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If you live in Spain and own a car, you’ll have to pay road tax.
Road tax in Spain is known as IVTM (Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica) and is a tax you pay at the municipal level, that is, to your local town hall.
According to Spain’s General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), “the Traffic Tax of a vehicle is a mandatory tax that is applied on all motor vehicles, allowing them to circulate on public roads throughout the country”.
Key things to know about IVTM
- You pay the tax in the municipality where the vehicle is registered.
- The municipality where the vehicle is registered and where the owner is resident must be the same.
- The exact amount you pay depends on where you live.
- The legal owner of the vehicle is the one who must pay the tax, nobody else.
- In Spain, the road tax period begins on January 1st of each year, and payments are usually taken sometime between April and June.
How much is it?
How much IVTM you pay depends on where you live in Spain and the type of car you have. Ultimately each local council decides how much you pay, so it’s always best to check with them first.
Generally speaking, the annual tax is between €112 and €300 for the year.
There can be quite significant rates in different parts of the country, but it’s based on the ‘taxable horsepower’ (THP) of your vehicle, which basically means how big and powerful the engine is. You are taxed according to its capacity. If you have a smaller, less powerful car you’ll pay less road tax, whereas gas-guzzling four-wheel drives pay more.
In Madrid, for example, the annual road tax for a car with a THP of greater than 20 (a relatively powerful car) is €124 for the year, but in Oviedo in Asturias, it is almost double at €224.
The Basque municipality of San Sebastián has the highest road tax rates in Spain, while Melilla and Ceuta generally have the lowest.
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How do I pay or check my road tax status?
There are several ways to check the road tax status of your car.
You can do it on the DGT website, using your NIE, digital certificate or Cl@ve password, and you just have to input your license plate to see the tax status.
You can also do it on the miDGT app, or in person at DGT traffic offices, but must make an appointment first via phone or online.
The local town hall (Ayuntamiento) also allows you to pay road tax there, as well as the possibility of paying directly to them online. Check your local town hall’s website to see if this is possible in your municipality.
You could also check your bank statements to see if the DGT or Ayuntamiento has already charged you for the road tax this year.
If you move and need to reregister the tax address of your car, you can do it on the DGT website here.
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What happens if I don’t pay road tax in Spain?
If you fail to pay your road ta in Spain you could be fined or worse.
According to the Spanish motoring website DiarioMotor.com, however, as the IVTM is technically an administrative procedure, if you’re stopped by the police and can’t provide your road tax paperwork you shouldn’t be fined.
It’s worth keeping in mind though that the fines handed out by the DGT added up to a whopping €507 million in 2022, the highest figure ever recorded, so it could definitely be a possibility.
If you don’t pay the tax within the payment period, the town hall will also add a surcharge for any late payments. It is a five percent surcharge if you pay it late, but before they formally notify you;
a 10 percent surcharge if you pay the tax after having received the notification and before the new deadline; and a 20 percent surcharge beyond that.
If you simply don’t pay the IVTM and your debt grows to more than €500, the local council can even seize your car.
Similarly, if you have an accident without valid road tax, many insurers will reject compensation claims, and you will not be able to legally sell your vehicle if you haven’t paid it.