Motor vehicle duty is payable when you apply to register or transfer registration of a motor vehicle.
There are some concessions and exemptions from motor vehicle duty.
Concessions
Concessions are available for the registration or transfer on or after 1 July 2019 of:
- green cars
- primary producer passenger cars.
You do not need to apply to us for these duty concessions. They will be applied when you register or transfer the registration of the car with VicRoads.
Green cars
Registering or transferring registration of a green car attracts one rate of duty, regardless of the value of the car.
A green car is a passenger car with combined tailpipe carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 120 grams or less per kilometre.
Information about the combined tailpipe CO2 emissions of passenger cars is available from the:
- Green Vehicle Guide maintained by the Australian Government
- fuel consumption label or energy consumption label attached to the windscreens of new motor vehicles sold in Australia
- vehicle manufacturer’s website.
Primary producer passenger car
Registering or transferring registration of a primary producer passenger car attracts one rate of duty regardless of the car’s value.
This must be a car that is:
- registered, or is to be registered, in the name of a person who is a primary producer, and
- used, or is to be used, primarily in the person’s primary producer business.
To qualify as a primary producer for these purposes, you must be engaged solely or substantially in agricultural, horticultural, viticultural, dairying, pastoral or other like activities, or hold a licence under the Fisheries Act 1995 to take fish for sale.
Primary producer passenger cars are those used primarily for driving around primary production land or between farms to undertake primary production activities. The concessional rate of duty does not apply to passenger cars used for private or personal or non-primary production business purposes.
Exemptions
An exemption from motor vehicle duty may be available in these circumstances:
- death of owner
- marriage and domestic relationships or their breakdown
- transfers involving trustees or nominees
- licensed motor car traders
- interstate
- transport of disabled, handicapped, incapacitated or injured person(s) and/or wheelchairs
- primary production, firefighting, emergency response, mobile plant and special purpose vehicles
- consular vehicles
- amalgamations, restructures and repossessions
- wheelchair accessible commercial passenger vehicles
If you are applying for an exemption from duty, you must lodge an application and provide supporting documentation.
Death of owner
- Transferring registration of a motor vehicle to a beneficiary following the death of the registered owner.
- Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle to a surviving spouse/domestic partner beneficiary.
- Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle to an executor or administrators for the purpose of transferring the vehicle to a beneficiary, or for the sale of a vehicle when winding up an estate.
Breakdown of marriage or domestic relationship
Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle between spouses or domestic partners, or as a result of the breakdown of a marriage or a domestic relationship.
Transfers involving trustees or nominees
- Transferring registration of a motor vehicle bought for a minor from the nominee or trustee to that person when they become an adult.
- Transferring registration of a motor vehicle solely to trustees because of the appointment or retirement or other change in trustees.
Licensed motor car traders
- Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle used as a demonstrator vehicle, service demonstrator vehicle or LMCT trading stock.
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Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle by an interstate motor car trader, but only in the course of carrying out their business.
Interstate
Registering a motor vehicle in the name of a person where the vehicle was previously registered in the same name interstate. The Commissioner must be satisfied that the interstate registration was not made for the purpose of avoiding Victorian duty.
Transport of disabled, handicapped, incapacitated or injured person(s) and/or wheelchairs
- Registering, or transferring registration of, a motor vehicle in the name of a corporate or unincorporated body and marked with that body’s name. The body must be established for a public purpose and not for private gain and the vehicle must be used only for carrying disabled or handicapped people to training, education or employment.
- Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle in the name of an incapacitated person. The motor vehicle must be designed solely to carry an incapacitated person and not be used to carry any other person.
- Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle not a commercial passenger vehicle (within the meaning of the Commercial Passenger Vehicle Industry Act 2017) modified to carry a wheelchair and used to carry an incapacitated person. The vehicle can be registered in the name of the incapacitated person, their parent or guardian if they are a minor, or a relative of or carer for them. This exemption also applies to vehicles that will be specially converted for wheelchair access within 12 months after registration or transfer of the vehicle. The person who received the exemption is required to provide documentary evidence to the Commissioner once the conversion has been completed.
- Registering or transferring registration of a government or charitable, benevolent or religious institution motor vehicle (but not a taxi cab) modified to carry a wheelchair and used to convey an incapacitated person. The vehicle must be marked with the name of the registered operator, relevant government department or agency.
- Registering or transferring registration of a motor vehicle to an incapacitated war veteran who is assessed pursuant to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 or someone who has been assessed under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 as suffering a particular level of impairment because of an injury or disease while with the Defence forces and does not operate another vehicle without a fee.
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Registering or transferring registration of a vehicle to be registered in the name of St John Ambulance Australia (Victoria) Inc which is used for the transport of disabled, handicapped or injured passengers.
Primary production, firefighting, emergency response, mobile plant and special purpose vehicles
- Registering or transferring certain motor vehicles in the name of a primary producer where the vehicle is used solely in the business of the registered operator as a primary producer. These are special work vehicles (body type SWV1 and SWV2) and special purpose vehicles (type O). They include heavy trailers, tractors, mobile cranes, fire engines, truck-mounted concrete pumps, and boring plants.
- Registering or transferring registration of mobile plant and plant-based special purpose vehicles (type P). Mobile plant is any motor vehicle not designed solely for carrying passengers, which is under 4.5 tonnes mass rating for charging (MRC), and that may use public roads for access. Carrying a load must be incidental to the purpose(s) for which the vehicle was built, except in the case of concrete pumps and fire trucks. Mobile plant includes backhoes, excavators, bulldozers, headers, forklift, scrapers and tractors. It does not include tow trucks.
- Special purpose vehicles (type P) are more than 4.5 tonnes MRC and generally make little use of the road network. They are primarily built or permanently modified for off-road use. They include agricultural tractors, self-propelled agricultural harvesters, bulldozers, backhoes, graders, front-end loaders and heavy excavators.
- Registering or transferring registration of firefighting and emergency response motor vehicles owned and registered by a State Emergency Service volunteer unit, Country Fire Authority or municipal council that are certified as equipped for, and exclusively used for, combating fire outbreaks or for emergency response.
Consular vehicles
Registering or transferring registration of certain consular vehicles. This depends on the post held by the person in whose name the vehicle is to be registered.
Amalgamations, restructures and repossessions
- Transferring registration of a motor vehicle following an amalgamation of industrial organisations where the transfer is made in accordance with the rules of the transferring organisation.
- Transferring registration of a motor vehicle as a result of the vehicle becoming an asset of a receiving body under Part 3 of the Financial Sector (Business Transfer and Group Restructure) Act 1999.
- Transferring registration of a motor vehicle which has been repossessed under a security interest, being an interest that secured payment of a debt or other obligation.
Wheelchair accessible commercial passenger vehicles
- From 1 July 2022, a motor vehicle duty exemption applies to wheelchair accessible commercial passenger vehicles that meet the requirements to provide unbooked services (taxi rank and hail work) and are less than 2 years old.
- This exemption applies on the application for registration or transfer of registration of a wheelchair accessible vehicle if the Commissioner is satisfied that:
- The vehicle is or will be registered with Safe Transport Victoria, and will be lawfully used to provide unbooked commercial passenger vehicle services within 3 months of the application (or a longer period approved by the Commissioner); and
- If the application is for a transfer of registration, the application is not 2 years or more after the date the vehicle was first registered in Victoria or another jurisdiction.
- To be eligible for the exemption, the vehicle must already have been converted for wheelchair access at the time of the application for registration or transfer.
- If you receive the exemption on the basis the vehicle will be registered with Safe Transport Victoria and/or will be lawfully used to provide unbooked services you are required to provide documentary evidence to the Commissioner that it has been registered and/or is able to be lawfully used to provide unbooked services.
People with a physical disability
Under the Act, if you have a physical disability you will pay less duty when you register or transfer a motor vehicle which has been modified to enable you to drive. The duty reduction reflects the reasonable cost of the modification.
In cases where the reasonable cost of the modification is greater than the duty you are required to pay, you can make a claim to pay no duty at all. Please contact us on 13 21 61 for more information.
Charitable organisations
There is no exemption in the Duties Act 2000 for charitable organisations. Instead, one of the above exemptions may apply.
Corporate reconstructions
Eligible transactions arising out of corporate reconstructions arrangements or agreements entered into on or after 1 July 2019 attract duty at the concessional rate of 10% of the duty otherwise payable.