Who has a vehicle, has a 'get money'. Literally. And, as you know, a car, a motorcycle, or any vehicle includes maintenance, gasoline or diesel, and also comply with a series of taxes such as the road tax.
But What is the road tax? Is it mandatory to pay? How much do you pay? Where? Just once or how often? All these questions that you can ask yourself, we are going to try to answer them so that you do not find yourself with a fine if the police stop you and ask you for some papers that you may not have.
What is the road tax?
The road tax is the name by which it is commonly known. But its "formal" name is Tax on motor vehicles, or its acronym IVTM. It is a mandatory expense for anyone who owns a vehicle.
And what does that mean? Well, in addition to paying for that vehicle, you have to pay to drive on public roads with it. That is, this tax tax your right to circulate on the road (because, in a way, when you use it, it implies that you are spending it).
This tax has been in Spain since 1990, the year it was introduced, and the municipalities are responsible for collecting the money. However, before that date there was also another tax on the use of roads; the so-called Municipal Tax on Vehicle Circulation, IMCV.
What vehicles have to pay the road tax?
If you are thinking of an electric scooter, a bicycle, a car, a motorcycle… Yes, they are all vehicles, but there is a difference. And it is that really those who are "obliged" to pay the road tax are those who register in Spain, either permanently, temporarily or with tourist registration. That is, if you have a car, motorcycle, truck, bus, etc. you're going to have to pay that tax.
There are only a few cases in which this tax is exempt: in case the vehicles are official, diplomatic representatives, medical vehicles, for people with reduced mobility (equal to or greater than 33%), urban public transport ( with more than 9 seats) and machinery (provided you have the Agricultural Inspection Card).
The road tax, is it paid only once?
Unfortunately not. This tax is annual, which means that you will have to bear the cost every year. Some municipalities allow the payment to be made in installments, that is, paying a part at the beginning of the year and another at the end of the year, but it is not a rule that everyone must do but it will depend on each municipality and how they manage the collection of this tax.
The payment notification is made before, since they must give a time to pay it. If after that time the payment is not made, they can claim that money, with a surcharge for not having made the payment on the corresponding date, but also, in case the police stop you and ask for the papers, you would face a fine because you do not have all the regulations in order.
If it is still not paid, you risk opening a process of seizure of the bank account, with the aim that the administration pay off the debt you have contracted. In fact, until you do, you will not be able to use your account (and you would have a lot of trouble opening another one and having it operational).
When and where to pay
From January 1, every owner of a registered vehicle has the obligation to pay the Tax on Mechanical Traction Vehicles. However, it does not mean that if you do not pay it on January 1, you will already have a surcharge; the municipalities always give a margin of time to make the payment effective by the holder, or even to domicile it to avoid having to remember or pay it manually.
As for where, this is determined by the address that appears on the registration certificate of each vehicle. These must be "registered" in a domicile, which is usually the family or work address, and therefore the collection will correspond to the municipality of that municipality. What does that mean? Well, it will be at the City Council where this procedure must be paid, or, otherwise, through the bank.
How much to pay
We cannot give you an exact figure of what you have to pay for Road Tax, since the final amount will depend on the type of vehicle you have. This is calculated with a fixed part, which is priced according to power, fiscal horsepower, fiscal power (displacement and number of cylinders). In addition, to this we must add an increase that each city council can apply.
This is the reason why, depending on which city or municipality, the tax may be cheaper or more expensive.
What happens if I sell the vehicle, who pays the road tax?
You can find yourself in such a situation. For example, you decide to sell your car at some point throughout the year. In this case, if you have already paid the road tax, what you could do is add to the sale price the proportional part of the road tax that you are no longer going to enjoy.
For example, imagine that in June you sell the car. By that date, the tax is already paid in full, but you will not enjoy the car beyond June. Therefore, to that price for which you sell the car you could add the part of the 6 months of the road tax that you have paid and you are not going to enjoy, but the other person will.
Now, you should keep in mind that, when you sell a vehicle, there must be a change of ownership since, otherwise, for legal purposes you could continue to be the owner and that forces you to face the taxes that have to be paid for it, even when you do not have it.