I am moving to the area soon and have a question regarding what tax has to be paid when one purchases a car in Spain.

The car that I will buy will be used, so I don't think there will be any VAT to pay, but I have heard of a 12% registration tax that has to be paid.

Is this tax only collected when a car is first registered? Either when it is new or first imported? Will I have to pay it even if I buy a car in Spain that is already registered and has Spanish plates on it?

I have been trying to find the answer, but to no avail, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Iain --

There are two taxes you pay on cars here in Spain. One at the time of purchase and an annual tax.

The fee that you pay at the time of purchase depends on if you are buying your used car from an individual or from a company/dealer.

If you buy your car from an individual, the tax is called "impuesto de transmisiones patrimonales" (essentially a property transfer tax) and if I am not mistaken, is based on the value of the car.

If you buy your used car from a dealer or other business, you must pay the VAT which for used cars is 16%.

It also depends on how that car is registered. For example when we bought our Peugeot (used) last summer, we bought it from a company, but it was registered to an individual so we paid the first tax not the VAT.

The annual tax you pay is definitely based on the value of your car (something the State determines). I suppose this could be compared to the annual registration you have to pay in the USA (at least in Pennsylvania) for your car. Although that annual fee was only about 45 dollars.

In addition to the annual tax, you have to pass inspection (ITV) every year if your car is older than 10 years. Under 10 yrs old, you have to pass the ITV every 2 years and older than 20 years you have to pass it every 6 months.

ITV is a government controlled activity and you must go to an ITV center, not like in the States (or at least Pennsylvania) where you can go to "State Approved Inspection Stations" --> gas stations with garage/mechanics.

If you plan to do a lot of driving here, I recommend that you buy a diesel car rather than gasoline. Gasoline is very expensive here. Our Peugeot (it�s a large car, the Peugeot 605) is gasoline powered and costs 70-75 dollars everytime we want to fill the tank. As you can imagine, we don�t drive it too frequently. Incidently, it�s in the garage getting prepared to pass the ITV.

Hope this info is helpful to you!

Chica, you rule!!! What a HUGE amount of great info for Iain

Ok, RE the new car buying thingy, just bought one 6 months ago and 16% was indeed the IVA. HERE IT IS

Before that we had an old Citro�n AX and I had traded my old PC for it with Ena's brother down in C�diz. Great deal since it was in great mechanical shape (the car and the PC).

We currently pay a yearly "registraion" tax of about 50� to drive the new car. Not bad at all if ya ask me.

Depending on where you live, you wil also need to pay a menial sum for a parking permit in your area of the city.

All in all, while it is nice to have a car to get away from the big city, it is expensive to have one here (as it is anywhere).

Chica, feel free to add to or elaborate on this list of post-purchase expenses:

� ITV inspection fee Chica mentioned above (not to mention the fixes necessary to bring it up to par if it is an older car).
� Impuesto de circulaci�n (registration).
� Seguro (insurance).
� ORA (parking), if needed.
� Gas.
� Maintenance.

Saludos,
jer...

Eureka, i've found the answers.

1. New car: 28% tax (ouch). Made up of 16% VAT and 12% registration tax.
2. Used car: 4 % transfer tax based on the value of the car new (MSRP) less yearly depreciation, 80% after one year, 70% after two down to 20% after ten or more years.
3. Importing a car. No VAT if you have a bill of sale showing that the tax was already paid in another country. You will hve to pay the 12% tax to register the car though. This tax will be based on the same value as the used car tax. If the car is imported from a non EU country, you will also have to pay for a test to show that the car conforms to Spanish safety standards. Costs of this test can vary wildly depending on the type of car or truck.

You will need an NIE or a residencia to buy a car in Spain and all sources strongly suggest using a servive to deal with the Spanish DMV as the paperwork can be formidable.

Any body thinking of getting a car should check out www.autoscout24.com it is a database of cars for sale in Europe and has links to companies that specialise in importing cars and will take care of all of the paperwork.

TTFN