HMRC & Import

Gifted a Car From Abroad? How HMRC Values It on Import

Published 19 October 2026 · 6 min read

A car you were given abroad is generally still liable to UK import VAT and customs duty, and because nobody was paid, HMRC says you cannot normally use a price paid to value it. The value comes from another method, ending with the fall-back Method 6, where you must give HMRC evidence for your figure. You have 14 days from arrival to tell HMRC.

The usual advice for an import assumes you bought the car. A gift has no invoice, no bill of sale and no price, so the usual starting point disappears. This guide sets out what GOV.UK says about that, and where it goes quiet.

Bringing in a car you were given? Get a price for your import valuation.

Does a gifted car escape import VAT and duty?

Not as a rule. GOV.UK says no VAT or customs duty applies when you move to the UK with your vehicle, return an exported vehicle or make a qualifying temporary import, and that otherwise VAT and duty generally apply (GOV.UK, paying VAT and duty). Receiving a car as a present is not on that list.

Inheriting a car is different, because HMRC has a specific relief for inherited goods. If the car came from someone who has died, read our guide to importing an inherited car first. A car given to you by a living person has no such relief named in the GOV.UK pages we checked.

Does the £39 and £135 gift rule apply to a car?

GOV.UK's gifts guidance says a gift over £39 is liable to import VAT, and customs duty becomes payable if the value is over £135 (GOV.UK, duties and import VAT on gifts). The page does not mention vehicles. Whatever it means for a car, any car is worth far more than £39 or £135, so the gift rules do not make a car free of tax. The value of the car is what matters.

How does HMRC value a car nobody paid for?

HMRC's customs valuation has six methods, tried in order. Method 1 is the price paid. For goods received free of charge, GOV.UK says "You cannot normally use Method 1 to value free of charge goods" (GOV.UK, valuing goods that are free of charge, used, rented or leased). The page then points to:

Method 2 or 3, based on identical or similar goods;
Method 4, based on sales of the goods or similar goods to unrelated UK customers;
Method 5, built up from detailed costings.

If none of those can be used, the same page says "You must use Method 6". Method 4 relies on sales to unrelated UK customers and Method 5 on detailed costings, which a privately owned car may not have, and that can leave Method 6.

What is Method 6, and what evidence does it need?

Method 6 is the fall-back. GOV.UK says the value "can be based, for example, on the price you would have paid the supplier if you had bought the goods", using reasonable means consistent with World Trade Organization customs valuation principles (GOV.UK, Method 6). The condition is that you "must provide HMRC with evidence to show why you cannot use methods 1 to 5".

The examples GOV.UK gives of evidence are a supplier's export price list, a statement from the supplier of the value, or "any other evidence agreed with us". None of those exists for a car given by a relative or friend. So the figure has to be shown another way: what that make, model, age and condition of car is worth, with the comparables set out.

No invoice and no price paid? We prepare an independent valuation with the comparable cars set out, from the details and photos you send.

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Your price is confirmed in writing before any work begins.

What if someone in the UK paid for the car?

Then it is probably not a gift for customs purposes. GOV.UK says a gift must be sent by a private person abroad to a private person in the UK and not paid for, directly or indirectly, by anyone in the UK. It adds that goods bought for delivery from abroad as a gift "will not be treated as a gift for customs purposes". If a UK relative sent the money to the giver, there was a price, and the price paid becomes the question again. Say so when you speak to HMRC rather than describing it as a gift.

What do you have to tell HMRC, and by when?

You have 14 days to tell HMRC after you bring a vehicle into the UK permanently, and you cannot register it until you have (GOV.UK, telling HMRC). That notification is the NOVA. Any import taxes due must be paid before HMRC can make the NOVA declaration.

If the car is shipped, your shipping company or customs agent makes the declaration, or HMRC's CARS team does. The person making it needs the customs documents, a document confirming the VIN or chassis number, and an invoice or bill of sale if you bought the car in the last 6 months. A gift has no invoice, and GOV.UK does not say what replaces it. If you bring the car in yourself, the situations GOV.UK lists for contacting the CARS team are a recent purchase abroad, moving to the UK, bringing back a car you owned here, and inheriting from someone living abroad. A gift is not named, so call HMRC's imports and exports helpline before you travel.

VAT is charged on the total cost of the vehicle plus accessories, delivery and extra charges, and any customs duty (GOV.UK, paying VAT and duty). So the shipping cost adds to the figure the tax is worked out on.

What should you keep to show it was a gift?

This is our suggestion, not a GOV.UK requirement. Because the gift definition turns on nobody in the UK having paid, a short signed note from the giver is worth having: who gave the car, to whom, the date, the VIN, and that no payment was made. Add the foreign registration document and photos of the car on the day it was handed over. They help show the identity and condition HMRC will want to see when it looks at the value.

Where does a valuation fit in?

We value the car; we do not make customs declarations or decide which valuation method HMRC accepts. A written valuation gives you a figure with the comparable cars of the same age, mileage and condition behind it, which is the kind of evidence Method 6 asks for. Whether HMRC accepts the figure is its decision. Customs declarations, NOVA and the DVLA paperwork are handled by Classic Import Co, a company we work with regularly. Our guides on the HMRC value of an imported car with no invoice and on registering an imported car with the DVLA cover the rest of the route, and what a valuer needs from you lists what to send.

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay import VAT and duty on a car I was given abroad?

Generally yes. GOV.UK says VAT and customs duty apply to imported vehicles unless you qualify for a relief such as moving to the UK with your vehicle, returning an exported vehicle or a temporary import. A gift is not on that list, and GOV.UK's gifts guidance does not mention vehicles.

How does HMRC value a car that was a gift?

It cannot normally use Method 1, the price paid, because nothing was paid. HMRC points to Methods 2 and 3 (identical or similar goods), Method 4 or Method 5, and if none works Method 6, which can be based on the price you would have paid if you had bought the car. For Method 6 you must give HMRC evidence for the figure.

What if someone in the UK paid for the car and had it given to me?

GOV.UK says goods bought for delivery from abroad as a gift are not treated as gifts for customs purposes. A gift must not be paid for, directly or indirectly, by anyone in the UK. The price paid then matters, so tell HMRC about it.

Who tells HMRC about a gifted car?

If the car is shipped, your shipping company or customs agent makes the NOVA declaration within 14 days, or HMRC's CARS team does. If you bring it in yourself, GOV.UK's list for contacting the CARS team does not name gifts, so call HMRC's imports and exports helpline.

Need a value HMRC can look at?

We prepare independent valuations from the details and photos you send, with the comparables set out.