It’s that time of the year again when the Costa Rican government starts charging for the 2018 marchamo for the more than 1.4 million cars registered in the country; the collection of this tax begins November 1st.

The marchamo is basically the vehicle’s circulation permit, similar to the registration payment in the United States; this tax must be paid by December 31st for the 2018 period, otherwise drivers risk getting a ticket and will have to pay a late fee.

According to Elian Villegas, Executive President of the National Insurance Institute (INS), informed that this year they expect to the collection of close to US$4 million, which represents a 4.1% increase in relation to the 2017 marchamo.

This year there will be 2,240 collection points around the country, including public and private banks, as well as INS agencies, Ekono Stores, the Servimas kiosks at the Walmart stores and Mas por Menos, among others.

The marchamo payment includes the vehicle property tax that represents close to 70% of the total amount, the Seguro Obligatorio de Automóviles (SOA) (mandatory car insurance) 19% and the remaining 11% is distributed between different taxes.

Motorcycles received the highest increase this year, due to the high number of accidents that were reported, which was of 17% more in comparison to the previous year, going from 10,906 incidents to 12,760. Owners of motorcycles will have to pay ¢9,296 more this year.

If you want to know how much you have to pay for your car this year you can check online on the page www.ins-cr.com starting November 1.