CarTaxHub
CarTaxHub.comPrivate Party Vehicle Tax & Tags Calculator
North Carolina Guide

How to Gift a Car in North Carolina

Last verified: October 2026 against NCDMV sources

A gift between spouses, a parent and child, or a stepparent and stepchild is exempt from North Carolina’s highway use tax.

Here is how to use the exemption and transfer the car.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Check that the exemption applies

    The exemption covers gifts between spouses, a parent and child, or a stepparent and stepchild. It applies to a North Carolina title transferred from one North Carolina resident to another.

    Other gifts are taxed at 3% of the vehicle’s market value.

  2. 2

    Complete the title

    Your family member fills in the back of the title with your name and address, the date, the odometer reading if required, and the damage disclosure, and signs before a notary.

  3. 3

    Fill out the forms

    Complete the Highway-Use Tax Exemption Certificate (MVR-613) and the Title Application (MVR-1), both notarized, plus MVR-181 and, for a vehicle under 10 years old, MVR-180.

  4. 4

    Get North Carolina insurance if you will drive it

    Insurance is needed only if you are also registering the car. It must come from a North Carolina-licensed provider; out-of-state policies are not accepted.

  5. 5

    Title and register

    Apply at a license plate agency or by mail. Pay the $66.75 title fee and, if you are registering the car, the $46.25 registration.

What to bring

  • The title, signed over to you and notarized
  • Highway-Use Tax Exemption Certificate (MVR-613), notarized
  • Title Application (MVR-1), notarized
  • MVR-180 (under 10 years old) and MVR-181
  • Your North Carolina driver’s license or ID
  • North Carolina insurance, if registering

Estimate your North Carolina costs

For an exempt family gift, enter $0 as the price to see the title and registration fees. For any other gift, the tax is 3% of market value.

Open the full North Carolina calculator

Vehicle & Transaction Details

Enter purchase information to calculate true out-of-pocket costs in North Carolina.

51 Jurisdictions Active
North Carolina 3% tax base
$
7 years old
North Carolina tag options
1-Year Term (North Carolina registers for one year)
EV surcharge rules
Lien fee: $0.00
North Carolina: Deductible
$

North Carolina Statute: North Carolina allows trade-in value on private sales to be deducted from the purchase price before applying the 3% fee.

Vehicle HistorySponsored Link

Check this VIN before you buy

Spot accident, title, and odometer problems before you pay a private seller.

Check the VIN

We may earn a commission if you use partner links. It doesn't change your estimate.

Estimated taxes & fees

Estimated taxes & fees

Jurisdiction

North Carolina

Estimated taxes & fees
$563.00

Sales/Excise Tax + Title Certificate + Tags & Registration

Itemized Line ItemEstimated Fee
1Vehicle Sales / Excise Tax (3%)

3% assessed on vehicle Fair Market Value

$450.00
2Certificate of Title Fee

Standard state title certificate issuance

$66.75
3Lien / Security Filing Fee

Unfinanced / cash purchase (waived $0.00)

$0.00
4Registration & Tag Fee

Base license plates & tags

$46.25

We email you this estimate and keep your address only for follow-ups about it. No newsletter, and no marketing unless you sign up for it separately. Privacy

North Carolina rates last verified: October 2026
Official Notice & Statutory Disclaimers

Estimates only, not tax or legal advice. Verify with NCDMV.

On a private sale, North Carolina figures the 3% highway use tax on market value from the NCDMV value schedule, which may not match the price you paid. The estimate uses the price you enter.

There is no cap for passenger vehicles. The $250 maximum applies only to a vehicle already titled in your name in another state for at least 90 days, and the $2,000 maximum only to commercial vehicles over 26,000 pounds.

Registration shown is the $46.25 passenger fee ($29.50 for motorcycles) plus any EV ($214.50) or plug-in hybrid ($107.25) fee. County and regional registration taxes, and the county property tax collected with registration, are not included.

A lien listed on your title application is recorded with the title. NCDMV charges $25 to add a lien to an existing title later.

North Carolina’s electric vehicle fee covers four-wheeled vehicles (G.S. 20-4.01(28b)), so the estimate does not add it to a motorcycle. The sources do not say whether the plug-in hybrid fee applies to motorcycles, so the estimate leaves that out too. Confirm with the NCDMV.

County & Local Tax Note: North Carolina charges a 3% highway use tax in place of sales tax, with no local rate. Some counties add a small registration tax (up to $17 in Wake, Durham, and Orange).

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this NCDMV process.

Gifts between a husband and wife, a parent and child, or a stepparent and stepchild (G.S. 105-187.6).

Sources

Last verified: October 2026. Rules change, so check with NCDMV before you go.

More North Carolina guides

How to Title a Private Car Sale in North CarolinaThe notarized title, MVR-1, insurance, and the 3% highway use tax.Titling a Car in North Carolina After Moving From Another StateThe license first, the $250 tax cap, and what to bring.
North Carolina Private Party Car Tax Calculator