Private sale receipt template
Private sale receipt for selling a used car or other goods to another person: the price, extras such as winter tyres, delivery, the amount paid and any balance.
Templates by industry
- Used car
- Set of winter tyres
- Delivery to the buyer
How to write a receipt for a private sale
Example workflow
Describe the item
Start with "Used car": the description, the identifying numbers and the agreed price.
Add the extras
Add accessories and delivery down to "Delivery to the buyer", each with its own price, so the total matches what was agreed.
Sign and hand over
Write the amount received and any balance, sign the receipt with the buyer, and each keep a copy.
This receipt is for one person selling something of their own to another: a car, a motorbike, a piano or a sofa, often found through a classified ad or a marketplace app. Neither side is acting as a business, so there is usually no sales tax to show; leave the tax rate at 0%. What the receipt does is fix the facts you both agreed: the item, the price, what came with it, the money paid and what is still owed.
Fields to prepare
- Deliverables and line items
- Used car, Set of winter tyres, Delivery to the buyer: put the main item on the first line with what identifies it, extras sold with it on their own lines, and a delivery you arranged on a separate line.
- Used car
- Give the price agreed for the car alone, so the tyres and delivery on the next lines are not read as part of it.
- Set of winter tyres
- Say whether the tyres come on rims and give their size as printed on the sidewall, so the buyer knows exactly what comes with the car.
- Delivery to the buyer
- Charge delivery at the price agreed with the buyer and name who transports the car, so the buyer can plan to receive it.
- What was sold
- Describe the item so it cannot be confused with another: for a car, the make, model, registration and VIN; for other goods, the model and serial number where there is one. Note "sold as seen" if you agreed so.
- Seller, buyer and handover
- Write both names and addresses, the date the money was paid and the date the item was handed over, and who keeps the papers that go with it.
- Scope to agree
- Describe the item with what identifies it (a car’s VIN or registration), the handover date and both parties’ names, and separate the amount received from any balance.
Before sending
- Does “Used car” match the line on the invoice this payment settles?
- Has the money for “Set of winter tyres” actually arrived, in full or in part?
- Is “Delivery to the buyer” shown at the amount received, with any balance still owed noted?
Show 3 more
- Write the amount in figures and check it against the price you agreed, before you sign.
- If the buyer pays a deposit now and the rest at handover, write a receipt for each payment with the balance still owed.
- Give the buyer the original and keep a copy; for a vehicle, keep it with the papers you need for the change of keeper.
Worked example: a used car sold with a deposit
The figures are an example, in dollars. A buyer agrees to buy a used car with a set of winter tyres and delivery, pays a deposit today and the rest when the car is delivered.
- Lines: the car, the tyres and the delivery, each at the agreed price.
- Payment: the buyer paid a deposit of $1,000.00 today.
- Balance: $2,950.00 is to be paid when the car is handed over; write a second receipt then.
| Item | Quantity × unit price | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Used car | 1 × $3,500.00 | $3,500.00 |
| Set of winter tyres | 1 × $300.00 | $300.00 |
| Delivery to the buyer | 1 × $150.00 | $150.00 |
| Invoice total | $3,950.00 | |
| Received | $1,000.00 | |
| Still owed | $2,950.00 | |
The lines add up to $3,950.00. The buyer paid $1,000.00 as a deposit, which leaves $2,950.00 to pay at handover. The second receipt will show the balance paid and nothing left owing.
- Copy the VIN from the car itself or from its registration document, not from memory.
- For a car, write the mileage at handover, so both of you remember the condition it was sold in.
- If the buyer collects later, say who is responsible for the item until then.
Common mistakes on a private sale receipt
- Describing the item only as "car" or "sofa", with no identifying details.
- Not writing the balance when only a deposit has been paid.
- Forgetting the date of handover.
- Writing a price other than the one agreed, to make it look lower or higher.
- Keeping no copy, so neither side can show the terms later.
What the document must show
These details make a receipt easier to approve and to file.
- Your business name and address, and your tax number if you are registered
- Receipt number and issue date (the date the payment arrived)
- Who paid
- How they paid: bank transfer, card or cash
- What the payment is for, and the number of the invoice it settles
- The amount received, with any tax it includes shown separately
- For a part payment, the balance still owed
The sales tax depends on where the work is supplied, so set the rate that applies to your customer before sending.
Official rate reference: US government: state and local taxes
Frequently asked questions
Private sale receipt template: what should it include?
Start with the lines the template carries (Used car, Set of winter tyres, Delivery to the buyer) and change them to what you are selling. Then add both names, the identifying numbers, the date and the amount received.
Should both of us sign?
It helps: the seller signs for the money received, and the buyer can sign that they received the item, which leaves both of you with the same record.
The buyer pays a deposit first. What do I write?
Write a receipt for the deposit with the full price, the amount received and the balance, and another when the balance is paid at handover.
What does "sold as seen" mean on a receipt?
It records that the buyer inspected the item and accepted it in its current condition. Write only what you actually agreed; it does not remove any right the law gives the buyer.
Do I need a receipt if the buyer pays by bank transfer?
The transfer shows that money was paid but not for what. The receipt ties the payment to the item, so it is worth writing either way.
What else do I need when I sell a car?
The receipt records the payment only. Registering the new keeper and ending your insurance are separate steps; check what your vehicle registration office asks for.
Read next
Reading for the Private sale receipt template: What a receipt must show (and receipt vs invoice) and Quote, proforma, invoice, receipt, credit note: which to use. To add tax or check a total, use the VAT and GST calculator.