What is excise tax?
Is excise tax included in the cost of shipping my car?
How can I determine my excise tax?
How can I pay my excise tax?
Why Puerto Rico enacted the excise tax
Conclusion
What is excise tax?
Excise tax is a tax that Puerto Rico has enacted that charges four percent on shipping things there such as vehicles. This number is determined based on the vehicles’ worth in Puerto Rico.
Is excise tax included in the cost of shipping my car?
Excise tax is not included in the cost of your car shipment. This is because you need to pay the tax directly. A car shipping company cannot pay it on your behalf. Also, the determination of the tax is made when your car arrives which is after the point at which you have paid the particular auto transport company.
You will need to be prepared to pay the excise tax. If you are not, then your car could possibly be held by Puerto Rico until you are able to.
How can I determine my excise tax?
You can figure out what your excise tax by clicking here.
The site will be in Spanish. If you can’t read Spanish, all you will need to do is translate the page by right-clicking on the page in the browser. Then click on “Translate to English” on the menu that drops down from your cursor.
You will need to enter your vehicle’s VIN number, or you will need to enter the make, model and year. You will then be given an estimate of the fee for the tax.
It is important to note that the fee you will be expected to pay is “Estimated Arbitration” or, in Spanish “Arbitrio Estimado.”
How can I pay my excise tax?
You can pay your excise tax by filling out Official Excise Tax Document and paying the excise tax at 2 Avenida Juan Ponce de León, San Juan, 00917. That is the location of Hacienda Centro de Servicios.
When you get there, you will likely need cash to pay. Sometimes they accept credit cards and sometimes they don’t. They do not accept checks. Cash is the safest bet. Remember, Puerto Rico uses the US dollar as currency, so there is no need to worry about having to exchange your money first.
Why Puerto Rico enacted the excise tax?
Most often countries around the world will put excise taxes into effect as discouragement for using items such as tobacco and alcohol.
This is obviously not the case with the Puerto Rican import excise tax. There is no federal income tax for most Puerto Rican residents. Only those who are employed by the government or conduct business in other countries have a federal income tax in Puerto Rico.
The lack of federal income tax coupled with the on-going recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria and the economic depression Puerto Rico has been experiencing for the last thirteen years has caused a need for things like excise tax on vehicle shipping and other imports.
Conclusion
The Puerto Rican excise tax is something that you will need to be prepared for if you are planning to ship your car to Puerto Rico. You should get your estimate of the tax and be ready to have the cash when your vehicle arrives at the port. Don’t forget that this cost is NOT a part of the price your car shipping company will charge you.
