What is the fine for not paying your road tax?

Impuesto de Circulación

The Impuesto de Circulación is something you are obliged to pay your town hall every year, if you are the owner of a motor vehicle . But what happens if you don’t pay it?

Can you be fined by the traffic police?

First of all it is important to know the difference between Impuesto de Circulación and Impuesto de Matriculación, as they sound the same and are often confused by a lot of people.

The latter is paid only once, when the car is registered for the first time.

The Impuesto de Circulación is to be paid every year, to the town hall where the vehicle is registered, until the car has been scrapped and written off officially.

So what about the question of fines?

Traffic police cannot fine you for not being able to provide proof of payment of the road tax, as it doesn’t have any effect on the safety or legality of the vehicle, it is an administrative issue between the town hall and you.

However, you can be fined for not being able to show other obligatory documents in the vehicle such as your driving licence and the vehicle documents, Ficha Técnica and Permiso de Circulación.

Although you can’t be fined for not paying the road tax it is worth knowing that this will add up year after year and the town hall will apply surcharges for non payment.

Embargo

Therefore, if after receiving various reminders and invoices with surcharges that add up to over 500 euros, the town hall can embargo your account or even your vehicle.

It is also worth noting that if you have not paid the road tax you will be unable to sell your vehicle, as the Dirección General de Tráfico ask for the last receipt of payment to be able to process the change of ownership.