BC used car tax in 2026: what you'll pay on a private or dealer sale (calculator)

Private sale or dealer: the rates

What you pay depends on who sells it, the purchase price, and whether it’s a “passenger vehicle” (cars, SUVs, vans, and trucks of ¾-ton or less).

Passenger vehicles, from Bulletin PST 308 (revised August 2026). The rate band is set by the purchase price before any trade-in.

A private sale never has GST, because the seller isn’t a GST registrant. That’s why private sales carry a higher PST rate: 12% versus 7% at a dealer for most vehicles.

The Black Book rule: why you might pay tax on more than you paid

On a private sale, PST is charged on the greater of the price you paid and the vehicle’s average wholesale value in the Canadian Black Book. ICBC looks the value up when you register the vehicle. Writing a lower price on the bill of sale doesn’t lower the tax, and the province audits transfers.

If you genuinely paid less (high kilometres, damage, mechanical problems), you can get a Motor Vehicle Appraisal Form (FIN 320) from a dealer or professional appraiser. If both the appraisal and your price are below the wholesale value, PST is charged on the greater of the appraisal and the price.

Worked examples

• Private sale, Black Book higher. You pay $21,000 for a 2019 CR-V whose wholesale value is $23,500. PST is 12% of $23,500 = $2,820.
• Same CR-V with an appraisal. A FIN 320 appraisal comes in at $21,500. PST is 12% of $21,500 = $2,580, saving $240 (less the appraisal cost).
• Private sale with a trade-in (the province’s own example). A $10,000 vehicle, with your BC-registered car traded in for $6,000. PST is 12% of $4,000 = $480.
• Dealer, ¾-ton truck with a trade-in (the province’s example). $60,000 truck, $25,000 trade-in. The rate is 10% because the price before the trade-in is $60,000; PST is 10% of $35,000 = $3,500, plus GST of 5% of $35,000 = $1,750.

Heavy trucks: the F-350 exception

Trucks heavier than ¾-ton, like the F-350, F-450 and Ram 3500, aren’t passenger vehicles for PST. They pay a flat 12% on a private sale and 7% from a dealer at any price, with none of the 10–20% luxury bands. On a $90,000 one-ton from a dealer, that’s 7% PST instead of 10%. (A ¾-ton F-250 is still a passenger vehicle.)

Trade-ins

• A trade-in lowers the taxable amount if you own it and tax was paid on it. A vehicle currently registered in BC is assumed to be tax-paid.
• At a dealer, the trade-in must be on the same sales agreement. A trade-in also lowers the GST, which is charged on the price minus the trade-in.
• The trade-in never changes the rate, only the amount it’s charged on.

That trade-in credit is the main tax reason to trade in rather than sell privately: on a $15,000 trade, it saves up to $1,800 of private-sale PST (or $1,050 PST plus $750 GST at a dealer).

Gifts from family

A vehicle given to you by a spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling (and some in-laws) is exempt if the giver paid tax on it. You both complete the Gift of a Vehicle form (FIN 319). Only one exempt gift of the same vehicle is allowed in 12 months, and a sale to family, even at a low price, is taxed normally.

Electric vehicles: the exemption is over

Used electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were exempt from PST until April 30, 2025. That exemption has ended, and some sites still say otherwise. A used EV bought privately now pays PST like any other vehicle. From a dealer, EVs keep a wider 7% band (up to $75,000 instead of $55,000) until February 22, 2027.

When and where you pay

On a private sale, ICBC collects the PST when you register and insure the vehicle at an Autoplan broker, which you must do within 10 days of buying it. A dealer charges PST and GST on the bill of sale.

Budgeting for your next vehicle

Add the tax to your budget before you shop: a $30,000 private-sale truck really costs about $33,600 on the road. On OK Auto Search you can search by your all-in budget and see how each vehicle fits.

Buying privately? Read how to check a vehicle and pay safely before you hand over money.