How to Fill Out the Massachusetts MVU-24 Gift Vehicle Tax Exemption Form

The Massachusetts MVU-24 form is a one-page affidavit that lets you skip the state’s 6.25% sales or use tax when a vehicle is transferred as a genuine gift. The donor and the donee both complete and sign it, then the donee brings it to an RMV Service Center along with the signed title, an insurance-stamped registration application, and proof of identity. The donor and donee do not have to be related.¹

MVU-24 or MVU-26

Before you download anything, make sure the MVU-24 is the right form. Massachusetts has two sales tax exemption forms for private vehicle transfers. The MVU-24 covers any true gift, regardless of relationship. The MVU-26 covers transfers between a father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, son, or daughter, and it works even if money changes hands.¹ Grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and in-laws are not on that family list.

The cost difference matters. A gift transfer under the MVU-24 carries a non-refundable $25 gift transfer fee on top of the standard title and registration charges. A family transfer under the MVU-26 does not.¹ If the giver is a parent, sibling, spouse, or child, the MVU-26 is cheaper. Anyone else giving you a vehicle, and the MVU-24 is the form.

Filling Out the Form

Download the MVU-24 from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue website or pick one up at any RMV Service Center.² Print or type the entries. Every field has to be complete; a single blank sends you back to the parking lot.

Vehicle Information

The top of the form asks for the year, make, model, Vehicle Identification Number, and title number. The VIN is the 17-character string visible through the lower-left corner of the windshield or on a sticker inside the driver-side door jamb. The title number appears on the face of the existing certificate of title.²

Donor and Donee Details

The form has separate blocks for the donor (giver) and donee (recipient). Each block requires a full legal name, street address, city or town, state, and ZIP code. Use the names and addresses that match each party’s government-issued ID. Mismatches between the affidavit, the title, and the registration application slow you down at the counter.

The Four Questions

The core of the MVU-24 is a set of four questions written to confirm the transfer is a real gift:

Did either party make or receive payment in any form in connection with the transfer?
Did either party make a promise of payment, or does either party expect payment in the future?
Did either party assume any debt in connection with the transfer?
At the time of the transfer, did the donor intend to make a gift of the vehicle to the donee?

To qualify, the first three answers must be “no” and the fourth must be “yes.” If cash changed hands, if the donee is taking over car payments, or if there is a side agreement for future compensation, it is not a gift. In that case, the 6.25% sales tax applies to the purchase price or the NADA trade-in value, whichever is higher.³

Signatures

Both donor and donee sign and date the bottom of the form. The signatures are made under the pains and penalties of perjury, and a willfully false statement can be prosecuted as a felony.² Don’t dress up a sale as a gift.

What to Bring to the RMV

The affidavit is one piece of the packet. The donee should arrive at the RMV Service Center with:

The completed MVU-24, signed by both parties.
The previous owner’s certificate of title, with the donor’s signature on the back, the transfer date, the odometer reading, and the word “Gift” written in the purchase price field. Both donor and donee sign and print their names on the back of the title.¹
A Registration and Title Application stamped and signed by a licensed Massachusetts insurance agent. Visit the agent first, bind an active auto policy, and have them fill out and stamp the application. The RMV will not accept an unstamped application.³
Proof of identity that meets the RMV’s lawful presence requirements.³

Federal law requires the mileage entry on the back of the title for most vehicles, and both donor and donee sign that odometer disclosure.³ Model year 2010 or older vehicles are exempt; model year 2011 and newer stay covered for their first 20 years.⁴

The donor does not need to come to the RMV, but their signatures on both the affidavit and the title have to be in place before the donee arrives. Any white-out, cross-outs, or altered entries on the title will get the paperwork rejected.³

Fees You’ll Still Pay

Skipping the sales tax does not mean skipping every charge. Expect:

Gift transfer fee: $25, non-refundable.¹
Certificate of title fee: $75.³
Registration fee: $60 for a standard passenger plate, renewed every two years. Specialty plates cost more.⁵

For a standard passenger vehicle, that comes to $160 at the counter. On almost any vehicle, that is well below the 6.25% sales tax you avoided.

Get the Vehicle Inspected Within Seven Days

Once the plates are on, you have seven days from the registration date to bring the vehicle to a licensed Massachusetts inspection station. The safety and emissions inspection costs $35 for most passenger vehicles and produces a sticker good for one year.⁶ Driving past that seven-day window without a sticker is a citable offense.

Federal Gift Tax Is a Separate Question

The MVU-24 covers Massachusetts sales tax only. On the federal side, the IRS asks the donor to file Form 709 (United States Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Return) when a gift to any one recipient is worth more than the annual exclusion, which is $19,000 per recipient for 2026.⁷ Filing Form 709 does not automatically mean owing tax; the gift is reported against the donor’s lifetime exclusion, which sits at $15,000,000 for 2026.⁸ If the vehicle’s fair market value is under $19,000, the donor has no federal reporting to do at all.

Mistakes That Send You Back

Most MVU-24 rejections come from paperwork problems, not eligibility problems. The usual culprits: a blank field on the affidavit, an application that never got stamped by an insurance agent, or a title with white-out or a corrected digit on it. A single altered character on the title makes it unusable.

Another frequent trip-up is the donor forgetting to complete the back of the title before the donee’s RMV visit. Both the title assignment and the odometer disclosure need signatures already in place. If the donor lives out of state or is hard to reach, handle the title first and schedule the RMV visit around that.

1
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Family/Gift Transfers
2
Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Form MVU-24 Affidavit in Support of a Claim for Exemption from Sales or Use Tax for a Motor Vehicle Transferred as a Gift
3
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Apply for a Registration and Title for a Vehicle Purchased from an Individual
4
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Consumer Alert: Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements
5
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Fees
6
Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Inspections
7
Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances
8
Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax