A cash top-up (also called a cash adjustment or boot) is an additional payment made by one party when the two vehicles being swapped have different agreed market values. If your vehicle is worth $22,000 and your swap partner's vehicle is worth $28,000, you would pay the $6,000 difference as a cash top-up to make the exchange equal in value. The amount is agreed privately between the parties, the same as any private sale negotiation. The top-up is documented in the Swap Agreement and reflected in each vehicle's Bill of Sale.
When two vehicles have different market values, the party receiving the higher-value vehicle compensates the other with a cash payment to balance the exchange. This is called a cash top-up, cash adjustment, or "boot."
The parties negotiate the cash top-up directly, using their own assessment of each vehicle's market value. SwapU provides market comparison data sourced from public listings so both parties can see the same information going into the discussion. Neither SwapU nor any other platform sets or mandates the amount — it is an agreement between the two private parties.
The cash top-up is recorded in the Swap Agreement, which both parties co-sign. Each vehicle also has its own Bill of Sale; the agreed value listed on each Bill of Sale reflects the parties' agreed market value for that vehicle. These documents are not required by TMR, but they create a clear written record in case of any later dispute.
Transfer duty is calculated on the agreed value of each vehicle independently. The cash top-up itself is not separately dutiable — the duty is on each vehicle's agreed value, not on the net difference. Both parties pay duty on the vehicle they receive.
The cash top-up is typically exchanged at the time of handover, simultaneously with the key exchange. SwapU's platform facilitates this coordination and provides a checklist to make sure both the vehicle transfer and the cash payment occur together.
If both vehicles have the same agreed market value, no cash top-up is required. This is called an even swap.
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