Virginia Used Car Sales Tax: 4.15% SUT, $75 Minimum, No Trade-In Credit

Virginia's tax on a used car is the Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax (SUT): 4.15% of the gross sales price or $75, whichever is more, paid when the car is titled. As of Oct 19, 2026, Virginia does not subtract your trade-in, so a $20,000 car with a $6,000 trade is still taxed on $20,000. Gifts to a spouse, child or parent are exempt, and most people moving in with a car they've owned over a year pay nothing.

That no-trade-in rule is the part that surprises people, especially anyone coming from North Carolina, where a dealer trade-in does lower the tax. I read the Virginia DMV's Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax page and the two code sections behind it on Monday, October 19, 2026. Below is what they say, with the math done out.

How the 4.15% is figured

Va. Code 58.1-2402 sets the rate at 4.15% beginning July 1, 2016, after a few years of small steps up from 3%, and sets a $75 minimum for any vehicle taxed above zero percent. The DMV defines gross sales price as the cost of the vehicle after rebates or incentives. It includes the dealer processing fee and doesn't subtract trade-in credit, unpaid liens or other credits.

The DMV's own example: buy a $40,000 car, trade in a $5,000 car, and the gross sales price is still $40,000, so the SUT is $1,660. On a cheap private sale, the minimum kicks in. A $1,200 beater would be $49.80 at 4.15%, but you'll pay $75.

Buying from a dealer, the dealer works the number out for you. Just check that the processing fee is in the base and the trade isn't subtracted, and if the tax on the buyer's order looks low, ask how they got it before you sign.

Private sales: the price on the title, and when DMV wants more

In a sale between individuals, the DMV says the price the seller writes on the title counts as the bill of sale. Two exceptions depend on the car's age, judged by model year:

• More than 5 years old: if the seller left the price blank or wrote it wrong, you can bring the Vehicle Price Certification (SUT 1) or a handwritten bill of sale signed by both of you, with the price, year, make, model, VIN and date of sale.
• Less than 5 years old: if the price isn't within $1,500 of the NADA trade-in value, you need an Affidavit for Procurement of Title (SUT-1A).

So a friendly $500 sale on a three-year-old car is going to get questions. If the car really is worth less, because of hail, a bad transmission or a past wreck, keep the repair estimates and photos. Our Virginia title transfer guide walks through the rest of the private-sale paperwork.

Who doesn't pay

Va. Code 58.1-2403 lists 30 exemptions. The ones ordinary buyers run into:

• Family gifts: a gift to the transferor's spouse, son, daughter or parent. Brothers, sisters and grandchildren aren't on that list. And except for a spouse, if you take over an unpaid loan on the car, that part is taxed.
• Death of an owner: a car titled to someone who died and transferred to the spouse or an heir, or under the will.
• New residents: a car being registered in Virginia for the first time, if you hold a title or registration from another state or the military and have owned it more than 12 months, or for less than 12 months with proof you paid sales tax elsewhere. Without that proof, you pay Virginia's tax on the car's fair market value.
• Quick returns: a car returned to the seller under the Virginia lemon law, or returned within 45 days for a mechanical defect with a refund.

The DMV also notes an exemption for certain disabled veterans rated 100% service-connected, permanent and total by the VA, for a car owned and used mainly by or for that veteran. Most exemptions need the Purchaser's Statement of Tax Exemption.

What the tax won't tell you about the car

The DMV taxes a price, not a history. A car with a flood past or a rolled-back odometer gets the same 4.15%. Before you pay, check the VIN on NMVTIS for brands, decode it on NHTSA vPIC to make sure it matches the title, and read our Virginia salvage and rebuilt title rules if anything is off. If the car might be a buyback, our Virginia used car lemon law post explains what to look for.

Virginia's neighbor to the south handles this differently: our North Carolina post covers its 3% Highway Use Tax, and the used car sales tax explainer compares more states.

We're a licensed CARFAX and AutoCheck reseller and have no affiliation with CARFAX, AutoCheck or Experian. Around mid October 2026 we charged about $5.50 for a guest report, about $4.50 for members and about $6.75 for the two-report bundle, while retail ran roughly $39.99 to $44.99. Go by the price checkout shows you, since it can change.

Sources

• Virginia DMV: Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax (read Oct. 19, 2026)
• Va. Code 58.1-2402 (levy); Va. Code 58.1-2403 (exemptions)
• NMVTIS; NHTSA vPIC