Whenever you ship a car outside the United States, you should expect to owe taxes and duties for the import. Not all countries require foreigners to pay taxes on the goods they’re importing into the country, but those shipping a car to Puerto Rico will have taxes to pay.
Before the transport can even begin, you must pay off all taxes and duties associated with the vehicle’s import.
The Embassy of Puerto Rico can provide you with the nation’s current auto import rates. These taxes aren’t included in the bill you receive from the transporter for shipping services. You’ll have to go to the facility started to pay off the country’s taxes and duties. Always get a receipt for your payment so you can show proof of the paid taxes to Customs.
What Taxes are Included in the Bill?
- A 6.6% tax applies to must imported goods with the exclusion of medical supplies and food.
- 5% excise tax.
- Miscellaneous import fees.
Other taxes may apply, but you’ll have to ask the embassy after you give them some information about the car. Based on the CIF value, weight, and other specs, your tax rates are determined.
In most cases, the taxes and duties owed are costlier than the actual price of shipping services. A lot of shipping customers forget that there are other bills to pay after the transport is scheduled. Not all countries have high tax rates. If you’re curious about the rates for import taxes and would like to find out what they are before you schedule your shipping process, contact the embassy of the nation you’d like to ship to.
Written By:Joe Webster
Joe Webster began his journey in the auto transport field by attending the University of Southern California (USC), where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Marketing.
After college, he started his career in the auto transport industry from the bottom up and has done virtually every job there is to do at A-1 Auto Transport, including but not limited to: Truck Driver, Dispatch, Sales, PR, Bookkeeping, Transport Planner, Transport Manager, International Transport Manager, Brokering, Customer Service, and Marketing. Working with his mentor Tony Taylor, Joe Webster has learned the ins and outs of this industry which is largely misunderstood.
With over 30 years experience in the industry, we've been helping people ship their vehicles, motorcycles, RV's, heavy equipment, household goods and more across the country or overseas without a hitch. Ask us anything.
