When a Texas vehicle is a gift from a close relative, the recipient pays a flat $10 gift tax instead of 6.25% sales tax. To get it, the giver and recipient both sign Form 14-317, Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer, and one of them files it in person at the county tax office with the title and Form 130-U.
Who qualifies for the $10 gift tax
Form 14-317 lists these relationships:
- Spouse (for a vehicle previously held as separate property)
- Parent or stepparent, father- or mother-in-law; child or stepchild, son- or daughter-in-law
- Grandparent or grandchild (and in-laws), great-grandparent or great-grandchild (and in-laws)
- Sibling, brother- or sister-in-law
- Foster parent or foster child
- Guardian
- A decedent’s estate, a qualified revocable trust, or a qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofit
A gift to anyone else, such as a friend, is treated as a sale and taxed on the vehicle’s standard presumptive value.
What you need
- The Texas title, signed over to the recipient
- Form 130-U, signed by giver and recipient, with the $10 gift tax box checked
- Form 14-317, signed by giver and recipient and sworn before a notary (or an authorized county tax office employee)
- Proof of insurance, if registering
- The $10 gift tax and the title application fee
Step by step
- Giver signs the title over to the recipient.
- Both fill in Form 130-U. In the sales tax section, tick “$10 Gift Tax - Attach Comptroller Form 14-317”.
- Both fill in Form 14-317. It is a fillable PDF: vehicle details, the relationship box, and a certification section for each person. The form says the vehicle is transferred “without consideration, including no assumption of debt”: no money and no taking over a loan.
- Get signatures notarized. Each signature is sworn before a notary or an authorized tax office employee. A reproduced copy of the notarized signature of the person who doesn’t come in is acceptable.
- File in person at the county tax office, within 30 days. Either the giver or recipient can go, but the form can’t be mailed. Don’t send it to the Comptroller.
Common mistakes
- Paying anything for the car: then it’s a sale, not a gift.
- Mailing the paperwork: the gift affidavit must be filed in person.
- Using the gift option for a friend: only the listed relationships qualify.
Inheriting instead?
See transferring a car after a death in Texas (Affidavit of Heirship).