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Paying Road Tax (IUC) and Passing Vehicle Inspection in Portugal

How much IUC road tax you pay, when it is due before and after the 2027 change, who is exempt, and how the car inspection works.

Paying Road Tax (IUC) and Passing Vehicle Inspection in Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • You own a car, van, or motorcycle registered in Portugal.
  • You have just put a foreign car on Portuguese plates, or plan to.
  • You keep a foreign-plated car in Portugal for more than 183 days a year.

Not for you if: you are still bringing a car into the country and need the import tax. Read "Importing a Car to Portugal" instead.

Updated September 2026. A new law published on 4 August 2026 changes when you pay IUC. In 2027 most owners pay in October. From 2028 everyone pays in April, with instalments for larger bills.

Every vehicle registered in Portugal pays an annual road tax, the Imposto Único de Circulação (IUC). Finanças does not post you a bill. You issue the payment document yourself on the Portal das Finanças. Most small and mid-size cars registered since July 2007 pay roughly €110 to €300 a year. In 2026, IUC is due by the end of the month in which your car was first registered. Cars over four years old also need a roadworthiness inspection (inspeção periódica obrigatória, IPO). It costs €37.47 and takes under an hour.

Who pays IUC

You pay IUC if a vehicle is registered in your name in Portugal. It does not matter whether you drive it. You keep paying until the registration is cancelled after scrapping.

These people also count as the owner for IUC:

  • someone leasing the car with an option to buy
  • someone buying on credit where the seller keeps title until the last payment
  • the estate of a person who has died, through the person managing it

If you keep a foreign-plated car here. IUC also applies to a car registered abroad that stays in Portugal for more than 183 days in a calendar year. There is an exception for a car from another EU country that qualifies for temporary admission, for example for cross-border work, study, or a posting.

If you sell your car. You stay liable until the change of ownership is registered. Make sure the sale is registered straight away, not just signed. From 2027 the law says the taxpayer is whoever is the registered owner on 1 January.

How much IUC you pay

Your bill depends on the vehicle's category, engine size, fuel, age, and, for newer cars, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The rates have not changed since 1 January 2024. The 2025 and 2026 State Budgets left them alone.

The categories.

  • Category A: cars first registered in Portugal or elsewhere in the EU from 1981 to 30 June 2007. Tax depends on engine size, fuel, and year. Bills are usually low.
  • Category B: cars first registered in the EU from 1 July 2007. Most cars on the road are in this group.
  • Categories C and D: heavier goods and passenger vehicles, taxed by weight and axles.
  • Category E: motorcycles, mopeds, tricycles, and quadricycles registered from 1992, taxed by engine size.
  • Categories F and G: private boats and private aircraft.

Cars first registered before 1981 are outside the tax.

How a Category B bill is worked out. You add an engine size amount to a CO2 amount, then multiply by an age factor.

Engine size (cubic centimetres):

  • up to 1,250: €31.77
  • 1,251 to 1,750: €63.74
  • 1,751 to 2,500: €127.35
  • over 2,500: €435.84

CO2 (grams per kilometre). Older cars use the NEDC figure; cars tested since late 2018 use the higher WLTP figure. Your registration certificate shows which.

  • NEDC up to 120, or WLTP up to 140: €65.15
  • NEDC 121 to 180, or WLTP 141 to 205: €97.63
  • NEDC 181 to 250, or WLTP 206 to 260: €212.04
  • NEDC over 250, or WLTP over 260: €363.25

If your car was first registered after 1 January 2017, add €31.77 in the third CO2 band, or €63.74 in the top band.

Age factor: 1.00 for 2007, 1.05 for 2008, 1.10 for 2009, and 1.15 for 2010 onwards.

Diesel surcharge. Diesel cars in Category B pay an extra amount on top. It runs from €5.02 (up to 1,250 cc) through €10.07 and €20.12 to €68.85 (over 2,500 cc). Category A diesel cars pay a smaller surcharge.

Examples for 2026:

  • 2020 petrol, 999 cc, WLTP 125 g/km: (€31.77 + €65.15) × 1.15 = €111.46.
  • 2020 diesel, 1,461 cc, WLTP 135 g/km: (€63.74 + €65.15) × 1.15 + €10.07 = €158.29.
  • 2019 diesel SUV, 1,995 cc, WLTP 170 g/km: (€127.35 + €97.63) × 1.15 + €20.12 = €278.85.

The portal shows your exact amount when you issue the payment document, so you do not need to work it out yourself.

Who does not pay IUC

These are the exemptions most readers will meet:

  • Fully electric cars. Exempt. The portal will not let you issue a payment document for one. Hybrids and plug-in hybrids pay in full.
  • Classic cars. Exempt if the vehicle is more than 30 years old, is recognised as of historic interest, is used only occasionally, and covers no more than 500 kilometres a year. This applies to Categories A, C, D, and E. A classic first registered in the EU only recently falls into Category B and does not qualify.
  • People with a disability of 60% or more. Exempt for one vehicle a year in Category A or E, or a Category B car with CO2 up to 180 g/km (NEDC) or 205 g/km (WLTP). The exemption is capped at €240 a year for cars bought from 2 August 2016. From 2027 the €240 cap applies to every car.
  • Taxis and licensed hire cars with driver, within the same CO2 limits.
  • Diplomatic vehicles, fire brigades, and ambulances.

How to claim the disability exemption:

  1. Have your multipurpose medical disability certificate (atestado médico de incapacidade multiúso) ready.
  2. On the Portal das Finanças, go to Cidadãos, Serviços, Dados Cadastrais, Situação de Incapacidade, and submit the request with the type, degree, and start date.
  3. Do this before the IUC deadline in the first year. Finanças must approve it in time.
  4. You do not need to apply again in later years while the conditions still apply.

You can also ask at any tax office (Serviço de Finanças), by appointment.

When to pay IUC

In 2026. Pay by the last day of the month in which the car was first registered. A car first registered on 14 May 2018 pays its 2026 IUC by 31 May 2026.

In the year you register a car in Portugal. You must register it within 60 days, then pay IUC within 30 days after that. That gives you up to 90 days from the date the plate was issued.

In 2027 (transition year). The new law moves everyone to fixed dates. For 2027 only:

  • If your total IUC is €500 or less, you pay it all in October 2027.
  • If it is more than €500, you pay in two instalments, July and October, or all in July.

From 2028. Finanças works out your bill by the end of April. The total covers all vehicles in your name.

  • €100 or less: one payment in April.
  • More than €100, up to €500: two instalments, April and October.
  • More than €500: three instalments, April, July, and October.

You can always pay the whole amount in April. If you miss an instalment, the rest falls due at once.

For a car first registered part way through the year from 2027, IUC is reduced in proportion to the full months already gone before the registration date.

How to pay IUC

  1. Log in to the Portal das Finanças with your NIF and password, or with the Chave Móvel Digital.
  2. Open IUC, choose "Entregar ano corrente", then "Entregar IUC".
  3. Pick the category and click Pesquisar. You can filter by registration month.
  4. Select the plate and click Emitir, check the details, then click "Emitir para pagamento".
  5. Print or save the payment document (documento único de cobrança).
  6. Pay by Multibanco or home banking under "Pagamentos ao Estado", at a CTT post office, or at a tax office.

Keep the payment document and the receipt.

Direct debit. You can set up direct debit for IUC if you own the vehicle, it is not leased, and it is in Category A, B, C, D, or E and under 12 tonnes. It does not work for bills Finanças has raised itself, or in a year after a disability exemption.

Get the alerts. Finanças does not have to remind you. Turn on email alerts for tax notices under A Minha Área, Notificações e Citações, Ver/Gerir Canais. Check that your email address is confirmed and your tax address is current.

If you pay IUC late

  • Interest. Late-payment interest runs on the unpaid tax. The rate for 2026 is 7.221% a year.
  • A fine. For a missed payment through carelessness, the fine is 15% to 50% of the unpaid tax, with a minimum of €50.
  • A smaller fine if you act first. If you pay before Finanças starts proceedings, you can ask for a reduced fine through the portal. The minimum reduced fine is €25.
  • Enforcement. Unpaid IUC becomes a tax debt. Finanças can then start debt recovery, which adds costs.

If you get a bill you think is wrong, for example for a car you sold, reply before the deadline. Use Divergências on the portal, send documents through the e-balcão message service, or go to a tax office.

Vehicle inspection: when you need it

This applies to you if you own a car or light van registered in Portugal. The IPO checks that the vehicle is safe to drive. It is separate from IUC and run by IMT.

Cars (light passenger vehicles):

  • first inspection four years after first registration
  • then every two years until the car is eight years old
  • then every year

Other vehicles:

  • Light vans (goods): two years after first registration, then every year.
  • Taxis, driving-school cars, school transport, and ambulances: one year after first registration, then yearly, then every six months from the eighth year.
  • Heavy goods vehicles: every year from the first year.

Motorcycles are not yet inspected. The law allows it, but the schedule has not been set.

You can have the inspection in the three months before the due date without changing your anniversary date.

Vehicle inspection: what it costs and how it works

Fees for 2026, VAT included:

  • Periodic inspection, car or light van: €37.47
  • Periodic inspection, heavy vehicle: €56.08
  • Re-inspection after a fail: €9.40
  • Inspection to register an imported car or restore a plate: €93.52

The fees are the same at every centre, so you can choose any licensed inspection centre (centro de inspeção técnica de veículos). IMT publishes the list. Most centres take bookings online or by phone, and many take walk-ins.

What to bring:

  • the vehicle registration certificate (certificado de matrícula, or the older DUA)
  • the last inspection report, if you have it

What they check. Brakes, steering, suspension, lights, tyres (at least 1.6 mm of tread), seat belts, emissions, and the body and chassis. Electric and hybrid cars have extra high-voltage checks. Since 2020, inspectors also check the odometer against earlier inspections and look for open safety recalls. If your car has an outstanding recall, get it done at a dealer first. Recall repairs are free.

If your car fails. Minor faults are noted, and the car passes. A serious fault means a fail. You repair it and return for a re-inspection within the time on your report, usually 30 days. A dangerous fault means you must not drive the car except to have it repaired.

If you drive without a valid inspection. Police can fine you €250 to €1,250 and hold your documents until the car passes.

If you are new to Portugal

  • Imported cars. Your IUC starts in the year the car gets Portuguese plates, with no tax for earlier years. The car also needs a registration inspection (€93.52) before it gets plates.
  • Foreign plates for a long stay. After 183 days in a year, IUC applies unless you qualify for temporary admission. Registering the car in Portugal is usually the cleaner route.
  • Special tax regimes do not help. NHR or IFICI status has no effect on IUC.
  • Selling before you leave. Register the change of ownership, or you can be billed for next year.

Sources

Last verified September 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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