the recipient owe income tax on a gifted car?
No - gifts aren't income. The giver could theoretically owe federal gift tax, but the annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient, 2026) covers almost every car; above that it's just an IRS Form 709 filing against the lifetime exemption.
Can I gift a car that still has a loan on it?
Not until the lien is cleared. The lender holds an interest in the vehicle and the title cannot transfer while it is recorded, so the loan has to be paid off and the release filed first. Handing over a financed car informally leaves the debt with the giver and no ownership with the recipient.
Does the recipient still pay registration and title fees?
Yes. A gift exemption removes the sales or use tax, not the administrative charges - the recipient still applies for a title, pays the title fee, and registers the vehicle in their own name at the normal rate. The saving is on the tax, which is usually much the larger figure.
Can I gift a car to someone in another state?
Yes, but the recipient's state rules apply, not yours. They will title and register it where they live, and their state decides whether the relationship qualifies for a gift exemption. A transfer that is tax-free in the giver's state can be fully taxable in the recipient's.
Which state has the highest cost to gift a car?
Nevada, at $537.25 for a family gift - Title fee + Base registration + Governmental Services Tax (4% of depreciated DMV valuation) + Supplemental Governmental Services Tax (1%, Clark County). Colorado ($507.00) and New Hampshire ($486.00) are next. Every figure is that state's own calculator at its default county and vehicle settings, computed when the site is built; the table on this page ranks all 51 jurisdictions.
Which state has the cheapest cost to gift a car?
New Mexico, at $5.00 for a family gift - Title application fee. North Dakota ($5.00) and Utah ($6.00) follow. Every figure is that state's own calculator at its default county and vehicle settings, computed when the site is built; the table on this page ranks all 51 jurisdictions.

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