Official fees
Vermont gift a car fee chart
Purchase & Use Tax (qualifying family gift)
$0.00
Certificate of title
$42.00
Registration (if transferring plates)
$91.00/yr
or $167 for 2 years
Non-qualifying 'gift'
6% of price or book value
friends, cousins, unmarried partners
Figures verified July 2026 against official sources (listed below). Always confirm the final amount with the Vermont DMV - counties can add small local fees.
Official Vermont forms you'll need
- VT-014Certification of Tax Exemption
VT-014 replaced the gift-specific VT-013 (Gift Tax Exemption) in July 2022; it is the form Vermont DMV requires to claim the gift/inheritance exemption under 32 V.S.A.
- VD-119Vermont Registration, Tax & Title Application
still required - a gifted vehicle transfers title the same way as a sale
Get the current version of each form from the Vermont DMV before you file - agencies revise forms, and offices reject outdated ones.
Step by step
How to gift a car in Vermont
- 1
Confirm the relationship qualifies: spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild.
- 2
Giver signs the title over to the recipient, with no price or a clear 'gift' notation.
- 3
Recipient completes Form VT-014 (Certification of Tax Exemption) and the standard VD-119 application.
- 4
Bring the signed title, VT-014, VD-119, and ID to a Vermont DMV office.
- 5
Pay only the $42 title fee (plus registration if new plates are needed) - no Purchase & Use Tax is due.
- Gift tax
- $0
- Title fee
- $42
- Required form
- VT-014
- Eligible
- Immediate family only
- Friends/cousins
- Taxed like a sale
Overview
The paperwork matters. The recipient files the Certification of Tax Exemption (Form VT-014) along with the standard Registration, Tax & Title Application (VD-119), and no money, property, or assumed loan can change hands - the DMV specifically denies the exemption if a lienholder is listed on the transfer. You'll still pay the standard $42 title fee and registration if you're putting new plates on it.
Same state, other costs
More Vermont vehicle costs
Common questions
Vermont gift a car FAQ
- Who counts as eligible family for a tax-free gift in Vermont?
- Spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild, under 32 V.S.A. § 8911(8) - including transfers to a trust for the benefit of one of those relatives, and transfers following the donor's death to a qualifying heir. Aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, and unmarried partners do not qualify.
- Does gifting a car to my sibling really cost nothing in Vermont?
- No Purchase & Use Tax, correct - but you still pay the standard $42 title fee, and registration if the recipient needs new plates or is renewing. The tax exemption only removes the 6% tax, not the DMV's other standard fees.
- Can I gift a car that still has a loan on it?
- Not as a tax-exempt gift - Vermont explicitly denies the gift exemption if a lienholder is listed on the application. Pay off the loan and get the lien released first, or the transfer will be taxed as a sale.
- What if I just sell the car to my kid for $1 instead of filing the gift paperwork?
- It doesn't help - Vermont taxes 6% of whichever is greater, your stated $1 price or the vehicle's J.D. Power book value, so a token sale gets fully taxed on book value. Filing Form VT-014 as an actual gift is the only route to $0 tax between qualifying relatives.
- Is Form VT-014 mandatory even between parent and child?
- Yes. Without it filed alongside the title application, the DMV has no record that the transfer was a gift and will assess standard Purchase & Use Tax on the transaction, even for an obviously eligible relationship.
- Do gifted vehicles still need a Vermont title?
- Yes, under the same rules as any other transfer - Act 165 requires a Vermont title on any ownership change regardless of the vehicle's age, gift or otherwise, unless it falls under the narrow grandfathered 15-year exemption.
Receipts
Official sources
Every number on this page comes from these documents - check them yourself.
