What Is Spain's Official Vehicle Value Table (Valor de Tablas)? How It's Calculated

What the table is for

When Spain taxes the import or transfer of a used vehicle, it needs a tax base — a euro figure to apply the IEDMT percentage or the ITP rate to. Rather than trusting every buyer and seller's declared price at face value, Spain publishes official reference values for thousands of make, model, engine and age combinations. These tables exist precisely to prevent under-declaring a sale price to reduce tax owed.

The rule that both IEDMT and ITP apply is straightforward: the tax base is the higher of the table value and the price actually paid. If you paid more than the table value, your invoice sets the base. If you negotiated a price below the table value, the table value wins and you're taxed on that instead.

What determines a car's table value

• Make and model, matched as precisely as possible to the specific trim and engine
• Fuel type — petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric
• First registration date, which determines the vehicle's age in the depreciation schedule
• Engine displacement or power output, for models with several variants

The tables apply a standardized depreciation percentage by age bracket to an original new-list reference price, producing the current table value. Newer cars depreciate on the schedule more gently in percentage terms in the first year or two, while older cars see steeper cumulative depreciation reflected in the published figure.

Simplified depreciation example

Suppose a model's new-list reference price used in the table is 45,000 EUR. A car of that model registered one year ago might carry a table value close to 38,000 EUR, while an equivalent example four years old might sit closer to 24,000 EUR, reflecting the steeper cumulative depreciation applied at that age bracket. These figures are illustrative — the actual published percentages vary by model family and are set out in the official schedule, not by a flat universal curve.

Why this matters when you negotiate a price abroad

Because the table value acts as a floor, a great negotiated deal on a used car abroad doesn't automatically translate into a lower tax bill in Spain. Checking the applicable table value before finalizing a purchase price lets you anticipate your real IEDMT and, if relevant, ITP liability — rather than being surprised by it when you file modelo 576 or 620.

Frequently asked questions

Can I dispute the table value if I think it's too high for my car's real condition?

Spain's tax procedure allows for a contradictory expert appraisal (tasación pericial contradictoria) to challenge an assessed value in specific circumstances, but this is a formal administrative process with its own costs and timelines, not a simple request. For most everyday imports, matching your car precisely to its correct table entry from the outset avoids the need for this altogether.

Does the table value affect anything besides taxes?

It is used specifically as the tax base for IEDMT and ITP self-assessments. It is not the same as an insurance valuation, a bank financing valuation, or a resale market price, all of which can differ from the official table figure for their own separate purposes.