Alabama Private Party Car Tax Calculator

Yes. Ala. Code 40-23-103 taxes the price less the credit for a vehicle taken in trade, and the section covers private (casual) sales. It only applies when the seller takes your vehicle as part of the payment.

ALDOR lists the certificate of title fee at $15 and a notice of security interest (lien) at $15. Designated agents and licensing officials may add a $1.50 commission each, and some counties add local fees.

A standard passenger car plate is $23 a year plus a $1.25 issuance fee; local fees and ad valorem tax may be added. Motorcycles are $15. Battery electric vehicles pay an extra $203 a year and plug-in hybrids $103, rates that took effect July 1, 2023. Regular hybrids that do not plug in pay no extra fee.

ALDOR says a non-commercial vehicle with a valid registration from another state must be registered within 30 days of entering Alabama (Ala. Code 40-12-262). If the vehicle was substantially used in another state, shown by an out-of-state registration or title, no sales or use tax is due when you first register it here. You still pay the title, registration, and ad valorem tax.

Alabama's casual sales tax is on the purchase price, and ALDOR rule 810-6-1-.150 says a transfer made as a gift is not a sale. A true gift therefore owes no sales tax, but the title and registration fees and ad valorem tax still apply. A family sale with a price is taxed like any other private sale. Ask your licensing official what proof of a gift they accept.

ALDOR says you must get a license plate within 20 calendar days of acquiring the vehicle. The title application must be completed before the registration can be processed, and the seller does not need to notarize the title assignment. Alabama liability insurance is required, and the seller keeps the old plate.