Free calculator
When you trade your car in to a dealer, you only pay sales tax on the difference between your new car's price and your trade-in — not the full price. That tax credit is real money, and it often beats the higher price a private buyer would pay. Punch in your numbers below.
Search to autofill the MSRP, or compare cars to drive
~15% over the dealer’s trade offer — the typical private premium
Sales tax you save by trading in
You only pay 13% tax on the price after your trade-in. That saving makes your trade really worth $20,340 to you.
Private buyer pays
$2,700
more than the trade offer
Tax saving you'd forfeit
− $2,340
lost by not trading in
Real advantage of selling privately
$360
after the forfeited tax credit
Selling privately nets about $360 more — but only after you account for the $2,340 in tax the trade-in would have saved. You'd need to clear $20,340 privately just to break even with the trade.
Estimate only. Sales tax shown is Ontario's 13% rate on the price after your trade-in (the trade-in tax credit). Final figures depend on your deal, fees, and rebates.
Get a live market value in under two minutes, then see your exact tax savings prefilled.
What's my car worth? →Say you're buying a $45,000 car and your current car is worth $18,000 on trade. In Ontario you pay 13% HST on $27,000 (the difference) — not on the full $45,000. That's about $2,340 less tax than buying with no trade-in, simply for trading the car in.
A private buyer might offer you $3,000 more than the dealer's trade allowance. But once you subtract the ~$2,340 in tax you gave up by not trading in, the private sale only nets a few hundred dollars more — before the time, listing fees, and tire-kickers.
This calculator is an estimate for Ontario and the other HST provinces (and shows the GST-only Alberta case honestly, where there is no trade-in tax credit). Your actual savings depend on your deal, fees, and rebates.
Want your exact tax savings? Get your real value to see precisely what trading in saves vs. selling privately.
Get your value now →