SA · Motor vehicles · FY 2026-27
SA car stamp duty calculator
South Australian stamp duty for your car: about 4% of a passenger car’s price, and about 3% for a commercial ute or van.
FY 2026-27 rates · verified against the official sources.
Your tally
Stamp duty
$1,140
On a $30,000 passenger car in SA: 3.8% of the price.
How it’s worked out
$60 + $4 for every $100 (or part) of the $27,000 over $3,000
Duty only. The yearly registration is a separate bill, which the rego calculator works out, and exemptions vary. Confirm with RevenueSA before relying on it.
How SA charges vehicle duty
South Australia's schedule starts with brackets so small they only matter for paddock bombs — 1% to $1,000, 2% to $2,000, 3% to $3,000 — and then splits: a passenger car pays 4% on everything above $3,000, while a commercial vehicle stops climbing at 3%. Past about $3,000, the ute is cheaper. By law.
The bottom brackets are marginal — each slice of value pays its own rate, so there are no cliffs anywhere in the SA schedule. For any real car the arithmetic collapses to roughly 4% minus $60 for passenger vehicles and 3% minus $30 for commercial ones.
The passenger/commercial split is the schedule's one big decision. "Commercial" means a vehicle constructed mainly for carrying goods — utes, vans, trucks. On a $60,000 vehicle the difference is real money: the ute saves close to $600 against the sedan, and the gap widens with every extra dollar of price.
SA has no luxury bands, no emissions categories and no cylinder counts — after the first $3,000 the rate never changes again. It ends up mid-pack nationally: dearer than QLD or the NT for everyday cars, far kinder than WA above $50,000.
SA motor vehicle duty
| Value / vehicle | Duty |
|---|---|
| Up to $1,000 | 1% (minimum $5) |
| $1,001 – $2,000 | $10 + 2% of the excess over $1,000 |
| $2,001 – $3,000 | $30 + 3% of the excess over $2,000 |
| Over $3,000 — passenger | $60 + 4% of the excess over $3,000 |
| Over $2,000 — commercial | $30 + 3% of the excess over $2,000 |
Commercial vehicles never reach the 4% band — the schedules diverge from $3,000 up.
Worked examples
- $30,000 sedan: $1,140 of duty. $60 + 4% of $27,000.
- $60,000 single-cab work ute: $1,770 of duty. The commercial schedule — 3% territory.
- $60,000 SUV: $2,340 of duty. Same price as the ute, 4% band instead.
SA duty at a glance
| Price | Duty |
|---|---|
| $20,000 | $740 |
| $30,000 | $1,140 |
| $45,000 | $1,740 |
| $60,000 | $2,340 |
| $80,000 | $3,140 |
| Price | Duty |
|---|---|
| $20,000 | $570 |
| $30,000 | $870 |
| $45,000 | $1,320 |
| $60,000 | $1,770 |
| $80,000 | $2,370 |
Every figure comes from the same tested engine as the calculator above — the published schedule, not a percentage approximation.
Your $30,000 car in all eight states
SA ranks #7 of 8 at this price, where #1 is the cheapest.
| State | Stamp duty |
|---|---|
| NSW lowest passenger car | $900 |
| QLD lowest 1–4 cylinder car | $900 |
| TAS lowest passenger car | $900 |
| ACT lowest new category-B car | $900 |
| NT lowest petrol, diesel or hybrid vehicle | $900 |
| WA light vehicle | $1,050 |
| SA (this page) passenger car | $1,140 |
| VIC highest petrol or diesel passenger car | $1,260 |
The other states are shown on their everyday petrol passenger car, with Queensland at 1–4 cylinders and the ACT as a new category-B car.
Exemptions in South Australia
Spouse and domestic-partner transfers, deceased estates and vehicles for incapacitated drivers are exempt. There is no general family-gift exemption — market value applies.
Frequently asked questions
How much is stamp duty on a car in SA?
Why does a ute pay less duty than a sedan in South Australia?
Does SA give EVs a stamp duty discount?
Is a car transferred between spouses dutiable in SA?
Keep tallying
Sources
Rates last verified 2026-08-28 for FY 2026-27. General information only — not financial or tax advice.