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Import guides · 2026

How to import a car, country by country.

The steps, documents, deadlines and traps for each destination we calculate. Read the guide for where the car is going, run the numbers in the calculator, then buy.

Importing a car into Spain

Spain taxes the registration, not the purchase: the impuesto de matriculación (IEDMT) is based on CO₂ and the car's value, and every imported car passes an ITV inspection before the DGT issues Spanish plates.

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Importing a car into Portugal

Portugal's ISV is one of Europe's steepest registration taxes: a cylinder component plus a CO₂ component, with separate and much harsher tables for diesel. Used imports get an age reduction of up to 80 %, and the whole procedure — customs declaration, inspection, IMT plate — is done in a fixed order with a 20-working-day clock.

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Importing a car into the Netherlands

The Netherlands has the highest registration tax in the region, the BPM, based on CO₂ with a heavy diesel surcharge. The good news: the process is fully digital and the RDW handles the inspection and registration in one visit.

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Importing a car into Belgium

Belgium has one federal registration (DIV) and three regional registration taxes (BIV / TMC). The one step people forget: every imported car, even from the EU, needs a customs sticker — the vignette 705 — before the DIV will register it.

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Importing a car into Germany

Germany has no registration tax, so a used car from the EU costs little more than the inspection and the plates. The work is in the paperwork: HU/AU, a data confirmation when the COC is missing, and the Zulassungsstelle.

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Importing a car into Austria

Austria taxes the import with the NoVA, a percentage of the car's value that rises with CO₂ — (CO₂ − 91) ÷ 5 in 2026 — plus a malus above 155 g/km. Used cars from the EU pay no VAT, but the NoVA must be declared at the Finanzamt before the Zulassungsstelle will register the car.

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Importing a car into Switzerland

Switzerland is outside the EU but its import taxes are simple: customs duty by weight (waived with an EU origin proof), 4 % Automobilsteuer and 8.1 % VAT. The gate is the customs form 13.20A — without it no cantonal office will register the car.

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Importing a car into France

France charges no registration tax as such, but two malus taxes bite hard on imports: the malus écologique on CO₂ (up to €80,000) and the malus au poids from 1,500 kg — both reduced by 10 % per year of age. Add the carte grise, priced per cheval fiscal by region.

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Importing a car into Italy

Italy has no CO₂ registration tax: the bill is the IPT (a provincial tax on engine power), a handful of fixed fees and, for non-EU cars, 10 % duty and 22 % VAT. The work is administrative — the "nazionalizzazione" runs through the Motorizzazione Civile, the PRA and, for every EU car, the tax office.

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Importing a car into Poland

Poland is the EU's biggest importer of used cars, and the procedure is built for volume: excise (akcyza) of 3.1 % or 18.6 % by engine size, a sworn translation, a technical inspection and registration at the starostwo. The only deadline that bites is the 14-day akcyza declaration.

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Importing a car into Denmark

Denmark has Europe's heaviest registration tax: 25 %, 85 % and 150 % of the car's Danish value plus a CO₂ surcharge. The tax is levied on what the car is worth in Denmark, not on what you paid, and for a used car it falls in step with the value.

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Importing a car into Norway

Norway is outside the EU: every import pays 25 % VAT and the engangsavgift, a one-off tax on weight and CO₂ that is reduced by an age table for used cars. Passenger cars are duty-free, and since 2026 the tax structure is simpler — but not cheaper.

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Importing a car into Sweden

Sweden is the easy Nordic country: no registration tax at all. An EU import costs you an origin check at Transportstyrelsen, a registration inspection and plates — under SEK 3,000 in fees. New cars pay 25 % VAT to Skatteverket, and newer cars carry the malus road tax for their first three years.

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Importing a car into the United States

The US has no VAT and, since 2025, a tariff that depends on where the car comes from. The real gate is compliance: a car under 25 years old must meet US safety and emissions rules, and most foreign-market cars simply do not.

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Importing a car into Canada

Canada admits cars under 15 years old only if they were built for the US or Canadian market; the rest must wait until they turn 15. Taxes are light — 6.1 % duty (0 % for CUSMA-built cars), 5 % GST at the border and provincial tax at registration — and the RIV programme handles US-spec cars.

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Importing a car into Mexico

Mexico is a closed door for most used imports: only cars built in the US, Canada or Mexico, exactly 8–9 model years old, may be imported definitively — and only by residents of certain states. New cars can enter from anywhere, at 20 % duty or 0 % under a trade agreement, plus IVA, DTA and ISAN.

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Importing a car into Japan

Japan charges no customs duty on cars and welcomes left-hand drive, but a "parallel import" must prove it meets Japanese safety and emission rules. The cost is not the tax — it is the testing, unless a report already exists for your exact model.

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Importing a car into China

China does not allow the import of used cars at all. New cars can be imported — usually through a parallel-import dealer in a pilot zone — at 15 % tariff, a consumption tax of 1–40 % by engine size, 13 % VAT and a 10 % purchase tax. The hard part is not the tax but the licence plate.

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Importing a car into Dubai (UAE)

Low taxes, strict rules: 5 % duty and 5 % VAT, but only left-hand-drive cars under ten years old, and every non-GCC car goes through conformity checks before the RTA will register it.

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How much BPM do you get back when you export a Dutch car?

Calculate for free how much BPM (Dutch registration tax) is refunded when a Dutch car is exported to an EU/EEA country. Enter the licence plate: RDW data and the official depreciation table do the rest.

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