Driving car in Spain with UK road tax.

Hi Guy's,

We are driving to Spain next September and we have road tax here in the uk....can we drive in Spain with UK road tax until it runs out or do we have to get Spanish road tax as soon as we get there?

The Harrieman.

UK road tax has no status is Spain other than your UK car should be road legal in it's country of origin to drive in Europe.

You won't be able to get Spanish road tax until you re register the car in Spain, If you are going down this road, this will be part of the process.

Road tax in Spain is issued by the local council in your area, you have to go to the town hall to get it. There is not so much importance attached to road tax here although of course it's illegal not to have it. I have just paid the road tax for our cars for 2015 - 20th November was the cut off date, no reminders or letters

Thanks team GB,

That's important information and will save me buying more road tax here in the UK before we come over to Spain.

Can I assume the discussion is for a car that is being brought to Spain for more than six months?  I was of the understanding that we can drive our UK car here with its UK tax as long as we don't keep it (or us) here for more than 183 days...  

Yes, we are driving to Mallorca and going to live there permanantly and I was curious about the car tax.

Just like you I thought that we could drive our car in Spain with our UK road tax, I am quite pleased that TeamGB has gave me the information that I require. We need to go to the Town hall to register ourselves anyway.

There have been numerous discussions on EOS on this topic.

If it is your intention to bring your car with you and keep it in Spain you will need to transfer within 3 months (I think it may even be 6 weeks as rules keep changing) of arrival and as this will be part of your chattels in your move you will not have to pay import tax as part of the transfer.

At some point you will need to let DVLA know of a pending export of a UK car and I think this is part of the transfer process

Other options include selling your UK as part ex for a Spanish car when you get here – many car dealers’ across Spain will do this especially UK expat owned car dealers

Sell your car in UK and buy when you get to Spain

Personally I see no sense in driving a UK car in Spain much easier and safer to drive a LHD car on Spanish roads – each to their own of course

Good luck

Totally agree about the safety aspect.  In our case, whoever's in the passenger seat has a better view of the road, particularly when going round bends to the right, and has to look out for oncomiing traffic. No day dreaming or idly watching the scenery. It's almost a two- person drive.  If we decide to live in Spain (or Portugal) full- time, we'll get ourselves a left- hand drive vehicle.

Hi Guy's, we have been planning this trip for a couple years now and we have already bought a LHD car here in the UK that we intend to drive over in Mallorca, I have all the documentation for the car as it has been imported here from Germany, I just was'nt sure about the road tax though, thanks for all the advice.

Great thinking, Harrieman!  Hope it all goes well for you...

Thanks for all the info, still got a few things to sort out though, such as health insuranceworking on that just now.....

If you are going to live in Spain on a full time basis, you have to start the registration process of the vehicle within 30 days of registering on the EU foreigners resident in Spain register (still often referred to as residency).

If you leave it longer than that you may have to pay import duty as it will not be classed as a personal possessions import. Ignore the 6 month rule as that applies to non-residents.

Thanks Mariedave, and as we are going to become residents we will start the registration process as soon as we get there.

Harrieman

Such a refreshing change to read about somone planning to move to Spain doing all the correct research, planning etc. unlike many expats who simply arrive and think that the laws do not apply to them

Good luck

Thanks for the compliment Tadd, yes we have been researching for a long time now and as we intend to live out there permantly to be near our Daughter and another wee Grandaughter, we feel it's absolutely vital that we cross all the T's and dot all the I's, we are even learning to speak Spanish and this is an absolute necessity as our grandaughter will be speaking 3 languages.

We are intending a road trip to Mallorca in September next year, so I will probably still be seeking other information.

Take care.

We live in Spain for 6 Months and Ireland the other 6, I have a 2011 VW Passat L.H.D. in Spain and the tax is €50 a Year in Ireland it is €200 a big difference, just one thing I think you are making a mistake by going to live in Mallorca that is a small Island I was there a few times and really I ran out of road after a Week, mainland Spain is a lot more exciting you can travel a lot more around Spain, we go away for a few Days every Month to different parts like Madrid, Saville, Cordoba, Terifa, Valencia, Mini Hollywood, Mojacar, and many more places to go yet,. but in Mallorca you are really boxed in to 80 Miles. Torrevieja in the Costa Blanca is by far the healtiest place in the world to live with the salt lakes. sorry for putting a damper on your dream, but that's my honest opinion and we are going to Spain with 25 Years....think about what I said.....

Mariedav.  Just to clarify your post.  The EU Citizen Registration is residency, it is not RESIDENCIA, which still exist but only applies to Non EU citizens.

johnzx. Were you born pedantic or did you grow into it?