The advertised price of a car is rarely what leaves your bank account. Stamp duty, a transfer fee, registration and compulsory third party insurance sit on top, and what they add up to depends on which state or territory you register the car in.
This page answers the on-road cost questions buyers ask most: who pays stamp duty and what it's calculated on, what a "drive away" price actually covers, where luxury car tax fits in, what's left of the electric-vehicle concessions, and how a private sale compares with buying through a dealer.
Don't let anyone talk you into writing a lower figure on the transfer paperwork. Duty is charged on the higher of what you paid or the vehicle's market value, revenue offices compare declared values against industry valuation guides, and a value that looks too low can be reassessed after the fact. Understating a sale price on a transfer form is a false declaration — and it's the buyer who signs it.
FAQs
What is stamp duty on a car and who pays it?
It's a state and territory tax charged when a vehicle changes hands, and the buyer pays it, not the seller. You'll see it called motor vehicle duty, vehicle registration duty or transfer duty depending on where you are, but it's the same charge. It falls due when you transfer the registration into your name, and it's collected by your state or territory revenue office or transport department. There's no federal equivalent, which is why two people buying identical cars in different states can pay quite different amounts.
How is car stamp duty calculated?
Duty is worked out on the car's dutiable value, which is generally the higher of the price you paid or its market value at the time of transfer. From there the method differs by jurisdiction: some charge a rate per $100 of value, some use bands that step up as the price rises, Queensland factors in engine cylinders and whether the car is electric or hybrid, and the ACT charges on measured CO₂ emissions. Rates, bands and thresholds are reviewed regularly, so we've deliberately not printed them here — check your own state or territory revenue office's calculator on the day you buy.
Do I still pay stamp duty if I buy privately rather than from a dealer?
Yes. Duty follows the transfer of registration, not the type of seller, so a private sale attracts it just as a dealer sale does. What changes is who hands the money over: a dealer normally collects duty as part of the drive-away price and lodges it for you, while in a private sale you pay it yourself when you lodge the transfer. It's usually much larger than the transfer fee, so work it into your budget before you agree on a price rather than after.
What does a "drive away" price include?
It's meant to be the total cost of getting the car registered and legally on the road in your name, rather than the price of the car alone. On a dealer sale that typically covers the vehicle, stamp duty, twelve months' registration, CTP where it's bundled into registration, and a dealer delivery charge. Ask for it broken down in writing, because what sits inside the figure can differ between dealers and between states. Private sellers don't quote drive-away prices — the advertised figure is the car, and the on-road costs are yours to add on top.
What's the difference between the transfer fee and stamp duty?
They're two separate charges, paid at the same time, to the same place. The transfer fee is a flat administrative charge for changing the name on the registration record — a modest amount that varies by state. Stamp duty is the tax on the value of the car, and it's normally by far the larger of the two. How to transfer car registration lists the current transfer fee for each state alongside the duty basis it uses.
Do I have to pay for registration and CTP as well?
Registration is an annual road-use charge set by your state or territory, and compulsory third party insurance — cover for injury you cause to other people — has to be in place before a car can be registered. How they're billed differs: in Victoria the premium appears as the TAC charge on your registration notice, in New South Wales you buy a green slip from a licensed insurer before you can register at all, and in places like Queensland and South Australia you nominate an insurer and the premium is collected with registration. Unexpired registration generally travels with the car, so check how many months are left before you settle on a price. Standard plates come with the vehicle, while a personalised or custom combination is its own purchase with rules and prices that differ by state. Comprehensive insurance is separate and optional — running costs covers the ongoing side of ownership.
What is luxury car tax and will I have to pay it?
It's a federal tax administered by the ATO, charged at 33% on the portion of a car's value above a threshold. As at mid-2026 there are two thresholds — a higher one for fuel-efficient cars and a lower one for everything else — and both are reviewed each financial year, so the current figures live on the ATO's page rather than here. A third and more generous category for zero-emission vehicles was agreed under the Australia–EU trade deal and is due to start from 1 July 2027, subject to the passage of legislation, so it's worth checking the date if you're buying an expensive EV. In practice the tax behaves as a business tax: it's payable by the business selling the car, or by whoever imports one, and generally on a vehicle two years old or less, so an ordinary used private sale doesn't attract it. It can still matter second-hand, because whether LCT was ever payable on an electric car affects its FBT treatment — our luxury car tax guide explains why a used EV that was expensive when new can stay disqualified.
Are there still stamp duty discounts for electric cars?
Most of the up-front purchase rebates introduced in the early 2020s have now closed, the last of them during 2025. What survives in some places is a concession on duty or registration rather than cash back, and it differs sharply by jurisdiction — as at mid-2026 the Northern Territory and Queensland still treat low-emission vehicles more favourably, though the Northern Territory concession carries an end date, while New South Wales removed its EV stamp duty exemption at the start of 2024. Some government pages in this area are out of date, so confirm against the page stating the current rate rather than a general exemptions page. Our EV concessions guide tracks what ended when, and whether each scheme covers used cars and plug-in hybrids.
What does buying privately cost compared with buying from a dealer?
The tax and registration side is the same: duty and a transfer fee are payable either way. What differs is the rest of the bill and the protections around it. A licensed dealer's price includes GST and usually a delivery charge, and dealer sales carry consumer protections that vary by state, such as a statutory used-car warranty or a cooling-off period. A private seller isn't charging you GST and there's no delivery fee, which is part of why private asking prices often sit below dealer prices, but the due diligence is yours — a PPSR search for money owing or a written-off record costs a couple of dollars as at mid-2026 and is worth doing before any money changes hands.
What happens if I don't transfer the registration in time?
Each state and territory gives the buyer a limited window to lodge the transfer, and lodging late attracts a penalty on top of the duty and the transfer fee. Both the deadline and the size of the penalty vary by state, and in some places the late fee is steep enough to be worth checking before you buy. Lodging is the buyer's responsibility, but in some states you can't complete the transfer online until the seller has lodged their notice of disposal, which is a common reason a transfer stalls. How to transfer car registration sets out the order of operations for each state.
Where to next
- How to transfer car registration in Australia — who lodges what, in what order, state by state
- EV stamp duty and registration concessions by state — what closed, what's left, and what covers used cars
- Luxury car tax and electric cars — the thresholds, the two-year rule, and the used-EV trap
- Car running costs — what ownership costs after the on-road costs are paid
- Australian number plates: rules, state prices and record sales — standard, personalised and custom plates