How to Fill Out NY Form DTF-802: Sections, Family Exemption, and Tax

To fill out New York Form DTF-802, enter the vehicle’s identifying information and both parties’ names in Sections 1 through 3, check the box in Section 4 that matches your transaction type, break the purchase price into cash, assumed payments, and trade value on line 1 of Section 5, apply your local sales tax rate on line 3, and have the seller complete the sworn affidavit in Section 6 if the price is below fair market value or the vehicle is a gift. You bring the finished form to the DMV when you register the vehicle, and the clerk uses it to calculate the sales tax you owe.¹

When You Need DTF-802

The form applies to casual sales and gifts of motor vehicles, trailers, ATVs, boats (including boat-and-trailer combinations), and snowmobiles. If you bought one from a private seller, inherited it, or received it as a gift, this is your form. Dealers collect sales tax at the register, so a standard dealership purchase doesn’t require DTF-802.

Two related forms cover situations DTF-802 does not. Use Form DTF-803 if you’re claiming an exemption other than a gift, such as a non-resident exemption or a transfer from a business entity.¹ Use Form DTF-804 if you already paid sales tax to another state and want credit toward what you owe New York.²

What to Gather First

Before you start writing, have these ready:

The vehicle identification number or hull identification number, exactly as stamped on the vehicle or hull.
Year, make, and model as they appear on the title.
Full legal names and addresses for both the buyer and the seller.
A purchase price breakdown: cash paid, any loan balance you assumed, and the value of anything traded or done for the seller instead of cash.¹
Your local sales tax rate, which you can look up on the Department of Taxation and Finance site.

Download the form from the Department of Taxation and Finance website or pick one up at any DMV office.³ Fill it in with ink. Pencil entries can smudge and cause processing issues.

Section-by-Section Walkthrough

Sections 1 Through 3: Vehicle and Party Information

Section 1 collects the vehicle’s year, make, model, and VIN or hull identification number. Sections 2 and 3 collect the new owner’s and previous owner’s names and addresses. If the new owner is a business, enter the business name. Copy the VIN character by character. A single wrong digit can hold up your registration.¹

Section 4: Transaction Type

Check the box that describes your transaction. Options include a casual sale, a gift to a family member (spouse, parent, child, stepparent, or stepchild for motor vehicles), or a gift to someone outside that family circle. Your choice controls which lines you complete next and whether the seller has to sign the Section 6 affidavit.

Section 5: Purchase Price and Tax Calculation

Most of the math happens here. Line 1 splits the purchase price into three parts:¹

Line 1a: cash you paid.
Line 1b: any balance of payments you assumed, such as taking over a loan.
Line 1c: the value of anything you traded, swapped, or did for the seller instead of paying cash.
Line 1d: the total of 1a, 1b, and 1c. That total is your purchase price for tax purposes.

Line 2 asks whether the transaction is a motor vehicle purchase or gift between spouses, a parent and child, or a stepparent and stepchild. Check “Yes” and enter zero on line 4. No sales tax is due. Otherwise, continue to line 3, enter your local tax rate as a decimal, and multiply it by line 1d to get the tax on line 4.

One detail catches boat buyers off guard. For vessels and boat-and-trailer combinations, sales tax applies only to the first $230,000 of the purchase price. Don’t enter more than $230,000 on line 1d for those transactions.¹

Line 5 asks whether the amount on line 1d is lower than fair market value. If it is, the seller must complete Section 6. If the price matches or exceeds fair market value, sign the certification at the bottom and skip Section 6.

Section 6: Seller or Donor Affidavit

The seller fills out Section 6 when the purchase price is below fair market value or the vehicle is a gift. It’s a sworn affidavit, signed under penalty of perjury, attesting to the sale price or confirming that no money changed hands.¹ If the seller skips this section when it’s required, the DMV will calculate your sales tax based on fair market value rather than the lower price you actually paid. That can turn a bargain into an expensive surprise at the counter.

The Family Exemption Trap

New York gives a full sales tax exemption for motor vehicle transfers between spouses, parents and children, and stepparents and stepchildren. The exemption applies at any price, not only to gifts. A parent can sell a car to a child for $5,000 and no sales tax is due.⁴ You claim it by checking “Yes” on Section 5, line 2, and entering zero tax on line 4.

The trap: that exemption applies only to motor vehicles. If you’re transferring a trailer, ATV, boat, or snowmobile to a family member as a gift, the seller still has to complete the Section 6 affidavit. And if you sell a boat to your child below fair market value, Section 6 is required too.¹ The form treats motor vehicles and everything else differently, and missing that distinction is one of the most common errors.

Transfers to siblings, cousins, grandparents, or other relatives outside the spouse-parent-child-stepparent-stepchild circle don’t qualify for the family exemption on any vehicle type. A gift to a sibling can still be tax-free if it’s genuinely a gift with no consideration, but the seller must complete Section 6 to certify that.

Finding Your Local Tax Rate

New York’s combined sales tax rate ranges from 4% (the state base) up to 8.875%, depending on where you live.⁵ The combined rate stacks the 4% state rate, any county or city tax, and an additional 0.375% if you live in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District.

The rate you enter on line 3 is based on the new owner’s residence, not where the sale happened. If you live in more than one county, use the rate where the vehicle will primarily be used or garaged. Businesses use the rate at their place of business, and if the business has multiple locations, the rate is based on where the vehicle will be principally kept.¹ ATVs and snowmobiles follow a slightly different rule: use whichever rate is higher between your delivery location and the place the vehicle is stored or used.

What to Bring to the DMV

You submit DTF-802 at your local DMV office when you register the vehicle. Bring it along with:

The original title signed over by the seller, or other DMV-approved proof of ownership.
An original bill of sale showing the purchase price and both parties’ information.
A completed MV-82 (Vehicle Registration/Title Application).
Proof of insurance (your New York insurance ID card).
Payment for sales tax, the $50 title certificate fee, the $25 plate fee, and the registration fee, which runs from $26 to $140 for a two-year period based on vehicle weight.⁶

The clerk reviews your reported purchase price against the vehicle’s fair market value. If the price looks reasonable, sales tax is collected on the spot. If it seems low and the seller hasn’t completed Section 6, you’ll owe tax on fair market value instead. You get a sales tax receipt either way, even for exempt transactions.² Hold onto that receipt. It’s your proof of compliance if the Department of Taxation and Finance ever questions the transaction.

What Happens If You Understate the Price

DTF-802 is a sworn statement. Understating the purchase price to reduce sales tax can bring civil penalties from the Department of Taxation and Finance that reach as high as 30% of the unpaid tax, plus interest, and can double the tax owed if the department finds fraud.⁷ Signing a false affidavit can also lead to misdemeanor charges under Tax Law Section 1817, with fines and potential jail time.⁸ The state already has a rough idea of the vehicle’s value before you reach the counter, so the savings from shaving a few hundred dollars off a reported price rarely justify the risk.

1
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. DTF-802 – Statement of Transaction – Sale or Gift of Motor Vehicle, Trailer, All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), Vessel (Boat), or Snowmobile
2
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Sales Tax Information
3
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. DMV Transaction Forms
4
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 20 NYCRR 528.15 – Motor Vehicles Sold by a Husband or Wife to His or Her Spouse, or by a Parent to His or Her Child, or by a Child to His or Her Parent
5
Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales Tax Rates, Additional Sales Taxes, and Fees
6
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Passenger Vehicle Registration Fees, Use Taxes and Supplemental Fees
7
New York State Senate. New York Tax Law Section 1145 – Penalties and Interest
8
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Sales and Use Tax Penalties