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Free Nova Scotia Gift Bill of Sale

When a parent, child, spouse or other close relative gives you a car in Nova Scotia, you may pay no Nova Scotia Sales Tax (NSST) instead of the usual 14%. The giver must be on the province's immediate family list, you must pay nothing and take over no loan, and the car cannot have had a tax-free family gift in the past 12 months. You claim the break with a Sworn Statement for a Family Gift, signed in front of a witness. On a car with a $15,000 Red Book value, that keeps $2,100 in the family.

Tax (NSST)
14%
Safety Inspection
MVI issued ≤30 days before sale
Transfer Deadline
30 days
Bill of Sale
Recommended

Seller Information

Buyer Information

Gift Details

Sale Information

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Nova Scotia Gift Bill of Sale — What You Need to Know

Primary Form
Sworn Statement for a Family Gift
Sworn Statement for a Family Gift of a Used Motor Vehicle in the Province of Nova Scotia (Service Nova Scotia, free)
Agency
Access NS
Access Nova Scotia (Registrar of Motor Vehicles)
Primary ID Field
VIN
Tax
14%
Title / Registration
Title required
The giver signs the Transfer of Ownership on the back of the Certificate of Registration and fills in Part 1. The recipient fills in Part 4, including its tax declaration. Then the recipient takes the printed, witnessed sworn statement in person to a Registry of Motor Vehicles or Access Nova Scotia office. There you pay the $13.20 transfer fee and any registration fee that applies.
Inspection
Required

Tax Details

A car gift that does not qualify for the family exemption is taxed like a private sale: 14% NSST, charged on whichever is larger, the price or the car's Canadian Red Book value. With a $0 price, that usually means the Red Book value. For a car too old to be in the Red Book, ask the Provincial Tax Commission how it will be valued. If you think that value is too high, a registered appraiser or licensed dealer can appraise the car. Get the appraisal before the transfer if you want to pay tax on it.

Exemption: No NSST is due when an immediate family member gives you the car for free. You both sign the province's family-gift sworn statement. The car must be registered to the giver. No money, trade or loan can pass between you. The car can get only one tax-free family gift in any 12-month span. The form is free, and the tax break is applied when you register.

Inspection Requirements

A transfer to an immediate family member, as the federal Income Tax Act defines it, does not have to meet the 30-day age limit for the MVI. The vehicle must still carry a valid MVI. A gift to anyone else follows the private-sale rule. The MVI must be in the giver's name and no more than 30 days old. If it is not, the recipient gets a new one before registering, or asks the Registry for a 10-day letter.

Nova Scotia Gift Sale — Step-by-Step Checklist

  1. Check that the giver is on the province's family list. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and brothers- or sisters-in-law are not.
  2. Confirm nobody in the family got this car tax-free in the past year.
  3. Make sure the car is registered to the giver and you will take over no payments.
  4. Print the free sworn statement. Fill in both names, addresses and counties, the car's details and VIN, and how you are related.
  5. Both of you sign it in front of a lawyer, notary, Commissioner of Oaths or Registry staff member.
  6. The giver signs the back of the Certificate of Registration, fills in Part 1 and takes the plates off.
  7. You complete Part 4 and a Statement of Insurance, bring it all in person, and pay the $13.20 transfer fee.
  8. Keep a signed gift bill of sale showing $0, the date, the odometer reading and your relationship.

Common Pitfalls

  • Writing $1 on the paperwork. Any price makes it a sale, usually taxed at 14% of the Red Book value.
  • Gifting the car twice in a year. If your dad gives it to you in May, you cannot pass it tax-free to your sister until next May.
  • Treating a swap or a loan takeover as a gift. Anything given back ends the exemption.
  • Bringing a scan of the sworn statement. It must be printed and handed in at the Registry.
  • Letting the MVI expire. Family gifts skip the 30-day timing rule, not the need for a valid sticker.

Pro Tip

Before the Registry visit, check three things: the relationship is on the list, no loan or trade is involved, and the car has not been gifted in the family this past year. If any answer is unclear, call the tax line before anyone signs.

Nova Scotia Gift Bill of Sale — FAQs

Do I pay tax on a car gifted by family in Nova Scotia?
Not if the gift meets the rules. The tax break is applied when you register, and the form itself is free. If the gift fails any test (a gift from a cousin, for example), you pay the 14% NSST, usually on the Canadian Red Book value.
Who counts as immediate family?
Parents, step-parents, children, stepchildren, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren and your spouse. In-laws count only as your spouse's parents or your child's spouse. Great-grandparents count as grandparents. Partners who have lived common-law for a year or more also qualify, as do registered domestic partners. So can a former common-law or domestic partner, if the car is part of ending the relationship and there is no written separation agreement.
Can a relative in another province give me a car tax-free?
Often, if the car is registered to them. From an HST province such as New Brunswick, they must have owned it for more than 30 days. From elsewhere in Canada, it is more than 12 months. The Registry may also ask for proof that HST or NSST was paid when they bought it. The car needs a Nova Scotia MVI within 30 days of arriving. Call 1-800-898-7668 with the VIN before you go.
Does a gifted car need a new safety inspection?
Not for immediate family. Family transfers do not need an MVI dated within 30 days of the handover. That exemption uses the federal Income Tax Act's meaning of family, which is worded differently from the tax list. The car must still show a valid sticker, and a gift to a friend gets no break.
Is it still a gift if I take over the car payments?
No. The loan balance becomes the price, and you pay 14% on that amount. If the book value is bigger, the tax uses it. The sworn statement has you both swear that no payments were assumed, and a false statement is a serious offence.
What if I inherit the car instead?
That is a separate tax exemption with its own papers: a copy of the will and/or grant of probate, a sworn statement from the executor and heirs, and the death certificate. With no will and an estate of $50,000 or less, the next of kin completes an Estate Statutory Declaration.
Is a bill of sale needed for a family car gift?
The province's gift checklist does not list one for a car registered here. A written record still helps. It fixes the date and odometer reading and states that no money changed hands. For a car from a place where it did not need registering, the tax guide asks for a bill of sale or insurance policy showing how long the giver owned it.

Other Nova Scotia Templates

VehicleCarUsed CarMotorcycleBoatTrailer

Gift in Other Provinces

OntarioONBritish ColumbiaBCAlbertaABQuebecQCManitobaMBSaskatchewanSKNew BrunswickNBNewfoundland and LabradorNL

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