Car Stamp Duty by State — the Same Car, All 8 Formulas (2026-27)
QLD $1,500.00 vs WA $3,250.00 — conventional 4-cylinder passenger car
All 8 revenue office schedules · current as at 2026-07-17The same car can attract very different stamp duty depending on which side of a state border it is registered. This is not simply a case of one state charging a higher rate than another. The formulas differ in kind. One state charges an amount per part of the value, another a flat percentage of the whole price, another scales the rate to the vehicle's emissions, and another steps the rate up through value tiers as the price rises.
Because the methods are structurally different, not just numerically different, a car taxed lightly in one state can be taxed heavily in another, and the gap between them is not constant across price points. This comparison runs identical prices through every state's formula, so the differences you see are the formulas at work rather than a comparison of different cars.
| State | $30,000 car | $50,000 car | $80,000 car | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland | $900.00 | $1,500.00 | $2,400.00 | Calculator |
| Northern Territory | $900.00 | $1,500.00 | $2,400.00 | Calculator |
| New South Wales | $900.00 | $1,600.00 | $3,100.00 | Calculator |
| Australian Capital Territory | $951.00 | $1,707.50 | $3,393.50 | Calculator |
| South Australia | $1,140.00 | $1,940.00 | $3,140.00 | Calculator |
| Tasmania | $900.00 | $2,000.00 | $3,200.00 | Calculator |
| Victoria | $1,260.00 | $2,100.00 | $3,360.00 | Calculator |
| Western Australia | $1,050.00 | $3,250.00 | $5,200.00 | Calculator |
| Sorted by duty on the $50,000 car. Green/EV rates differ in VIC, QLD, ACT and NT — see each state page. | ||||
Every figure in the table is produced by a single duty engine that applies each state's published formula to the same price points, so the comparison is like for like. The assumption throughout is a conventional passenger car, since duty often depends on the vehicle type. Where a state gives electric or low-emission cars a concessional rate, that treatment changes the ordering, so a green or electric vehicle can rank quite differently from the conventional car shown here. Each state page lets you apply the rate that fits your own vehicle.
Frequently asked questions
- Which state has the lowest stamp duty on cars?
- On a $50,000 conventional passenger car, QLD charges the least ($1,500.00) and WA the most ($3,250.00) — a spread of $1,750.00. EV and low-emissions cars reorder the table in several states.
- Do I pay duty where I buy the car or where I live?
- Duty is paid where the vehicle is registered — your garaging state — regardless of where you bought it. Buying interstate doesn't avoid your home state's duty.
- Revenue NSW — motor vehicle dutyverified
- State Revenue Office Victoria — motor vehicle duty current ratesverified
- Queensland Government — vehicle registration duty ratesverified
- RevenueWA — vehicle licence dutyverified
- RevenueSA — stamp duty on vehiclesverified
- State Revenue Office Tasmania — motor vehicle duty ratesverified
- ACT Revenue Office — motor vehicle duty (DI2025-152, in force)verified
- Territory Revenue Office — motor vehicle stamp dutyverified
Every cell is computed by the same engine that powers the per-state calculators, from each revenue office's published formula, and reconciled against official calculators before publication.