Owners of vehicles for reduced mobility must repay VAT if they sell the asset before four years

The application of the reduced VAT rate in the acquisition of vehicles intended for persons with reduced mobility is conditional upon maintaining said use and the permanence of the asset for a specific period. A recent resolution from the General Directorate of Taxes (DGT) clarifies the tax consequences of the early sale of these assets.

What the DGT has ruled

The DGT establishes that the transfer of a vehicle through inter vivos acts before four years have passed since its registration constitutes a breach of the conditions necessary to benefit from the reduced tax rate of 4%. In this scenario, the owner is obliged to regularize the tax situation by paying the difference in tax.

The regularization procedure requires the following steps:

• Submission of Form 309 to pay the amount.
• Calculation of the difference based on the value of the vehicle at the time of its acquisition.
• Application of the general VAT rate in force on the date the original purchase was made to determine the amount to be repaid.

What it means for you

If you are an individual who has acquired a vehicle with the 4% tax rate due to your reduced mobility status, you must be aware that this tax benefit carries a commitment of permanence. Selling the vehicle before completing the four-year period is not considered an operation exempt from regularization, but rather a breach of the requirements that allowed the application of the reduced rate.

This adjustment is not calculated on the current sale price, but on the difference between the VAT that was paid and what should have been paid if the general rate had been applied at the time of purchase. This implies that the tax burden falls directly on the beneficiary of the initial reduction.

What is advisable to do

Before proceeding with the sale of a vehicle acquired under this special regime, it is necessary to evaluate the economic impact of the VAT regularization. It is essential to verify the exact registration date of the vehicle to know the remaining time required to avoid the repayment. In the event that the sale is unavoidable, the calculation of the tax difference must be performed to anticipate the disbursement that must be made using Form 309.