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Buying a Car at a Tax Office Auction in Portugal

How to find, inspect, bid on, pay for and register a car sold by the Portuguese tax office after it was seized for unpaid tax.

Buying a Car at a Tax Office Auction in Portugal

Last verified: September 2026.

Who this is for

  • You want a used car and are open to buying one the tax office has seized.
  • You have a tax number (NIF) and a Portal das Finanças password, or can get them.
  • You can pay the whole price within 15 days of winning.

Not for you if: you want to buy a house or flat at auction. Read "Buying a Repossessed Property at Auction in Portugal".

The tax office (Finanças) sells cars it has seized from people who owe tax. The sales run online on the Portal das Finanças, and anyone with a tax number and a portal password can bid. Each online auction lasts 15 days and opens at 70% of the value the tax office gave the car. If you win, you must pay the full price within 15 days. You then have 60 days to register the car in your name, which costs €65.

What you need before you bid

  • A Portuguese tax number (NIF).
  • A password for the Portal das Finanças linked to that tax number. Only logged-in users can bid.
  • The full price, ready to pay within 15 days of the sale. There is no time to arrange a loan after you win.
  • For registering the car online later: a Citizen Card with its digital certificate and a card reader. Without them, you can register in person or by post.

Where to find the cars

The sales are listed in the tax office's online sales system (Sistema Integrado de Vendas), inside the Portal das Finanças. It covers cars, property, company shares, and other goods seized for tax debts or left abandoned to the state. You must log in to see the list, place bids, and set alerts or favourites. The tax office publishes a user guide to the system.

Each sale notice must tell you:

  • which tax office is running the case;
  • what is for sale, in brief;
  • where, on which dates, and at what hours you can look at it;
  • the base price;
  • where and by when to send offers, and when they are opened.

How the price is set

For a car, the value starts from the figure written in the seizure record. The tax office can set a different value, and it may ask an expert for an opinion first. The opening price is 70% of that value.

If nobody bids, the price drops in stages:

  1. An online auction runs for 15 days at 70% of the value.
  2. If there are no bids, the sale moves to sealed written offers for 15 to 20 days, at 50%.
  3. If there are still no offers, a new 15-day online auction opens, and the car goes to the highest bid.

Whatever happens, the tax office cannot sell for less than 20% of the value.

Look at the car before you bid

The person keeping the car (the depositary) must show it to anyone who wants to examine it. You can do this up to the deadline for offers, during the hours given in the sale notice. The depositary can be the person who owes the tax.

The official pages do not say whether the keys, the registration document, or the inspection papers come with the car. Ask the tax office running the sale before you bid. Its name is on the notice.

How bidding works

  1. Log in, open the sale, and read and accept the conditions for making an offer.
  2. Bid at or above the base price. Each new bid must beat the highest one so far, and the system shows you both figures.
  3. Once you submit a bid, you cannot withdraw it.
  4. The tax office decides who wins at the time set for the end of the auction. If the auction ends on a non-working day, or after 17:00, it decides at 10:00 on the next working day.
  5. Every bidder can see the result on the portal after logging in.

Magistrates and tax office staff cannot buy. Neither can companies based in tax havens, or companies whose real owners cannot be identified.

What it costs, and paying on time

After you win, the tax office gives you a payment slip for the whole price. You have 15 days from the decision to pay. Being owed money by the seller does not excuse you from paying.

For very large purchases, you can ask within five days to pay at least one fifth now and the rest within 12 months. The threshold is high and is set as a multiple of a court fee unit.

If you do not pay on time, you are banned from making any offer in any tax office sale for two years.

Getting the car and the title

You own the car only when the tax office issues the title of transfer (título de transmissão). It does this after you have paid and any tax on the sale is settled.

With the title, you can ask the tax office to make whoever holds the car hand it over. It can call the police to help. The registration of the seizure, and any charges that end with the sale, are cancelled. The tax office orders this itself if you have not already asked for it.

Registering the car in your name

You must ask for the change of owner within 60 days, and it is your job as the buyer. You can do it:

  • online, through Automóvel Online, which is 15% cheaper;
  • in person, at a registry office;
  • by post.

Attach the document that proves the sale, which here is the title of transfer.

The fee for registering a change of owner is €65, or 15% less online. If you register late, you pay the fee twice, so €130 at the counter.

Tax and inspection after you buy

The annual vehicle tax (IUC) is owed by the person registered as the owner. Register quickly, so the tax office's records match reality.

Passenger cars must pass a periodic inspection four years after their first registration. After that, they need one every two years until they are eight years old, and then every year. Check when the car's next inspection is due.

If the car is not what was advertised

You can ask for the sale to be cancelled. The time limits are short:

  • 90 days if the car carries a charge nobody mentioned that has not lapsed, or if it does not match what the notice described;
  • 30 days or 15 days for the other grounds the law allows.

The time runs from the sale, or from when you learnt the fact. Send the request to the regional tax office. It has 45 days to decide. If it says nothing in that time, your request counts as refused.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Sources

This guide is written from official Portuguese and EU sources and, for prices and contact details, the providers' own websites.

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

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