Quick answer: Importing a car into Costa Rica is heavily taxed and, for most people, not worth it. Duties are age-based — roughly 52.29% (under 3 years), 63.91% (4–5 years) and 79.03% (6+ years) — applied to a customs value that is the higher of your invoice or the Ministry of Treasury’s valuation, with selective consumption tax and 13% VAT stacked cumulatively on top. New residents may bring a limited number of vehicles under the current household exemption, but outside that, buying locally usually wins.
Why the math is brutal
Three features make ordinary imports expensive. Duties rise with age — the opposite of many countries — so an older vehicle attracts the highest rate. The taxes stack cumulatively, so the effective total exceeds the sum of the headline percentages. And customs uses the higher of your invoice or the Treasury valuation database, so you cannot manage the bill by agreeing a low price. Run the full landed cost with a broker before you fall in love with the idea. For the detailed breakdown, see our costs guides and your advisor’s calculator.
The new-resident exemption
Under the current incentive tied to Law 9996, new residents (investor, pensionado, rentista) may import up to a limited number of vehicles with tax relief as part of the relocation benefit — a genuinely valuable exception if you have a vehicle worth bringing. This benefit is time-limited and its terms change, so confirm current applicability before shipping. [VERIFY: exact vehicle count, eligibility and end date of the new-resident vehicle exemption with Hacienda/customs]
The steps (if you proceed)
- ☐ Get a written landed-cost estimate from a customs broker for your specific VIN, year and value — before booking freight.
- ☐ Confirm whether the new-resident exemption applies to you and your vehicle.
- ☐ Ship the vehicle (often alongside household goods) to Caldera or Limón.
- ☐ Clear customs and pay duties (or apply the exemption).
- ☐ Complete nacionalización — the registration/nationalisation that puts the car on Costa Rican plates, including inspection (RTV) and registration with the Registro Nacional.
The electric-vehicle exception
Electric and hybrid vehicles receive incentives that can make importing an EV cheaper than a comparable petrol car. If you were going to import anything, this is the category where the arithmetic can work — confirm current terms, and consider charging infrastructure for where you will actually live.
Why most people buy local
Vehicle prices in Costa Rica are high precisely because of these duties, which feels like it should cancel the advantage — but buying locally avoids shipping, the valuation risk, the clearance delay and the nationalisation paperwork, and gives you a car already registered, inspected and suited to local roads, with parts available. Choose something common (Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Mitsubishi) with good ground clearance. See your first 30 days for where this fits.
A worked example of why the math hurts
Numbers make the case better than percentages. Take a six-year-old SUV you could sell at home for US$25,000. At six-plus years it falls in the ~79% duty band, applied not to a price you negotiate but to the higher of your invoice or the Ministry of Treasury’s own valuation for that model — which for a recognisable vehicle may well exceed your sale price. On top of the duty, selective consumption tax (roughly 30–40% depending on type and engine) and 13% VAT stack cumulatively, each calculated on the base plus the taxes already added.
Because the layers compound rather than simply summing, the effective tax burden lands well above the sum of the headline rates, and once you add shipping, marine insurance, port handling, brokerage and nationalisation paperwork, the all-in cost to land that US$25,000 vehicle can approach or exceed what an equivalent car costs locally — after months of process and with no warranty. This is why the honest default answer for most people is: do not import; buy locally. Run the landed cost with a broker before you get attached to the idea, and most people stop there.
When importing can make sense
There are two real exceptions. The first is the new-resident exemption: under the current Law 9996-linked incentive, qualifying new residents can bring a limited number of vehicles with tax relief as part of the relocation benefit — genuinely valuable if you have a vehicle worth keeping, though the terms and end date change, so confirm current applicability before shipping. The second is electric and hybrid vehicles, which receive incentives that can make importing an EV cheaper than a comparable petrol car — worth modelling if you were going to import anything, with a check on charging infrastructure where you will actually live.
Outside those two cases, the practical advice is to buy a common model locally — a Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai or Mitsubishi with real ground clearance and, ideally, four-wheel drive for the green season — where parts and service are everywhere and the vehicle is already registered, inspected and road-legal. Costa Rican vehicles hold value well precisely because import duties keep supply tight, so a well-chosen used car is not the depreciating asset it would be at home.
Get a written landed-cost estimate first
Before you book any freight, get a written landed-cost estimate from a customs broker for your specific VIN, year and declared value. It is the one number that settles the decision, because it captures the age-based duty on the Treasury valuation, the cumulative consumption tax and VAT, plus shipping, clearance and nationalisation — the all-in figure most people never see until it is too late. Nine times out of ten, seeing that number is what turns "I’ll bring my car" into "I’ll buy locally".
Frequently asked
How much is car import duty?
Roughly 52–79% by age, plus selective consumption tax and 13% VAT stacked cumulatively, on the higher of your invoice or the Treasury valuation. The effective total is steep.
Can new residents import a car tax-free?
The current incentive extends relief to a limited number of vehicles for new residents, but rules and the end date change — verify before shipping.
Is it cheaper to import or buy locally?
Usually buy locally, unless the new-resident exemption applies or it is an EV. Run the landed cost first.
What is nacionalización?
The process of nationalising and registering an imported vehicle onto Costa Rican plates, including inspection and Registro Nacional registration.
Can I ship the car with my household goods?
Often yes, and the new-resident exemption may cover a limited number of vehicles — but vehicle rules are separate from the household-goods exemption and change, so confirm the current terms before booking freight.
Is an electric vehicle worth importing?
Potentially — EV and hybrid incentives can beat importing a petrol car. Model the current terms and check charging infrastructure for where you will live.
How do I know if importing my car is worth it?
Get a written landed-cost estimate from a customs broker for your specific vehicle before booking freight. That all-in number, not the headline duty rate, settles the decision.
What is nacionalización again?
Nationalising and registering an imported vehicle onto Costa Rican plates — including inspection and Registro Nacional registration — after clearing customs.
Need a hand with this step?
This is exactly the kind of task our client-services team handles day to day for people relocating to Costa Rica. If you would like us to walk you through it — or take it off your plate entirely — request concierge support and we will pick it up from wherever you are.
This guide is general, practical information, not legal, immigration or tax advice. Costa Rican procedures, fees and thresholds change and are applied to individual circumstances; details here are current as of July 2026 and should be confirmed with the relevant authority or your advisor before you act.