How We Value a Vehicle
A FIN-320 is a certified document signed under a declaration that the information in it is true and complete, and the Ministry of Finance can audit it against the same evidence you sent us. This page sets out where the numbers come from, what evidence they rest on, and what we will not write.
What the Ministry actually compares
On a private sale in British Columbia, PST is charged on the greater of the purchase price or the average wholesale value. Bulletin PST 308 defines that average wholesale value as the value obtained from the Canadian Black Book valuation guide. If the guide says your vehicle is worth more than you paid, you are taxed on the guide.
The bulletin also sets out the way back. If you believe the actual value is lower, you may provide a completed FIN 320. Where the appraised value and the purchase price are both below the average wholesale value, PST is calculated on the greater of the appraised value and the purchase price. The appraisal does not make the tax disappear, it replaces a generic number with a documented one.
Where the number comes from
Canadian Black Book returns one number from the VIN. It does not account for kilometres, damage, mechanical condition, or whether the vehicle runs at all. Two identical VINs return the same figure whether the car is immaculate or sitting on a trailer with a seized engine. That is the number ICBC assessed you on.
A FIN-320 appraisal is built on the things Black Book cannot see. The form asks for the vehicle's condition and its appraised value, and the answer rests on the odometer, the damage, the mechanical state, whether it starts, and the documented history of that specific car. That is why it produces a figure the Ministry of Finance accepts, and why you are not taxed on a number that ignores the state of your vehicle.
The form is explicit about what it is asking for. It states that the appraised value “is NOT intended to be trade-in value but represents the expected retail value when a motor vehicle is sold privately”.
One thing this is not: the BC used car tax calculator on this site is a self serve estimator that applies the statutory rate table to figures you type in yourself. It holds no market data and looks nothing up.
The evidence a value rests on
Every file is built from documents you already have.
Your documents, checked against each other
The VIN, odometer reading, names and postal code on your application are checked against the signed APV9T, the bill of sale and the registration. These disagree more often than people expect, and a mismatch on a certified form is the kind of thing that gets a file sent back.
Photographs of the actual vehicle
Condition is assessed from photographs of your specific vehicle: body, interior, tyres, odometer, VIN plate and any damage. Deficiencies are documented individually with what they are and what they would cost to put right.
Comparable sales, where they exist
Where genuine comparable listings are found they are recorded with their source and the date they were observed, so a reviewer can check them. Where none were obtained, the document says so plainly instead of implying otherwise.
Retail value, not trade in
The FIN 320 carries an explicit note that the appraised value is not intended to be a trade in figure, but the expected retail value when a vehicle is sold privately. Quoting a trade in figure is a defect in the form, not a favour to the customer.
What we will not put in a document
An appraisal is worth exactly what a reviewer thinks it is worth, and a padded one is worse than no appraisal at all because it sits in the same envelope as the photographs that disprove it. So the document never claims an inspection that did not happen, never cites comparables that were not observed, and never lists a deficiency the evidence does not support.
Things that are not vehicle deficiencies do not appear as deficiencies: haze in a photograph, an object that is not part of the car, ordinary depreciation, a warning light explained by a door being open for the picture, or speculative damage nobody can see. Depreciation in particular is not a repair, and counting it twice against a value is the fastest way to lose a file.
If the evidence supports a lower value, the appraisal says so and stands behind it. If it does not, we tell you that before you pay for something that will not help.
Methodology FAQ
Do you use Canadian Black Book to value my vehicle?
No. Black Book is the number we argue against, not the number we use. It returns one figure from the VIN and knows nothing about your particular car: not the kilometres, not the damage, not whether it runs. Bulletin PST 308 names it as the source of the average wholesale value, which is what ICBC assesses you on. The appraisal exists to document what the vehicle is actually worth instead.
Does the free calculator on this site use Black Book?
No, and it is important not to confuse the two. The calculator on this site is a self serve estimator: it applies the statutory PST rate table to figures you type in yourself. It holds no market data and looks nothing up. The appraisal is a different thing again: it is built on the evidence for your specific vehicle, and it exists to document a value the Black Book figure does not reflect.
Do you inspect the vehicle in person?
No. Appraisals are prepared remotely from photographs and documents you supply. Every statement in the appraisal is written to rest only on evidence actually in the file, and where a piece of evidence was not provided the document says so rather than assuming it.
What happens if the evidence does not support a lower value?
We tell you, and the appraised value reflects what the evidence supports. An appraisal is a certified statement signed under a declaration that the information is true and complete, and the Ministry can audit it against the same photographs you sent us. A value the file cannot support is worth less than nothing to you.
Helpful next steps
Key facts, sources and verification
- Form
- FIN 320, Motor Vehicle Appraisal Form
- Governing legislation
- Provincial Sales Tax Act (British Columbia)
- Value reported
- Expected retail value on a private sale. The form states the appraised value is not a trade in figure.
- What the value rests on
- The specific vehicle: odometer, damage, mechanical condition, whether it runs, and its documented history. Not a lookup from the VIN alone.
- Who may complete it
- A registered motor dealer, an equivalent business in another jurisdiction, or a person whose business it is to appraise motor vehicles
- Area served
- All of British Columbia, handled remotely
- Provider
- IC Appraisal BC
- Standard fee
- $75.00 plus tax for an accepted standard remote FIN 320 file
- Evidence used
- Vehicle photographs, the signed APV9T, bill of sale, registration and odometer reading, checked against each other
- Inspection type
- Remote. No inspection in person is performed, and the document states this.
Quick answers
- Who is allowed to complete a FIN-320 in British Columbia?
- The FIN 320 form states it must be completed by a motor dealer registered under the BC Motor Dealer Act, a person authorized to carry on a similar business in another jurisdiction, or "a person whose business it is to appraise motor vehicles." Bulletin PST 308 repeats the same requirement. IC Appraisal BC qualifies under the third category, and the appraiser signs the Part 5 certification on every form.
- How does BC decide how much PST you pay on a private vehicle sale?
- PST is charged on the greater of the purchase price or the average wholesale value, which Bulletin PST 308 defines as the Canadian Black Book value. If you believe the vehicle is worth less than that, you may provide a completed FIN 320. The bulletin then says that where the appraised value and the purchase price are both below the average wholesale value, PST is calculated on the greater of the appraised value and the purchase price.
- What value does a FIN-320 actually report?
- Retail value, not a trade in figure. The form itself carries the note that the appraised value "is NOT intended to be trade-in value but represents the expected retail value when a motor vehicle is sold privately." This is the single most common misunderstanding, and quoting a trade-in figure on a FIN 320 is a defect in the form.
- What is the difference between a FIN-320 and a FIN-355MV?
- The FIN 320 is the appraisal; the FIN 355/MV is the refund application. You present a FIN 320 when you register the vehicle to have PST charged on the appraised value in the first place. If PST has already been paid, the FIN 320 instead becomes an attachment to a FIN 355/MV refund claim, which the Ministry of Finance must receive within 30 days of the registration date.
- Can the seller get the appraisal, or does it have to be the buyer?
- Either. Bulletin PST 308 states that appraisals "may be obtained by the purchaser or seller of the motor vehicle." In practice the buyer usually orders it, because the buyer is the one paying the PST.
Sources
The statements above are drawn from the following primary documents. Each was checked against the source on the verification date below.
- FIN 320, Motor Vehicle Appraisal Form (BC Ministry of Finance)
- Bulletin PST 308, PST on Vehicles (BC Ministry of Finance)
- Notice 2022-005, PST on Motor Vehicles Purchased at Private Sales or Imported from Outside Canada
- FIN 355/MV, Application for Refund of PST Paid on a Motor Vehicle
Canadian Black Book returns one number from the VIN. It does not account for kilometres, damage, mechanical condition, or whether the vehicle runs at all. A FIN 320 appraisal is built on those things, which is why it produces a figure the Ministry of Finance accepts. The form itself states the appraised value “is NOT intended to be trade-in value but represents the expected retail value when a motor vehicle is sold privately”.
Verified against the source documents on .
This page is general information about British Columbia vehicle appraisal and PST, not legal or tax advice. PST is assessed by the BC Ministry of Finance and registration is handled by ICBC and Autoplan brokers, so the amount of tax owing or refunded on any particular vehicle is determined by them, not by the appraiser. Figures quoted from government publications were verified against the source documents on the date shown.
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