The legislative decree approved by the Meloni government on August 5 introduces a profound revision of the car tax deadlines. However, the novelty will not be immediate: to see the new system in operation, it will most likely be necessary to wait until the beginning of 2028, a period needed to update procedures, platforms, and methods for calculating deadlines.
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What will happen
The reform addresses an issue that already generates doubts among motorists today. Understanding by when to pay the car tax is not always intuitive, because the current rules provide different deadlines depending on the time of registration and the annual renewal. The introduction of a new mechanism, therefore, will require an adaptation period to avoid further complications. One thing is certain, however: the amounts do not change. The revision concerns exclusively the timing, without any increase or reduction of the tax. The statements of Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, who revived the idea of a possible abolition of the car tax, do not affect the content of the recently approved decree.
How the car tax deadline works today
Before understanding what will change, it is useful to remember how the deadline is currently calculated. The first year is linked to the registration: for a new car, the payment must be made by the end of the month in which the vehicle is registered. If the registration takes place in the last ten days, the deadline shifts to the end of the following month, still considering the entire month as the reference period. Once the first tax is paid, the renewal is annual. The deadline of the year does not coincide with the last payment date: the owner has time until the last day of the following month. Example: deadline December 31, payment by January 31; deadline April 30, payment by May 31. The same principle applies to those who buy a used car: the transfer of ownership does not change the deadline already assigned to the vehicle. The new owner must therefore respect the current year and renew by the month following the deadline.
