IUC Overhaul: Car Tax Moves Off the Matrícula Anniversary to Fixed April, July and October Dates From 2028
The IUC motor tax will no longer fall in the month of a car's registration. Parliament's specialty committee approved a new schedule on 15 April: a transitional calendar in 2027 and, from 2028, fixed April, July and October payment dates depending on the size of the bill.
Portugal's car tax is about to stop depending on the birthday of the vehicle. On 15 April, the specialty committee of the Assembly of the Republic approved the government's request for legislative authorisation to rewrite the payment calendar of the Imposto Único de Circulação (IUC), moving every motorist off the current matrícula-based schedule and onto fixed calendar dates from 2028.
How the vote went
The authorisation passed with the votes of the PSD, CDS-PP and Iniciativa Liberal (IL). PS and Chega abstained. The measure now has to return to the Assembly's plenary for a final global vote, but as drafted it gives the government 180 days to modify the IUC Code accordingly. An amendment pushed by the PS — and accepted — clarified that the tax is calculated 'by annual total liquidation per taxpayer' rather than vehicle by vehicle, which matters for households with more than one car.
The 2027 transition year
Because the new calendar cannot cleanly overlay the old one without a transition, 2027 will be a hybrid. If the total IUC owed by a taxpayer is €500 or less, the entire amount falls due in October 2027. Above that threshold, the bill is split into two instalments paid in July and October, with the option to settle it in full in July.
The mechanism is designed to stop drivers from being hit twice in a short window — paying IUC for 2026 under the old rules and IUC for 2027 under the new ones within weeks of each other.
The permanent 2028 calendar
From January 2028 the system becomes simpler and more predictable. Bills of up to €100 are due by 30 April of each year. Bills between €100 and €500 are split into two: April and October. Anything above €500 is paid in three instalments — April, July and October.
Missing one instalment triggers the immediate maturation of the remaining ones, an anti-evasion clause designed to prevent drivers from silently rolling a small residual balance into the next tax year. Newly registered vehicles will benefit from a proportional exemption: the tax is charged at €1 per full month from January up to the registration date, a mechanical replacement for the current 'first-anniversary' treatment.
Why Lisbon is doing this
The current IUC regime — where the month of payment depends on when the car's number plate was issued — is considered administratively archaic. It spreads tax receipts unevenly through the year, forces the Autoridade Tributária to send personalised reminders by month of birth, and complicates debt collection because the 'month of reference' differs for every vehicle in the fleet.
By concentrating collections in three predictable calendar months, the Treasury gains cash-flow smoothing and cheaper administration. For drivers with more than one car, it also means a single annual deadline instead of staggered bills throughout the year — though some will now face a larger combined payment on one date.
What this means for expat drivers
Residents who registered cars in Portugal under the old system do not need to do anything yet; the Autoridade Tributária will issue bills under the new calendar automatically when it takes effect. What changes is the diary. Anyone who bought a Portuguese-plated car in the spring or summer months has, until now, also had their IUC deadline in that window; from 2028 they will instead receive one (or two, or three) bills between April and October every year, regardless of when the car was first registered.
Sources: Jornal Económico; Público; CNN Portugal; TVI.
