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Although calling your preferred auto transporter and getting a price isn't very difficult at all, most are concerned with the taxes, fees, and other unexpected costs which seem like they aren't publicly disclosed anywhere. Or how to even pay these fees to get your car released. Seems like some shippers collect their money and have you set sail while they leave you to figure out the rest.
Fortunately, it’s not as hard as you may think to get the answers as we have as detailed of an explanation as we can safely say exists. Also, since more and more services are brought online, old procedures are replaced by automated ones, the whole thing has gotten much easier. You can even add a concierge service added to pick up and register the vehicle for you!
First, you can go to this link to get an import excise tax right from the source. There you will find the rate for your vehicle. At the time of this writing, we entered a sample 2010 Honda Accord. It then gave us a total of $1259 to import that vehicle.
The website is in Spanish for the most part, with some items not offering any translation. But even if you can't read Spanish, the numbers will make sense when you look at them. For example, the lower value number will be the import tax and the higher value number will be what Hacienda estimates your vehicle is worth in Puerto Rico. Selections such year, make, model are obvious since they don't change regardless of language.
After you request your tax estimate, it will say the following:
"Esto es un estimado del arbitrio a pagar en la importación del vehículo antes descrito. El mismo está sujeto a la verificación de los datos del vehículo y la fecha de introducción."
Which translates to...
"This is an estimate of the tax to be paid on the import of the vehicle described above. It is subject to verification of vehicle data and the date of introduction."
There are various reports from those that have imported their cars that the fees were less than expected. Sometimes as much as one hundred or more dollars.
Ok, so now you are aware what the import cost is. If by now you have also filled out a car shipping calculator to get a rate, you then have the full picture of how much you need to get a car down to Puerto Rico. Now begins the process.
We go over everything with you that is needed for us to get your car when we set up your auto shipping order for Puerto Rico, so we'll move on to the part that we don't control. Which are all the steps necessary to retrieve your vehicle. However, if you want to see that information you can do so by going to our Puerto Rico Page. If you are coming from Florida to Puerto Rico you can read this post as well.
When your vehicle sets sail it takes about a full week to arrive. Once your vehicle is ready to be picked up in Puerto Rico, you have 5 days to get it before storage fees. It will arrive at the Port of San Juan.
What you don't have at the time you get your vehicle is the Official Excise Tax Document and the Proof of payment for the Excise Tax . However you still need to actually visit the port, visit your vehicle, and get documentation that you will need and be directed to where the Official Excise Tax Document will be given to you there. They have a simple system. The paperwork is usually on the driver's seat. This is your chance to take a walk around the car and inspect it.
Again, The Official Excise Tax Document will be at an office at the port. It's usually a small office and there are a few of them near all the shipping lines. Ask where to go BEFORE leaving the port, as you CANNOT pay your excise tax until you get this form because this process is done at the port. From there are two ways you can pay:
The staff at the port will direct you to use SURI to pay the taxes online. They have ACH and credit card options for you to choose from. They will go over it with you so you can finish this portion of the process and present the proof of payment. This is by far easiest way but if you brought cash to pay the taxes or you don't want to do it online, then you will have to go with option two.
NOTE: PAYMENT IN PERSON IS NO LONGER DONE AS OF 2020, WE WILL UPDATE THIS POST OF THAT CHANGES.
You will leave the port (in another vehicle or ride sharing service/taxi) and go to:
2 Avenida Juan Ponce de León
San Juan, 00917
This will be the location of the Hacienda Centro de Servicios.
Don't try to map the location by name, it doesn't show up. Trust us, it's there. In fact, if you hit the street view it says in big letters "HACIENDA CENTRO DE SERVICIOS". There is parking across the street from the Hacienda Centro de Servicios, and they even validate!
Once you enter the building, they will tell you where to go to pay the tax. Be prepared to wait. Average wait has been about 1-2 hours. Your best option to pay is to bring cash. As of recent, they now actually accept credit card but this can change at any time. Please be sure to have cash as a backup. You may be asked to return to reception and bring those papers for a stamp. If they don't then ask about this. Always ask if there are additional steps while you are there.
Once you have your Proof of payment for the Excise Tax you can head back to the port. You will once again need to clear all the security and make your way to your car. The security will inspect your vehicle, take a photo of you, and off you go with your vehicle. You are now ready to register the vehicle.
To get your vehicle you will need the following:
Most companies, including ours ship "Collect" (Unless otherwise agreed upon.) Meaning you pay a portion of the service before the vehicle arrives to the island, and the remaining when you pick up the vehicle in PR. The most popular shipping line is Crowley and we like using them to. However, before you go online and try to work with them to try to cut costs, it's important to note they are very much more expensive to deal with directly and they do not offer any door to port or port to door shipping. Think of it like going to your favorite big box store vs ordering directly from the manufacturer of your favorite TV brand. You'll pay retail. Same thing here.
They make it easy to pay ahead of time before the vehicle arrives at the port. The "arrival notice" will be sent to you via email around 1-2 business days before the vehicle arrives to the island.
You can always pay in person with their clerk, but you can save time by doing it online before you get there. Here's how:
First: Go to the direct biller link. The following will appear:
You will need your Customer Number, (a.k.a. CVIF). Don't worry, we'll send it to you. Enter this number as the username and the password.
You will be taken to the payment portal, enter your payment details and submit. You are ready to pick up!
Although Puerto Rico is a U.S. province, you can't drive around with U.S. Plates for more than 3 days. You need to get your vehicle registered. You have 3 days to get your car registered with Puerto Rican Plates.
As of 2019, many of our customers have reported that there is now a trailer sitting at the port with individuals taking care of registrations with "runners" to get the plates for you. This has not been fully confirmed yet, but we are letting you know it's been seen by various of our customers. Keep in mind, this could change. So far nobody has reported a problem using this service but proceed with caution. For everyone else, read below.
This is the department on the island that issues licenses, vehicle registrations, and more.
If you are NOT a resident of Puerto Rico, you will need:
If you ARE a resident of Puerto Rico, you will need:
Registration Fee for below 3,500 lbs is around $72.00. Above 3,500 lbs expect to pay about $115.00 – $155.00
Unfortunately, there's always extra steps in some of these processes. So be ready to take at least 2 days to cover all these steps:
Since 2019, the DTOP site has been redone with less information. They used to have a great list of locations. But luckily thanks to Archive.org, you can see this list of locations. Verify the one nearest you by calling. The less conjested the area, the less the wait. Here's the list.
Afterwards, License stickers are renewed yearly. You will have to pay $35 annual fee for no fault insurance and $65 for annual registration. Much less than most places in the U.S.
For more information, head to DTOP, the Puerto Rico DMV website.
Some looking to move to Puerto Rico and transport their cars there are faced with the decision of paying the import taxes and the shipping cost of a vehicle they may no longer be interested in keeping anymore. This could be because it is an older car. In this case, you may compare the value of the vehicle to the cost to get it there, you begin to get frustrated. Vehicle selection down there isn't the best and in general because of the extra costs to get them there, you will pay an average of $2,000-5000 more than a car in the states. So, some decide just to import the car they already have unwillingly.
A simple trick to saving money is knowing that dealerships pay less to import vehicles to Puerto Rico than private citizens. If you are unable to find a vehicle that you want down there, you can always buy another vehicle from the dealership let's say in Florida, and have the dealer work with both you and us to ship it and include the import taxes as part of your deal with them. The import calculator will show you the dealer rate as well if you select the dealer option.
Another simple idea would be to test different vehicles on the calculator. If you have definitely decided you don't like any of the vehicles down there and definitely don't want to send your own, you can find out what you want to buy based on the cost to get it down there.
The answer is.. It depends.
Everyone's situation is different. Puerto Rico is a very small island and the availability of certain vehicles that you may want to drive may not really exist and most will cost more. Your best option for making your choice will be to do research on sites like Craigslist or Clasificados Online to see what's there. Yelp has a list of the 10 best dealers in PR. There's also some lesser known marketplaces like encuentra24 that will have vehicle listings.
Another question you may be asking is why is it that nobody has this information anywhere? Well, it benefits some auto transport companies to keep this a secret. We heard stories of other shippers telling customers it's as little as $500 to import a car. The lowest fee we have seem to import a vehicle is $895.
You need to know everything you need to know so that way you can make the best choice.
How much taxes I will have to pay in PR to ship a 2010 Ford Focus
Hello, as per the calculator on the Hacienda site, a Ford Focus S 4 Door would cost $870.06.
where do I find out import tax to ship a 1930 ford model a 2 door tudor sudan. site says unavailable . lists nothing older than year 2000. says cant pay with check vs carrying around thousands of dollars not so smart to carry around like 8000 dollars in order to pay a tax. 1000 is ok but to carry that much cash around. cant chance carrying 8000 dollars around.
That indeed is a great question. The tax is mostly based on the value of the vehicle. Not only that, the percentage actually increases as the value increases. For example, the minimum it calculates for is for $5000 in value. So a vehicle we ship over to Puerto Rico is valued at $7500 will be charged anywhere from 11-13% on average. A vehicle that is valued at $30,000+ can be taxed 16-19%. $50,000+ can be taxed about 22%, $80,000+ can be about 26% of the value. We typically see that they use NADA values at times and in more difficult cases like that of a 1930 Ford, make a manual valuation. They will then give you a reference number for the valuation that they will look up upon arrival. They typically will want some information from you which we cannot provide to them about you and your move. Their number is (787) 622-0123 and the website is https://www.hacienda.gobierno.pr. As far as carrying that in cash? Recent reports show a credit card can be used, but there could be a cap. Most customers ship less expensive cars that have low tax cost. Unfortunately, we get very little feedback from Hacienda.
The excise tax site is not pulling up for me. How much does it say for a 2006 subaru legacy?
Hello John. For a Base 4 door it's coming out as $903.21 and for the 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT spec it says $1,270.48 as the higher end model goes. If you entered the VIN and it didn't work, just enter year, make, model (just the word "Legacy" and it let's you pick your Legacy model from the list.
I just purchased a vehicle in the US and am moving to PR next week. Do I have to register it in the states prior to shipping it or can I just use my purchase paperwork?
Great question. You can just purchase the car and have the bill of sale with title under your name. If it's a private seller, just keep in mind the vehicle needs to be transported directly from the seller's location as it cannot be driven unregistered and uninsured. Our carrier's insurance covers the vehicle and it can be transported without any registration. If you are buying from a dealer, they pay less import tax to send the car so you can work the import tax cost out with them. If they are unfamiliar with the process, we can help them along and get it shipped for you.
hi how much tXES I would Have to pay for a mini cooper s jcw 2015 ???
Running it through the calculator on the Hacienda site, it comes out to $5,983.15 for the JC 2 door coupe.
The actual purchase price is much less than what Hacienda places as "Precio Contributivo". Is this normal? Does Hacienda price the cars regardless of the purchasing price? I'm picking up a Volvo S90 2017 less than 200 miles for $55,000. For an individual, Hacienda says Precio $72,000 plus arbitrios of 18,000 for a grand total of$90k ! Am I reading correctly, the dealer I am buying from can process the import tax with Hacienda? What port do you use, JAX?
Ran the S90 on the calculator, model VIN YV1102AK H1 and it gave $14,742.40 for personal, and dealer pays $9,953.50 in taxes for a value of $61,035.00. We have shipped a lot of cars there and normally what we see are older vehicles. This is because of the amount of tax you pay for something new like this.
We ship door to port, and we use JAX if you want to drop it off there after booking.
Do I need to pay an excise tax if the vehicle is only going to be there for a month?
Unlike Canada, PR does not have a temporary solution. All vehicles must be imported to be there.
Will the current suspension of the Jones Act have any effect on the price or taxes of importing vehicles into PR?
This refers to ships coming for aid, from our understanding, however it looks like it has expired.