Ontario
Buy a $30,000 vehicle from a dealer in British Columbia and tax adds $3,600, so the deal is $33,600 before licensing and registration. Buy the same car privately and British Columbia charges 12% when you register it, which is $3,600 on that price. Drive the same purchase across the border into Alberta and the tax is $1,500, which is $2,100 less.
British Columbia is one of 11 jurisdictions this calculator holds a sourced tax rule for. Every figure on this page comes from a government page you can open, dated, and the arithmetic is done in front of you rather than behind a "results" button.
Tax at a dealer
12%
5% Federal GST plus 7% B.C. provincial sales tax
Tax on a private sale
12%
collected when you register the vehicle
Tax on a $30,000 car
$3,600
bought from a dealer
A passenger vehicle under $55,000 bought from a GST registrant carries 7% provincial sales tax plus the 5% federal GST.
The 7% band runs to $55,000. Above that the provincial rate steps, which is what the brackets line below sets out.
B.C. Ministry of Finance, Bulletin PST 308, PST on Vehicles · dated 2026-08-01
A private sale, meaning one where the seller is not a GST registrant, carries 12% provincial sales tax on a passenger vehicle under $125,000.
B.C. Ministry of Finance, Bulletin PST 308, PST on Vehicles · dated 2026-08-01
ICBC collects the tax when you register. The purchase price it is charged on is the total price before any trade-in or down payment.
B.C. Ministry of Finance, Bulletin PST 308, PST on Vehicles · dated 2026-08-01
A trade-in reduces the taxable purchase price, on a private sale as well as at a dealer. The bulletin works it through: a $10,000 vehicle less a $6,000 trade-in is taxed at 12% on $4,000, so $480.
B.C. Ministry of Finance, Bulletin PST 308, PST on Vehicles · dated 2026-08-01
The provincial rate climbs with price. At a dealer it is 7% under $55,000, then 8%, 9% and 10% through the $55,000 to $125,000 range. From $125,000 it is 15%, and from $150,000 it is 20%, on private purchases too.
B.C. Ministry of Finance, Bulletin PST 308, PST on Vehicles, Table 1 · dated 2026-08-01
| Jurisdiction | At a dealer | Tax on the example | Bought privately |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 12% | $3,600 | 12% at registration |
| Alberta | 5% | $1,500 | nothing provincial |
| Saskatchewan | 11% | $3,300 | 6% at registration |
| Ontario | 13% | $3,900 | 13% at registration |
The calculator prices a vehicle over its whole life, not just the loan: insurance, fuel, maintenance and licensing on top of the payment. Today it does that with Ontario figures.
Open the calculatorA passenger vehicle under $55,000 bought from a GST registrant carries 7% provincial sales tax plus the 5% federal GST. On a $30,000 vehicle that is $3,600, for $33,600 all in before licensing.
A private sale, meaning one where the seller is not a GST registrant, carries 12% provincial sales tax on a passenger vehicle under $125,000. ICBC collects the tax when you register. The purchase price it is charged on is the total price before any trade-in or down payment.
A trade-in reduces the taxable purchase price, on a private sale as well as at a dealer. The bulletin works it through: a $10,000 vehicle less a $6,000 trade-in is taxed at 12% on $4,000, so $480.
Every market figure the calculator itself uses is listed with its source on the assumptions page.