What changes on 1 January 2027
Until the end of 2023, a car aged 25 or more paid no road tax in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica, IVTM). The city council amended the ordinance on 28 December 2023. The new text appeared in the provincial gazette (BOP no. 157) on 29 December 2023 and has applied since that day.
Anyone who held the full relief on 31 December 2023 loses it in steps. In the 12 to 15.99 fiscal horsepower band, the tariff table gives: €0 in 2023, about €29.86 in 2024, about €59.71 in 2025, about €89.57 in 2026 and the full €119.42 from 2027. The other car bands are €20.95, €56.57, €148.75 and €185.92. Paying by direct debit brings an extra 5 % off.
The gap: turned 25, still no discount
The transitional regime applies only to taxpayers who actually had the 100 % relief «up to 31 December 2023». A car that turned 25 in 2024, 2025 or 2026 is not covered. And the new permanent rule starts only at 40 years. These vehicles have never had any relief, not even a tapered one.
Two details: the transitional rule is tied to the taxpayer, not expressly to the car. Whether it survives a sale, the ordinance does not say. And the 40 years are applied automatically counting from first registration. Anyone who can prove an earlier manufacturing date has to apply.
Why the city wanted it this way
The city cites the environment. Its release of 28 December 2023 quotes the general coordinator for finance, David Gómez: it is «not a revenue-raising measure, but an environmental one». Finance councillor Francisco Hernández Spínola had already promised in October 2023 that the proceeds would go to environmental projects. According to the city, cars over 40 keep the relief because they are used only occasionally and make up just 5 % of the fleet.
The first draft, in October 2023, would also have removed the relief for historic vehicles. After the only objection lodged, they stayed exempt and the 40-year rule was added. The 75 % relief for electric, hybrid and autogas cars is not new. It has been in the ordinance in its current wording since 2017.
The way out: registering the car as historic
The 100 % relief remains for vehicles classified as «histórico». New rules have applied since 1 October 2024: Real Decreto 892/2024 replaced the 1995 regulation. The car needs to be at least 30 years old from manufacture or first registration, of a type no longer produced, and in original condition, with no fundamental changes to engine, brakes, steering, suspension or body.
For cars with Spanish plates and a valid ITV (group A), an application to the DGT is enough, online or by appointment: a signed declaration of originality, four photos and fee 4.4 of €20.81. A certificate is needed only for permitted modifications. All other vehicles (group B) need a report from an accredited historic-vehicle technical service and an ITV inspection. What that report costs is not officially set. The DGT says it cannot guarantee a processing time. The condition: no more than 96 days of use a year, never as an everyday car.
One point remains open. The Las Palmas ordinance still refers to the repealed 1995 regulation. Nowhere does the city say it treats cars classified under the new rules differently, but it has not clarified it either. The DGT itself advises contacting the town hall after the change.
Which version counts, and what comes next
The city's page of tax ordinances links to the correct, current version. But two 2017 versions still sit on the city's server, with full relief from 25 years and an amendment log that ends in 2016. Both carry the note «Documento de carácter informativo», yet a search engine easily lands you on them. The private portal lpgc.es also still lists the application as a «25-year» one.
The 2027 tax ordinances do not exist yet: the provincial gazette from 9 to 21 September 2026 contains no provisional approval. Everything above applies only to the municipality of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, because each council sets its own reliefs. Santa Cruz de Tenerife, for example, grants 100 % from 25 years under the version it publishes (last amended BOP no. 149/2021), but only on application.