Explainer of the week. After all, when do you have to pay the IUC this year?

A Tax and Customs Authority (AT) recalled, through a shared publication on social networks, that the Single Circulation Tax (IUC) “is paid until the last day of the month of registration of the vehicle“. 

This means that owners of cars with September license plates must pay the IUC by the next 30th. 

Where to pay? The Tax Office explains that the payment can be made through the Finance Portal:

• Enter with NIF and password
• Go to Citizens → Services → IUC → Deliver this year
• Issue payment document

Attention! From next year, there are changes in the IUC payment schedule

This year, the payment dates of the Single Circulation Taxes (IUC) remain, but from next year there are changes. The rules have already been published and the Tax and Customs Authority (AT) has explained, through social networks, the main changes:  

In practice, as of next year, “the IUC is no longer linked to the month of registration and has a unique schedule, depending on the total value of tax to be paid”.

In 2027 there will be a transitional regime:

• Up to 500€ → payment in October
• Over 500€ → payment in July and October

From 2028 the IUC shall be paid on fixed dates:

• Up to 100€ → Single payment in April
• Between 100€ and 500€ → two benefits (April and October)
• More than 500€ → three benefits (April, July and October)

The new model of payment of the IUC determines from 2028 the settlement of the tax on fixed dates, fractionally from EUR 100, providing for a transitional period in 2027, according to a decree-law already published.

The purpose of the transitional standard is to avoid situations where taxpayers would have to pay the IUC for 2026 and 2027 within a short period of time.

The transitional standard also provides for the owner to “require the cancellation of the liquidation of the IUC for the year 2027 in situations where the vehicle registration of the categories is cancelled A, B, C, D or E during that year and before the anniversary date of registration”.

In the text of the decree-law, the government states that changes to the IUC payment model aim to promote “voluntary compliance with tax obligations, speeding up procedures and strengthening trust and transparency in the tax relationship” and “preventing situations that could penalize the taxpayer”.

“ With these legislative changes, the predictability, transparency and efficiency of the tax system are reinforced, promoting a more balanced relationship between tax administration and taxpayers”, he says.

“ It also ensures the tax neutrality of the measure, ensuring, in particular through the transitional provision, that the new rules will not lead to any increased financial effort for the taxpayer”, he adds.

In the diploma published today it is said that “the period of taxation [of the IUC] corresponds to the calendar year, with the exception of the year of registration or registration of the vehicle in national territory, where that period begins on the date of registration or registration and ends on 31 December of the respective year”.

Where the tax period does not correspond to the calendar year, “an exemption shall apply in proportion to the full number of months from 1 January until the date of registration or registration”.

The diploma also provides that, in the case of persons with disabilities whose disability level is equal to or greater than 60% in relation to vehicles of categories A, B and E, the exemption from the IUC which they have so far benefited from in respect of a vehicle in each year cannot exceed the annual amount of EUR 240.

The legislative authorization for the government to amend the IUC payment model was approved in parliament on 17 April, with the votes in favour of PSD, CDS-PP, PS, Livre and JPP and the abstention of Aquiz, PCP, BE and PAN.