39% of Company Cars Registered in Spanish Tax Havens

In 2024, local councils collected over 3.9 billion euros through vehicle tax. According to the latest analysis by the European Motorists Association (AEA), there are tax differences of up to 900% between municipalities, prompting leasing and rental companies to register their fleets there.

According to the association's data, 37.8 million vehicle owners, whether they own a moped or a bus, had to pay this tax due to their registration with Traffic.

In Donostia, a motorist pays 49% more in this tax than one in Madrid and 158% more than another in Tenerife. These differences are noticeable in provincial capitals but are much more tangible for some towns with populations between 600 and 15,000, which have become tax havens.

Of the 52 capitals, five have increased their rate (Ávila, Cuenca, Pamplona, Soria, and Vitoria), three have lowered it (Castellón, Córdoba, and Huesca), and the rest have maintained it, with seven already charging the legal maximum.

The tax is calculated based on the fiscal power of the car for passenger vehicles; engine displacement for motorcycles, and weight and number of seats for trucks and buses, according to the minimum rate for all of Spain except the Basque Country and Navarra. Councils can discretionarily increase these fees up to double this minimum rate.

Additionally, discounts of up to 75% can be established if specific propulsion or fuel is used, such as electric engines, or the tax can be waived for historic vehicles.

Thus, a car with a fiscal power of 11.99 horsepower would pay 34.08 euros in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 68.16 in Barcelona, and 87.93 in San Sebastián, representing a 158% difference.

San Sebastián is one of the most expensive municipalities for vehicle tax, a category that also includes Vitoria, Bilbao, Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Lleida, Ciudad Real, Salamanca, Valladolid, Huelva, Granada, and Santander.

The cheapest, on the other hand, are ten municipalities located in Madrid (Moralzarzal, Venturada, Navacerrada, Las Rozas de Puerto Real, Robledo de Chavela, Brunete, Collado Mediano, and Patones), Alicante (Finestrat), and Gran Canaria (Tejeda).

AEA explains that the origin of this "tax haven" phenomenon began with the removal of the provincial indicator from Spanish license plates in September 2000, allowing fleet owners to concentrate vehicle registration in municipalities with low taxes.

These favourable conditions have resulted in 27 municipalities having a registration rate higher than that of the United States or Japan, such as in La Hiruela (Madrid), which registered 50 cars per inhabitant in 2024.