Discounts and motor vehicle (stamp) duty by jurisdiction

This note links how the dashboard treats miscellaneous discounts to published revenue guidance for Australian motor vehicle duty (often called stamp duty at registration). It is not legal or tax advice; dealers should confirm positions with their advisers and the current text on official sites.

Behaviour in the Total Dealer sales contract builder

Miscellaneous lines can be marked Stamp Duty dutiable or excluded via dutiable_for_stamp_duty on each item (see MiscItemsTable and MiscellaneousStep).
When users add a Discount on a new-vehicle contract, the default for Stamp Duty dutiable matches how each jurisdiction treats discounts in dutiable value: on for NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS, and NT; off for QLD, SA, and WA (list- or manufacturer-price-led bases — avoids double-counting a discount line). The rule is implemented in SalesContracts::MiscellaneousItemDefaults and mirrored in MiscellaneousStep from live contract.state and new-vehicle detection (so defaults stay correct after the Rego step updates state, without waiting for a refetched default_miscellaneous_discount_stamp_duty_dutiable). The contract JSON still exposes default_miscellaneous_discount_stamp_duty_dutiable and new_vehicle_contract_for_miscellaneous_defaults for other consumers. Users can still change the checkbox. See docs/sales_contract/form_steps_guide.md (Miscellaneous items).
The server builds the stamp duty dutiable picture in SalesContract#dutiable_costs_for_stamp_duty (miscellaneous amounts included only when dutiable_for_stamp_duty is not false). State-specific inclusions/exclusions for line items and charges are documented in docs/sales_contract/business_rules_inventory.md (Dutiable value for stamp duty).

Always reconcile the contract’s contract state and stored government charges with the rules for that jurisdiction.

Summary: list price vs price paid (new vehicles)

At a high level, published guidance groups like this:

QLD, SA, and WA centre duty on the manufacturer’s list price (and, in each state, specific rules for optional equipment or exclusions).
NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS, and NT centre duty on consideration, amount paid, or sale price (wording varies by jurisdiction; see extracts and links below). That generally means negotiated discounts sit in the duty picture differently than in list-price states—especially where list price still drives duty in QLD (see that state’s examples).

Jurisdiction	New vehicle base (summary)
QLD	List price (RRP inc. GST and LCT) plus optional equipment; not “amount negotiated” alone.
SA	Manufacturer list price / RRP (inc. GST and LCT where applicable), plus dutiable optional items only where the Act or guidance requires.
WA	Manufacturer list price as retail selling price plus prescribed optional features; many dealer add-ons are not in dutiable value.
NSW	Amount paid for the vehicle (including GST)—i.e. the price paid after dealer pricing.
VIC	Purchase price or open-market value, whichever is higher, plus listed components (e.g. trade-in allowance, dealer delivery on new vehicles); discounts affect the purchase-price limb but market value can still set duty.

Discount line → default “Stamp Duty dutiable” (new-vehicle contracts only): NSW, VIC, ACT, TAS, NT → on (true). QLD, SA, WA → off (false). Non-new-vehicle contracts and Other misc lines default stamp duty dutiable on unless the user clears it.

For ACT, NT, and TAS, use the official links in the Other states and territories — official reading list table later in this document.

New South Wales (NSW)

Source: Motor vehicle duty | Revenue NSW
Note on the source page: Revenue NSW states the page was last updated 16 October 2025. Quotations below are taken from that page as at documentation time; if wording diverges, the live page prevails.

How duty is calculated

Revenue NSW, under the heading “How duty is calculated”, states (among other things):

Your motor vehicle duty depends on how much your vehicle is worth, and whether it’s a passenger vehicle.

For new vehicles, the duty is calculated on the amount you paid for the vehicle, including GST.

For used vehicles, the duty is calculated on the sale price or market value, whichever is higher.

Same page, “Extended warranties and factory rebates”:

If a dealer gives you a factory rebate after you buy your vehicle, you must still pay duty on the full amount that you paid for the vehicle.

If you pay extra for an extended warranty on the vehicle, the extra cost won’t be included in its value.

Why this matters for discounts

For new vehicles, NSW frames duty around the amount paid (including GST). How pre-registration dealer discounts, drive-away deals, and optional line items interact with “amount paid” is fact-specific; Revenue NSW also draws a distinction for post-purchase factory rebates (duty remains on the full amount paid for the vehicle).
The extended warranty sentence clarifies that certain add-ons are excluded from dutiable value, which is a different axis from a negotiated vehicle price reduction.

Use the official Motor vehicle duty calculator linked from the same page when checking figures.

Queensland (QLD)

Source: About vehicle registration duty | Transport and Main Roads
Note on the source page: The Queensland Government page states it was last updated 22 April 2026 (footer). Quotations below follow the Dutiable value wording on that page; if wording diverges, the live page prevails.

Under “Dutiable value”, the page states (reproduced from the same paragraph and list structure):

The dutiable value for a:

new vehicle is the list price plus the price for any optional equipment

The same section defines list price as the recommended retail price including GST and luxury car tax (LCT), and gives worked examples (e.g. negotiated discount vs list price) that are important when interpreting how discounts affect duty in Queensland—read the full Dutiable value section on the linked page.

Victoria (VIC)

Source: Motor vehicle duty fee | VicRoads
Note: Confirm wording and “last updated” on the live VicRoads page; if wording diverges, the live page prevails. The State Revenue Office Victoria also publishes motor vehicle duty material (rates, rulings, and calculators).

VicRoads describes market value for motor vehicle duty purposes as follows:

The market value is the purchase price or the value of the vehicle on the open market, whichever is the highest of the two. It includes:

all fitted accessories

any trade-in allowance

the value of improvements or repairs made before the transfer and registration

dealer delivery fee (on new vehicles)

GST and Commonwealth taxes.

Western Australia (WA)

Source: Vehicle licence duty (Dealers) | Transport WA
Note on the source page: Transport WA states the page was Page updated 20 October 2025 11:11 am (footer). Quotations below are from the Vehicle licence duty on new vehicles section; if wording diverges, the live page prevails. See also Vehicle licence duty (stamp duty) calculator | Transport WA and Vehicle licence duty (WA Government).

Under “Vehicle licence duty on new vehicles”, Transport WA states:

Dealers are required to pay a vehicle licence duty on any new and imported vehicles.

The dutiable value of a new vehicle is the price fixed (list price) by the manufacturer, as the retail selling price and for each optional feature in or of the vehicle.

Optional features include:

transmission in a vehicle (for example, automatic)

any kind of engine in a vehicle (for example, a V8 engine)

or any other feature in or of a vehicle prescribed by the regulations, that is not a standard feature of a vehicle of that make and model.

The dutiable value should not include other features or accessories that are not defined as optional features, including but not limited to:

window tinting

sound system speakers

mag wheels

paint

rear spoilers

fabric

rust protection.

South Australia (SA)

Source: Stamp duty—vehicles | RevenueSA
Note: Confirm wording and “last updated” on the live RevenueSA page; if wording diverges, the live page prevails. Related: Motor vehicle registration duty (RevenueSA).

RevenueSA states (among other things):

The value of a new motor vehicle is the recommended retail price or manufacturer’s list price (including GST and luxury car tax, where applicable) issued by the manufacturer. This value will be applicable for all new motor vehicles of the same make and model at a given date.

The value of any additional equipment or features not included by the manufacturer in the list price of a new motor vehicle may or may not need to be added to the list price for calculating stamp duty.

The Act specifically identifies 2 items of optional equipment as being dutiable - “power steering” and “a particular type of transmission (for example, automatic transmission)”.

Where additional equipment or features are part of the vehicle as it is released to the public, the list price includes these items. Therefore, stamp duty is payable on the “price fixed” by the manufacturer as defined in the Stamp Duties Act 1923 (see examples below).

Other states and territories — official reading list

NSW, QLD, VIC, WA, and SA include verbatim extracts above. For the remaining jurisdictions, use the primary links below when extending this document with verbatim extracts (recommended whenever rules change).

Jurisdiction	Primary official guidance (motor vehicle / registration duty)
VIC	Motor vehicle duty fee (VicRoads) — also Motor vehicle duty (State Revenue Office Victoria), Understanding motor vehicle duty.
QLD	About vehicle registration duty — hub: Vehicle registration duty.
SA	Stamp duty—vehicles (RevenueSA) — also Motor vehicle registration duty (revenue.sa.gov.au).
WA	Vehicle licence duty (Dealers) \| Transport WA — also Vehicle licence duty (stamp duty) calculator \| Transport WA, Vehicle licence duty (WA Government).
TAS	Motor vehicle duty (State Revenue Office of Tasmania)
ACT	Motor vehicle duty (ACT Revenue Office)
NT	Stamp duty on motor vehicles (Northern Territory Government)

When adding direct quotes for TAS, ACT, or NT, copy them from the linked page (or the instrument it cites) and record the retrieval date and URL next to each quote, as done for NSW, QLD, VIC, WA, and SA above.

Topic	Location
Stamp duty dutiable costs on contract	`SalesContract#dutiable_costs_for_stamp_duty`
Stamp duty base helper (jurisdiction inputs)	`GovernmentChargeCalculator#dutiable_value_for_stamp_duty`
Inventory of state quirks	`docs/sales_contract/business_rules_inventory.md` § Dutiable value for stamp duty

Canonical source: this file (denza-docs/src/content/docs/government-charges/discounts-and-stamp-duty-by-jurisdiction.md). The same content is available in-repo via symlink at docs/sales_contract/discounts_and_stamp_duty_by_jurisdiction.md. Edit this file only.