Calculating Taxes on a Vehicle Long-term imported vehicle duties are calculated by multiplying the Vehicle’s Appraised Value (VCAV) by the Customs Duty Percentage (CDP).

The VCAV is the sum of the vehicle’s market value, freight and freight insurance. The Black Book Guide, a consumer Research magazine, based on the model and date of manufacture, determines market values. Freight is the cost of transporting your vehicle to Costa Rica.

If there is no bill of lading or you drove your vehicle, freight will equal seven percent of the market value of your vehicle, which could equal thousands of dollars more than actual freight charges. Freight insurance is the amount of money you pay to insure your vehicle. If you did not pay insurance, customs will multiply the sum of the market value and freight first by 110 percent, then by 1.5 percent.

The duty is determined by the age of your vehicle. If your vehicle is less than three years old, the duty rate is 59.33 percent of VCAV. If the vehicle is 4-5 years old, the rate is 70.63 percent. If the vehicle is more than 6 years old, the duty is 85.32 percent. (Courtesy of the Tico Times).

New regulations which went into effect as of February 7th 2001 resulted in higher taxes for used cars. Now in order to establish the value of a used vehicle you present the commercial invoice with the purchase value of the vehicle. In case you don’t have an invoice you have to declare the value.

Customs will compare this value to the Black Book and to their own Costa Rica market value. These values are extremely high and are based on the selling pric e of used vehicles in Costa Rica. They will multiply the sales price times 0.502, 0.469 or 0.432 depending on the model year to establish the import vale of the vehicle. They will accept your declared value as long as it is within 3% of their established value. If not they will apply their value.

For example, let’s assume that you import a vehicle model year 1993 and with the black book value of $10,000. Let’s also assume the shipping cost from the USA is $600, so the value is $10,600. Finally let’s assume the local market value times 0.502 is within 3% of the $10,600. The duties would be: $10,600 times 59.33% = $6239.00. (Courtesy of the Association of Residents of Costa Rica).

Don’t think you can fool the customs inspectors by putting an arbitrary value on your vehicle. They have a list showing the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of every vehicle manufactured when it was new, including extra equipment. In order to calculate depreciation, customs agents refer to the market value based on their “Black Book,” a manual published in the U.S. with a listing of new and used car wholesale auction prices. The book is a bible for U.S. car dealers, loan officers and Costa Rican customs agents. For additional information about the Black Book, contact National Auto Research at 2620 Barrett Road, PO Box 758, Gainsville, GA 30503. Tel: (800) 554-1026, Fax: (770) 532-4792, www.blackbookguides.com. In order to obtain an estimate of the duties to be paid, send a fax or e-mail to The Association of Residents or the customs broker listed at the end of the next section. Be sure to include the make of the car, model, serial number, automatic or stick shift, extras like air conditioning, power windows or other non-standard equipment. Be sure to specify the country from where you plan to ship the car.

After reading the above, if you still decide to import a used vehicle, we recommend using a customs broker to run around, obtain all the necessary documents and massive paperwork and to help with the taxes. After going through this process a friend of ours told us, “A good customs agent can save you money. A bilingual attorney is also important and will save you days running around from one office to another. He can take you step-by-step through this whole ordeal.” However, if you do decide to do this yourself, you will need to follow the procedure below. First, you have to go to either the East or West Coast to pick up your vehicle at the port of entry. This can be a real pain in the neck requiring a lot of paperwork and patience. It is best to have a customs agent do all of this for you or go with you in person to pick up the vehicle. A good customs agent will have all the paper work done and your car out of the aduana when you arrive at the port of entry.

When we picked up our 1990 Montero in Limón we arranged everything beforehand. We took an early morning bus from San José and arrived in Limón with our agent three hours later. Our car was waiting for us in a private parking lot. We just signed one paper got in the car and returned to San José. The process would not have gone as smoothly if we had not planned carefully and coordinated everything with our customs agent.

Next, you need to register your car, which usually takes a few working days. First, get your paperwork from customs. Then have your vehicle checked at the Technical Inspection Department (Revisión Ténica) at INVU Las Cañas at the the entrance to the city of Alajuela. Drivers in rural areas can take their vehicles to regional offices in Puntarenas, Guanacaste, Limón, Pérez Zeledón and San Carlos. Then take the papers they give you to the Registro Público or Public Registry vehicle section (Registro de Vehículos) in the suburb of Zapote. Call 011-(506) 224-0628 if you need information.

The cost of your registration depends on the value of your car. Finally, take the documents from the registry to the Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes) at Plaza Víquez south of downtown San José. Your temporary paper license plates will be issued a few months later at the Registro in Zapote.

Because of the huge backlog you will have to wait a year or more for your permanent metal plates. When you find out your metal plates are ready you’ll need to take the following documents to the National Registry (Registro Nacional) in Zapote: the temporay paper plate (placa provisional), title of ownership (título de propiedad), yellow registration card (tarjeta de circulación) and resident ID card (cédula) or passport.

By the way, you can find information about vehicles and property by viewing the National registry’s website at: www.registronacional.com.

Every year you have to pay your marchamo or sticker which indicates you have paid your obligatory liability insurance. You have to do this between November 1 and December 31. You also have to pay $10 for an echo marchamo. This is a certificate that shows your vehicles emissions are within the legal limit. It is like a smog certificate in the U.S.