Spanish registration tax on an imported car.

What the tax is

Its official name is Impuesto Especial sobre Determinados Medios de Transporte (IEDMT); everyone calls it the impuesto de matriculación. Most countries have nothing quite like it. It is paid once, on the first permanent registration in Spain. A car that has been registered in Rotterdam, Brussels or Munich for years is registered in Spain for the first time, so the tax is due.

Don't confuse it with the annual road tax of your town hall (IVTM) or the fee of the traffic authority: those come on top, but they are much smaller.

The CO₂ bands

What counts is the official CO₂ figure on the COC and the registration certificate; for cars tested under WLTP, the WLTP figure. The rates in the law for cars and SUVs:

The autonomous regions may set their own rates within limits; where they haven't, these apply.

One gram decides. At 159 g/km you pay 4.75%, at 160 already 9.75%. Before you buy, look at the official figure on the COC, not the brochure.

The base for used cars

For a new car the base is the price before tax. For a used car the law talks about “market value”, and the Spanish Ministry of Finance sets every year how it is calculated; for 2026, in Orden HAC/1501/2025. Three steps:

1. The average value of your model

Annex I of the order lists thousands of models by make, version, fuel and power, each with an official average price. That is the starting point, not what you paid. If you bought cheaply, the base can come out higher than your purchase price.

2. The age percentage

The percentage from annex IV is applied to the average value, counted from the first registration, in whatever country:

Motorhomes and campervans have their own, slower table. A car that ran for more than six months as a taxi, a rental car without driver or a driving-school car is valued at 70% of the result.

3. Minus the taxes already built in

This is the step most often forgotten. The table value includes the VAT and the registration tax the car would have paid as a new car in Spain. When the used car comes from abroad, the law says that share is taken out, and the order gives the formula:

Base = market value ÷ (1 + VAT rate + registration tax rate)

With 21% VAT and a car in the 4.75% band, you divide by 1.2575. Depending on the band, this lowers the base by 17 to 26%.

A worked example

A made-up car, to show the arithmetic: table value €45,000, first registered abroad in March 2023, 135 g/km WLTP, registered in Alicante in November 2026.

Without the third step it would be €1,197. And at 165 g/km, €1,879.16: almost double for thirty grams more.

If your exact model isn't in the table, the closest one is used or the market value is established another way, for example with an appraisal. That is part of what we check in the document check, with the real table for your version.

When and how you pay

• With Modelo 576 on the online portal of the Spanish tax agency (Agencia Tributaria), before you apply for registration. The receipt is one of the documents the traffic authority asks for.
• If no tax is due, instead of the 576 you file Modelo 06 (exemptions that are only declared) or Modelo 05 (exemptions the tax office has to recognise first).
• If the car is already being used in Spain, registration has to be applied for within 30 days of starting to use it, or within 60 when moving with the tax exemption. After that the tax is due anyway.

Exemptions and reductions

Moving to Spain

The most important case for anyone bringing their own car. The exemption is in article 66.1.n) of the law, is declared with Modelo 06 and requires:

• residence outside Spain for the twelve months before the move, without interruption;
• use of the car at the old place of residence for at least six months before leaving;
• a normal, tax-paid purchase there, without exemption or refund on export;
• an application for registration within 60 days;
• no sale in the twelve months after registration. Otherwise the tax becomes due.

Others

• People with disabilities: exemption for vehicles in their name and for their use, with prior recognition by the tax office (Modelo 05) and its own conditions.
• Large families (familia numerosa): the base is halved for vehicles with five to nine seats for the family.

Frequent questions

I already paid VAT in my home country. Do I pay twice?

On a used car no VAT is due in Spain. The registration tax is a separate Spanish tax, so it isn't a double charge. The third step of the calculation makes sure the taxes built into the table value aren't taxed again.

Can I declare what I paid?

You can, but the tax office may check it. Declaring the table value is safe: the tax office can't challenge it by other means. That is why it's the usual route.

And electric cars or plug-in hybrids?

If the official CO₂ figure is 120 g/km or less, the rate is 0% and you pay nothing. The return still has to be filed.

Who calculates it?

You can do it yourself with the year's order. If you hand us the registration, we calculate, file and pay it in your name; the amount stays yours and isn't part of our fixed price. If you want to know the number in advance, ask for the free estimate. The other steps are in the guide to registering a foreign car.