Moving to Spain with your car: the change-of-residence exemption

If you move to Spain and bring your car, you can register it without paying the registration tax thanks to the change-of-residence exemption. It requires having lived outside Spain for at least twelve consecutive months before the move, having used the car at your former residence for at least six months before leaving it, having bought it paying the normal taxes of the country of origin and not selling it within the twelve months following registration. It is declared on form 06 before registering, and registration must be applied for within 60 days of the start of its use in Spain.

What the exemption covers and what it does not

Spain's Special Taxes Act (Ley de Impuestos Especiales, Law 38/1992), declares exempt from the registration tax the means of transport that are registered or used as a result of the transfer of their owner's habitual residence from abroad to Spanish territory. Without it, the car would be subject to that tax when registered here for the first time, even if it is used.

The exemption affects only that tax. It does not free you from the rest of the registration:

• the inspection at an ITV station (Spain's roadworthiness inspection) before registration;
• the road tax of your new town council, the proof of which the DGT (Spain's traffic authority) asks for, as we explain in the road tax on an imported car;
• and the registration application itself at the DGT.

As for VAT, if you come from another EU country with a second-hand car, the European Commission's Your Europe guide states that you do not have to pay VAT when taking it with you, although you must register it where you permanently live and pay there the registration and road taxes that apply. If the car is still “new” for VAT purposes, check your case with the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) first.

The five requirements

The law makes the exemption conditional on all of these requirements being met:

1. Prior residence outside Spain. Having had your habitual residence outside Spanish territory for at least the twelve consecutive months before the move.
2. Car bought with its taxes paid. Having acquired or imported it under the normal tax conditions of the country of origin or provenance, without having benefited from any exemption or tax refund on leaving that country. The law treats this requirement as met for purchases with exemptions under the diplomatic or consular regimes or for members of international organisations, within their limits.
3. Prior use. Having used it at your former residence for at least six months before the date you left it.
4. Registration on time. Applying for registration within the period in article 65.1.d) of the law, which in this case is 60 days.
5. Not selling it straight away. Not transferring it during the twelve months after registration. If you sell it earlier, the tax becomes payable by reference to the date of the breach.

Watch the third requirement: a car bought just before you move does not meet the six months of use at your former residence, so it is taxed like any other imported car. We explain how that tax is calculated in the registration tax on an imported car.

The deadline: 60 days

As a general rule, a resident in Spain who uses a foreign-registered car here has 30 days from the start of its use to apply for definitive registration; if they do not, the tax falls due. The law extends that period to 60 days when the car is used in Spain as a result of the transfer of its owner's habitual residence and the exemption applies.

The period counts, as a general rule, from the date the car is brought into Spain. If you cannot prove it, the later of the purchase date and the date from which you are considered resident in Spain is used. We cover it in more detail in how long a foreign-registered car can be driven.

And one more condition: when the event giving rise to the tax is the use of the car in Spain, the law requires the exemption declaration to be filed within those periods. If you miss it, you lose the exemption.

How it is declared: form 06

This exemption does not need prior recognition by the tax office: it is declared on form 06, the one for exemptions and cases of non-liability without prior recognition, instead of the self-assessment form 576. The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) explains it like this:

• When. Before definitive registration: the car cannot be registered until the declaration has been validated.
• Where. Filing is in person, because documents must be provided. The form and documents are submitted at the Tax Agency's regional or local office (Delegación or Administración) for your tax address, starting from a draft of the declaration. Registered administrative agents (gestores administrativos) party to the agreement with their general council can file it online.
• With which documents. For the change-of-residence code, the instructions ask for a certificate of residence outside Spanish territory for at least twelve consecutive months issued by the competent consular authority and the car's purchase invoice, in original and photocopy.

With form 06 validated, the rest of the file follows the usual path: we cover it in how to register an imported car with the DGT.

If you come from outside the EU: customs

If you move from a country outside the Union, customs comes before registration. The Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) explains that the car can be imported free of tariff duties and exempt from taxes on a change of residence if these requirements are met:

• having lived outside the European Union for at least twelve consecutive months;
• the car must be used: having used it at your former residence for at least six months;
• for the exemption from import VAT, having acquired it under the normal tax conditions of the country of origin, without exemption or tax refund on leaving it.

The import must be done within the twelve months after establishing your residence, at the customs office nearest your new address or at the one of entry. And during the twelve months following acceptance of the declaration, the car cannot be lent, rented or transferred without first informing the authorities. We explain the general process in importing a car from outside the EU.

Mistakes to avoid

• Buying the car just before you move. Without six months of use at your former residence, there is no exemption.
• Letting the 60 days pass. Out of time, the tax falls due and the exemption is lost.
• Filing form 576 instead of 06. The change-of-residence exemption is declared on form 06.
• Arriving without the consular residence certificate or without the purchase invoice.
• Selling the car within a year. If you transfer it within the twelve months after registration, you will have to pay the tax.

Each move has its nuances, especially if you change residence between countries with their own rules. If in doubt, consult the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) or an administrative agent.

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

• Ley 38/1992, de 28 de diciembre, de Impuestos Especiales (texto consolidado), artículos 65 y 66. BOE.
• Modelo 06 (primera matriculación de medios de transporte). Agencia Tributaria.
• Instrucciones del modelo 06. Agencia Tributaria.
• Los vehículos en el traslado de residencia. Agencia Tributaria.
• Los vehículos en el traslado de residencia: requisitos para obtener la franquicia y la exención. Agencia Tributaria.
• Los vehículos en el traslado de residencia: plazos para el despacho a libre práctica. Agencia Tributaria.
• Los vehículos en el traslado de residencia: requisitos después de la importación. Agencia Tributaria.
• El IVA en la compraventa de vehículos. Comisión Europea (Tu Europa).
• Matriculación de vehículos nuevos y vehículos provenientes del extranjero. DGT (sede electrónica).