, you must complete a report of sale and submit it to the Minnesota Driver Vehicle Services (DVS). You’ll also need to follow some simple steps to transfer the car title to the new owner.

While gifting a vehicle is an incredibly generous gesture, you’ll want to make sure you understand what paperwork is involved to keep the process as simple as possible. And when it comes to transferring the vehicle’s title, each state handles the situation a little differently.

That’s why

car insurance

comparison app and

licensed broker

specialist

Jerry

is here to answer any questions you may have about gifting a car in Minnesota. In this article, we’ll talk about how to gift a car and what documentation needs to be provided to the DVS to make the vehicle’s change of ownership official.

How to buy a car as a gift in Minnesota

The most straightforward way to gift a car is to bring the person who is receiving the gifted car to the dealership with you.

By including the gift recipient in the selection process, you can make sure that the vehicle being purchased is something you both agree on. It also clears up any potential complications for the dealership when it comes to who’s name will be on the title.

Key Takeaway It’s a good idea to bring the person to whom you’re gifting a new car along when you go to the dealership.

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How to gift a used car in Minnesota

The most common way to gift a car is to transfer ownership of a car you already own. That means if you have paid off a newer model or purchased a used vehicle without the help of financing, you can gift the car to someone else.

If your objective is to give a friend or relative a car you own as a gift, you’ll need to go through a fairly simple process to make the transaction legal in Minnesota.

Negotiate the terms of the gift with your recipient

Gifting a car comes with an expected degree of emotional reaction—but it also requires you and the gift recipient to sit down and work out what comes next.

Since the vehicle is a gift, the only associated fees are related to the matter of title transfer fees. According to the

Minnesota DVS website

, the following title fees may be associated with the gifted car:

Filing fee - $11

Vehicle title transfer fee - $8.25

Per lien recordation fee - $2

Vehicle transfer tax fee - $10

Security interest assignment fee - $1

Duplicate title fee - $7.25

While not all of these fees may apply to your situation, you will at the very least need to pay the filing fee, vehicle title transfer fee, and vehicle transfer tax fee for a total of $29.25.

You’ll want to go over who will be responsible for paying for these mandatory fees to avoid any miscommunication that results in the fees being unfulfilled.

It may also be in your best interest to talk about what potential maintenance, fuel, and car insurance expenses are associated with car ownership so that the person to whom the car is being gifted understands exactly what’s involved.

To better illustrate how these figures break down, you can share the table below with the recipient:

Cost	Minnesota average
Title transfer	$8.25
Registration tax	$55
Insurance	$472 per year (liability only), $1,643 per year (full coverage)

Record the gift with a report of sale

Gifters need to complete a report of sale and provide confirmation to the Minnesota DVS. This can be done

online

, in person, or by submitting the record of sale stub through the mail.

You can send mail-in confirmation to:

Driver and Vehicle Services – Central Office Town Square Building 445 Minnesota St, Suite 187 St. Paul, MN 55101

The purpose of this submission is to legalize the change of ownership.

Transfer the vehicle title

New owners need to follow certain steps in order to have the title transferred to their name. Here’s what you need to do:

Fill out the Application to Title and Register a Motor Vehicle (Form

PS2000

)

Sign over the vehicle title certificate to the giftee

Submit the necessary documents and any applicable payments to the DVS

In Minnesota, the transfer of ownership of a vehicle is not charged sales tax if it is classified as a gift to family members such as spouses, parents, children, grandparents, or grandchildren. You can get a tax exemption for the gifted vehicle if you submit the

PS2080

Affidavit Form to the Department of Public Safety.

Purchase Minnesota liability insurance—or full coverage

Depending on whether you’ll be paying to insure the gifted car or if purchasing coverage will be assigned to the recipient, the vehicle will need to be covered with at least the minimum required

car insurance in Minnesota

. Once the vehicle is equipped with an up-to-date policy, the owner will be able to reap the benefits of owning a new car and cruise the streets hassle-free.

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Minnesota electric vehicle incentives

How to find affordable car insurance in Minnesota

Whether you’re trying to find a great insurance policy for a gifted car or looking to save money on your own vehicle’s coverage, insurance comparison and licensed broker expert

Jerry

is your best bet when it comes to snagging the cheapest price available.

All you’ll need to do is download the free Jerry app, answer a few easy questions, and in under a minute, you’ll be looking at a list of personalized quotes from over 50 top-rated insurance companies. You won’t need to fill out any boring forms or wait on hold with insurance agents. Jerry handles all of that for you.

Plus, once you choose a new policy and decide it’s time to switch, Jerry even helps you cancel your existing coverage. It gets better—Jerry also regularly reshops the insurance market to make sure you’re always getting the best deal. On average, people who use Jerry save $887 a year on car insurance!

“
Jerry
found me useful quotes immediately, so I switched over my insurance in under an hour! I’m now helping my parents use Jerry because they just bought a new car.” —Brindi J.

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Do I have to pay tax on a vehicle I inherited?

No, if you’ve inherited a vehicle, you can transfer the ownership tax-free.

If I’m awarded a vehicle during a divorce proceeding, is it considered a gift?

Not exactly, but the process is similar. The title’s ownership will need to be transferred the same way as when a vehicle is gifted. And like a gifted vehicle, the transaction will be tax-exempt.

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