Buy a used car from Germany: VAT, plates and registration in the EU

Do you pay customs duty on a used car from Germany?

No. If you buy a car in another EU country and take it to your country of residence, you do not pay customs duty (Your Europe, European Commission). A car from outside the EU is different: it is treated like any other import, with customs duty and import VAT. This guide therefore covers Germany, Austria and other EU countries, not Switzerland or the UK.

Is the car new or used for VAT?

For VAT purposes a car is used only if it has done more than 6,000 km and was supplied more than six months after its first registration. A car that fails either test counts as new. The European Commission gives two examples: a two-year-old car with 4,000 km is still new for VAT, while a ten-month-old car with 6,500 km is not (European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union).

If you have paid VAT in both countries, you are entitled to a refund. Take it up with the seller first and then with the tax authority of the country where you bought the car (Your Europe).

The steps, in order

1. Check the papers before you pay. You need the original registration documents, and the seller should give you everything required to register the car in your country. In Germany these are Teil I and Teil II of the registration certificate. A certificate of conformity (COC) from the manufacturer is among the documents that German and Austrian authorities ask for.
2. Get an invoice that shows the VAT treatment. The date of supply, which can be the order date or the invoice date, differs from country to country (Your Europe).
3. Arrange how the car gets home. You cannot drive it on the plates of your old car. Options are towing, a specialist transport company, or driving it yourself on temporary plates with insurance. Temporary plates are not harmonised in the EU, so check that every country on your route accepts them.
4. Register the car in your country of residence. There are no common EU rules for registration or registration tax. Your national registration and tax authorities set the deadlines, the roadworthiness test and the fees.
5. Pay the national taxes and keep the receipts. If you were charged VAT twice, claim the refund with proof of registration.

Germany-specific: export plates and what the registry needs

A buyer from another EU country who wants to drive a car out of Germany normally uses export plates (Ausfuhrkennzeichen). Under the German vehicle registration ordinance they are valid for at most one year, require liability insurance for foreign vehicles, and the car must have a valid periodic inspection (HU) if one falls due before the plates expire (§ 45 FZV). For a car that is already registered, the owner applies at the German registration office with the registration certificate and the old plates. If you are bringing a car into Germany instead, the German consumer centre lists the usual extra documents: foreign registration papers, a COC, and proof of a valid inspection for cars older than three years (European Consumer Centre Germany, page updated April 2024).

Where to find the rules for your own country

Country guides with official sources read on 28 October 2026: Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.

There is no EU-wide calculator, because passenger car registration tax is not harmonised at EU level and each country sets its own (Your Europe, read on 19 October 2026). This article is not tax advice.

If you register the car in Austria or buy it outside the EU

Austria is in the EU, so the VAT rules above apply, but a car imported there must also be entered in the national approval database, and the standard consumption tax (NoVA) and acquisition VAT (Erwerbsteuer) are paid together before registration (Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance). The ministry offers a NoVA calculator. A car from Switzerland or any other non-EU country goes through customs and import VAT first.

What this means for a private buyer and for a dealer

For a private buyer

Compare the full cost, not only the price: transport, plates and insurance, registration tax, the cost of the inspection and your own travel. The European Consumer Centres also advise checking the seller in public company registers, asking for the vehicle's serial number, ownership proof and service history, and avoiding advance deposits to unknown accounts.

For a dealer

A dealer who buys for resale deals with the same VAT question on every car: general scheme or margin scheme. The rules for businesses sit in the VAT rules of your own country, so confirm them with your tax adviser. The slow part is often finding the cars. WeltScout monitors 50+ portals in 14 countries and alerts you to new listings on WhatsApp or by e-mail, with checks once or twice a day depending on the plan. The Business plan starts at 129.90 EUR a month excluding VAT, and the trial needs no card. The app is currently in English, and support answers in English and in the other site languages.

Frequently asked questions