The Marchamo and You - Origin Story
The marchamo dates from 1961, when it was enacted in Law N° 2719 – Transportation Infrastructure, Article 11 establishes a wheel tax on all passenger vehicles with internal combustion engines. The law establishes a “fiscal horsepower” and a rate table for vehicle according to that:
- Less than 20 FHP — ¢60
- 20 to 31 FHP — ¢90
- 32 FHP and over — ¢4 each addition fiscal horsepower unit
If you want to calculate your fiscal horsepower, you have to multiply the number of cylinders by the diameter of the pistons in centimeters and by a factor of .062 !
This is clearly a mechanism within the law to raise funds for the infrastructure proposed in the same law, which was passed to deal with problems caused by the growing number of vehicles on the roads at that time.
What are the fees nowadays?
Over time, the marchamo has evolved as a convenient way to lawmakers to raise funds for special projects and critical budget shortfalls. Today, roadways are funded mainly through the taxes on fuel, one reason fuel is so expensive here. The marchamo is no longer a “wheel tax”, today it is a circulation permit or road tax. There are up to 9 components, click on the arrows for details:
Impuesto a la propiedad de vehículos
This is a property tax, it is based on the fiscal value of each vehicle – it goes directly to the Tax Ministry into the general budget.
SOA - Seguro Obligatorio Automóviles
Added to the marchamo in 1973, Traffic Law N° 5322, is funding for care necessary due to injuries in road accidents. Since there is universal public healthcare in Costa Rica, people involved in accidents will go to the public clinics and hospitals for emergency treatment, since most drivers and pedestrians don’t have private insurance – the public healthcare system was covering the expense of this treatment. The SOA is meant to cover this expense and is divided proportionally per vehicle based on statistics from previous years and projections for the upcoming year.
Aporte Cosevi
The Transportation Security Council (COSEVI) gets a cut to help finance their work.
VAT on the SOA
This is the 13% Value Added Tax on the SOA. The other items are not subject to VAT, because they are taxes themselves.
Impuesto a favor de las municipalidades
The city governments get some funding from the marchamo.
Timbre fauna y tributo especifica
The wildlife tax stamp helps support the preservation of plant and animal life in Costa Rica. The specific tribute is divided among several organizations: Scouts of Costa Rica, National Rehabilitation Patrimony, Association Pueblito of Costa Rica, Day Care Center for the Elderly, Perez Zeledon Senior Citizens Home.
Variable Items
Some vehicles or types of vehicles will have additional charges on the marchamo:
- Aresep (Buses y Taxis) Canon de transporte público (CTP) (Buses y Taxis) – public transportation providers pay a canon for the regulatory bodies.
- Infracciones a la Ley de Tránsito — unpaid traffic fines can be charged on the marchamo, any violation that is applied to the license plate and not the driver alone can show up here.
- Estacionómetros — unpaid parking fines are also charged here.
Source: La Republica — https://www.larepublica.net/noticia/es-el-marchamo-realmente-un-impuesto
What Does the Marchamo Cover?
Benefits and coverage of the obligatory insurance
The marchamo is required for all vehicles, it allows you to drive on Costa Rican roads. If you don’t have a valid marchamo, the traffic police will take your metal plates, and you must go to the regional transit office to retrieve them, once you have paid the expired permit.
SOA and IPV are the major expenses in the annual marchamo, the others taxes are fixed amounts and a much smaller percentage of the total bill.
For 2026, the SOA covers 6 million colones – this is a total amount per accident, not for each person injured.
UTV Electric – ¢6.4 million fiscal value – ¢ 130,000 total ( ~ $260 )
- SOA – ¢9, 627
- IVA SOA – ¢1,252
- Property Tax – ¢ 115,910
- 7097 other IVA – ¢ 200
- Flor y Fauna Stamp – ¢1,156
- Specific Tribute – ¢2195
SUV Gasoline – ¢13 million fiscal value – ¢ 359,500 total ( ~ $720 )
- SOA – ¢30,238
- IVA SOA – ¢3,931
- COSEVI – ¢12,886
- Property Tax – ¢ 308,895
- 7097 other IVA – ¢ 200
- Flor y Fauna Stamp – ¢1,156
- Specific Tribute – ¢2195
How Much Do I Have to Pay ? For the Marchamo 2026
If you have a local bank account, you can enter your license plate in the place where you pay bills, or usually a special marchamo tab or menu item appears in November.
Another way is to go to the INS (National Insurance Institute) web site, and use the Consulta Marchamo Form
If you want to have a rough idea, for 2026 – here you can see some sample payments for different fiscal values vehicles.
For higher values you could multiply the amount of the Property Tax by the necessary proportion and add that to the total shown here.
Fun Facts on the 2026 Marchamo
The oldest vehicle paying a marchamo is a 1919 Hudson Super Six – ¢74,726.
The highest value marchamo is 2018 Ferrari – ¢7,192,439.
The lowest value marchamo this year is a 1989 Mitsubishi Montero – ¢73,706
While 58,000 more vehicles will pay a marchamo, the expected revenue for property tax is 165 Billion colones, that’s 55 Billion less than expected. This is due to a law passed in 2024 that required the fiscal value for all vehicles to depreciate.
Source — https://www.diarioextra.com/noticia/ingresos-por-impuesto-a-la-propiedad-del-marchamo-disminuyen/
Where Can I Pay the Marchamo ?
The INS site accepts credit cards, it is possible to pay online and have the document and sticker sent to your home address. If you aren’t sure about the mail service, you can specify the nearest INS branch, then go to collect the paperwork the same day – or maybe better the next day. It might make sense then just to pay in the branch, which is OK in November and early December, but lines get long as December progresses. So paying on the website can help you avoid the full line.
Otherwise there are places to pay all around the country. Bank branches, super markets, financial service centers. INS offers a list of registered places here: Donde Pagar el Marchamo You can search by province and city.
Help!! The Marchamo isn’t in my Name!
Not to worry, you can just pay the marchamo even if the paperwork is in a different name. The marchamo is specific to the vehicle and the INS database is different from the National Registry one.
They take a few years to get matched up. In the Consulta Marchamo form the tax owed is shown and there is an option for updating the owner, you can try it to see if it works.
But if not, it is best just to pay even if the paperwork is printed out with another name.
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