Bring your car or buy one in Portugal?
With the exemption, bringing the car is almost always the cheapest way. Without it, it depends on the ISV for your car.
By Gerardus Koetje · Updated on
Question 1: do you get the exemption?
This is the question that decides everything. If you meet the conditions in ISV exemption, you pay no ISV and only the smaller costs remain: the inspection, the IMT and IRN fees, new plates. You keep the car you know, with the service history you know.
The price you pay for it is time and being tied down. The route takes a few weeks of attention, and you may not sell the car for 12 months after the Portuguese registration.
Go through the conditions honestly. Two things often go wrong: the car has not been in your name for six months yet, or you have already been in Portugal for more than 12 months.
Question 2: without the exemption, how much is the ISV?
If you do not get the exemption, first calculate the ISV with the simulator in the Portal das Finanças. The amount depends on engine capacity and CO2 emissions, less the reduction for age: 10% to 80%.
The direction follows from how the tax is built:
- the smaller the engine and the lower the emissions, the lower the ISV;
- with a large engine and high emissions the amount can be substantial, even after the reduction for age;
- a fully electric car falls outside ISV.
Put the result next to what your car fetches in the Netherlands and what a comparable car costs in Portugal.
Question 3: is the car suited to Portugal?
A few practical points that have nothing to do with tax:
- Parts and service. Is the make represented in your part of Portugal, and is there a garage nearby that knows it?
- Roads. If you live on an unpaved road, your requirements differ from those in a Dutch city.
- Age. A car that needs replacing in two years is one you import for a short period, while the ban on selling lasts a year.
Question 4: what does selling and buying again cost?
If you sell in the Netherlands and buy in Portugal, you import nothing: a car with a Portuguese registration has already had its ISV. Against that, you trade twice, and with a second-hand car in a country whose market you do not know you run more risk.
If you buy in Portugal from a private seller or a dealer, the transfer of ownership at the IRN is the step to watch. The same legal deadline of 60 days applies to it.
In short
| Situation | Our advice |
|---|---|
| You meet the exemption and the car is in good condition | Bring it |
| You meet the exemption but want to be rid of the car within a year | Sell in the Netherlands |
| No exemption, electric car | Bring it |
| No exemption, economical young petrol car | Calculate the ISV first |
| No exemption, large or old diesel | Sell in the Netherlands |
Frequently asked questions
How much ISV will I pay for my car?
That depends on the engine capacity, the CO2 emissions and the age of the car. For a used car from the EU the amount is reduced by 10% to 80%. We cannot give a fixed amount: the rates change with the budget. Calculate it with the simulator in the Portal das Finanças before you decide. The explanation is in Understanding ISV.
Can I do the import myself or do I need an agency?
You can do it yourself. The declaration, the exemption request and the homologation declaration are done online, and filing the exemption request is free. It does require your papers to be in order and the deadlines to be watched. If you do not want that or do not read Portuguese, you can hire a despachante (customs agent) or an import agency; they charge their own fee.
Facts and sources on this page
Every highlighted value in the text comes from an official source that we read ourselves.
12 monthsYou may not sell, give away, rent out or lend an exempt car within 12 months of the assignment of the Portuguese registration. If you do, the full ISV becomes payable.
Source: Código do Imposto sobre Veículos (CISV) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 47.º n.º 1 · Checked on
six monthsThe car must have been your property in the country of origin for at least six months before the move, counted from the issue date of the registration certificate (or of the lease contract).
Source: Pedir a isenção do ISV quando se vem morar para Portugal (gov.pt, updated 27-03-2026) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 60.º n.º 1 c) · Checked on
12 monthsThe ISV exemption on moving must be requested within 12 months of the date you transferred your residence to Portugal.
Source: Pedir a isenção do ISV quando se vem morar para Portugal (gov.pt, updated 27-03-2026) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 45.º n.º 2 a) · Checked on
10%For a used car from another EU member state the ISV is reduced according to table D; for a car up to one year old that is 10%.
Source: Código do Imposto sobre Veículos (CISV), table D (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 11.º n.º 1 · Checked on
80%The highest reduction in table D is 80%, for a car older than ten years. Age counts from the first registration to the end of the DAV deadline (art. 11.º n.º 2).
Source: Código do Imposto sobre Veículos (CISV), table D (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 11.º n.º 1 · Checked on
outside ISVFully electric vehicles fall outside the scope of ISV.
Source: Código do Imposto sobre Veículos (CISV) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Legal basis: CISV art. 2.º n.º 2 a) · Checked on
60 daysRegistering a vehicle in the owner's name (registo automóvel) has a legal deadline of 60 days. An initial registration can be filed online.
Source: Registar um automóvel (gov.pt, updated 27-04-2026) (Instituto dos Registos e do Notariado) · Checked on
freeFiling the exemption request is free of charge.
Source: Pedir a isenção do ISV quando se vem morar para Portugal (gov.pt, updated 27-03-2026) (Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira) · Checked on
Guide: Importing your car into Portugal
Do it yourself, in the right order
The pages on this site explain the rules. The guide is the workbook: what to do in which week, which papers to take to which office, where to click in the Portal das Finanças and what to do when an application is rejected.