Tax & government Australia
NSW Rego Cost Calculator
NSW prices registration on weight, not on value or engine size. A flat registration fee, plus a vehicle tax that steps up through eight tare weight bands — which is why two cars with similar price tags can differ by hundreds of dollars a year.
Free, no signup Runs in your browser
Twelve months, Transport for NSW
—Vehicle tax
—
Registration fee
—
Weight band
—
Spread monthly
—
Where the money goes
Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-10-28. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
How much is rego in NSW?
For a privately used light vehicle it is an $84 registration fee plus a vehicle tax set by tare weight, which runs from $278 for a car under 970 kg to $1,164 at the top of the light-vehicle scale. A green slip is compulsory on top and is bought separately from an insurer.
Why the green slip is not in this figure
Compulsory third party insurance — the green slip — is genuinely compulsory, and you cannot register without one. But it is not a government fee.
Green slips are sold by competing insurers who price each one on the driver's age and history, the vehicle, and the garaging postcode. Two identical cars in the same street can carry very different premiums because the people driving them are different.
That is why no honest calculator can fold it into a single total. Any site that quotes you one number for “NSW rego” including CTP has picked an average and presented it as your price. Get quotes from several insurers and add the real figure to the amount above.
The green slip is commonly several hundred dollars, and the spread between the cheapest and dearest insurer for the same driver is often large enough to be worth an afternoon of quoting.
Weight bands reward checking before you buy
Because the tax steps rather than slopes, the useful moment to run this calculation is before you commit to a car, not after.
Variants of the same model frequently straddle a band. All-wheel drive, a larger battery, a bigger engine or a heavier trim level can add enough tare to cross a boundary, and the difference then repeats every year you own the vehicle.
Permanently fitted accessories matter for the same reason. A bull bar, tow bar, canopy or long-range tank can raise the recorded tare, and if that pushes the vehicle over a boundary the accessory quietly carries an annual cost well beyond its purchase price.
The calculator shows how far the vehicle sits below the next band, which is the number to look at when comparing two variants.
How this is calculated
Two components, one of which depends entirely on how heavy the empty car is.
total = registration fee + vehicle tax + plates − any discountregistration fee = $84 a year, the same for every light vehiclevehicle tax = the amount for the band your tare weight falls intare = the empty vehicle with fluids and 10 litres of fuelCTP (green slip) is separate and is priced by your insurer, not by Transport for NSW
Tare weight is not kerb weight and it is not what a car review quotes. It is the weight of the empty vehicle with all fluids and 10 litres of fuel, and the figure that counts is the one recorded on the registration certificate.
The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the cost is flat across a band and then jumps. A car at 1,495 kg and a car at 1,505 kg sit in different bands and differ by $205 a year, every year.
A worked example: a mid-size sedan
A car with a tare weight of 1,450 kg, keeping its existing plates, renewed for twelve months outside the discount window.
- Tare weight1,450 kg
- Band1,151–1,500 kg
- Vehicle tax$391
- Registration fee$84
$475 to Transport for NSW for twelve months, before a green slip.
At 1,450 kg this car is 50 kg below the next band. A tow bar heavy enough to change the recorded tare would move it into the 1,501–2,500 kg band and add $205 a year.
What this calculator does not do
- Private use only — business-use vehicle tax is charged on a different scale
- Light vehicles only, up to 3,560 kg tare
- Twelve month registration; shorter terms are not modelled
- Excludes CTP (green slip), which is priced by your insurer
- Excludes inspection fees, concessions, and any transfer duty on a purchase
Common questions
How much is car rego in NSW?
For a private light vehicle, $84 registration plus vehicle tax of $278 to $1,164 depending on tare weight — so most ordinary cars land between roughly $360 and $680 for twelve months, before a green slip.
Is CTP included in NSW registration?
No. A green slip is compulsory but you buy it separately from an insurer, who prices it on the driver, the vehicle and the postcode. It is not a fixed government fee.
What is tare weight?
The weight of the empty vehicle with all fluids and 10 litres of fuel. It is not kerb weight and not the figure quoted in car reviews — use the number on the registration certificate.
Does a tow bar increase my rego?
It can. Permanently fitted accessories raise the recorded tare, and if that crosses a band boundary the vehicle tax steps up for every year the vehicle stays registered.
Why is my neighbour's rego cheaper for a similar car?
Either their tare weight falls in a lower band, or the difference is in the green slip rather than the registration — CTP varies by driver and postcode.
Where these numbers come from
- Transport for NSW — vehicle registration fees Registration fee, private-use vehicle tax bands and plate fee taken from the published schedule
- Service NSW — vehicle registration calculator The official calculator, for concessions, business use and shorter terms
Rates last verified 2026-10-28 Every figure Transport for NSW sets is re-checked against the source at least once a year, and again whenever a change is announced. Out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Related AU calculators
WA rego
WA vehicle licensing priced per 100 kg, with the rounding rule made visible.
Open calculator Finance & propertyNovated lease
What a novated lease really costs once FBT and ECM have taken their cut.
Open calculator Tax & governmentLuxury car tax
LCT payable from the GST-inclusive price, at both thresholds.
Open calculator