The ten-year rule: half the regional tax on older vehicles

The rule and the date that triggers it

Article L421-45 of the French code of taxes on goods and services halves the regional rate when the vehicle’s first registration is 10 years old or more. Three consequences follow:

• the reference date is box B on the certificate, the first time the vehicle was registered, not the purchase date nor the date of the previous certificate (box I);
• a registration abroad counts, so an imported vehicle arrives with its real age;
• only line Y1 is reduced, regional tax and Paris-region surcharge alike. The fixed tax of €11 and the €2.76 postage fee do not change.

The rule applies at every change of owner: a fifteen-year-old car sold three times pays half of the rate in force on each application date, three times over.

The saving in each region

The table ranks regions by rate, surcharge included, on 20 October 2026. It shows the regional tax on a 5 CV car just before and just after it turns 10, then the saving for 5 CV and for 8 CV.

The gap between regions is halved as well: between the dearest and the cheapest region, a 10-year-old 8 CV car only changes the bill by €155.80. The regional rate table gives start dates, and the region comparison works out the full total for each region.

The saving by horsepower

The saving grows in step with the horsepower. The second table shows it for four typical rates: Île-de-France, the dearest once the surcharge is added; Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, at the legal cap of €60; Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, among the cheapest in mainland France; and Mayotte, the cheapest of all.

Vehicles that gain nothing more

Motorbikes, L3e and L4e

Motorbikes pay half the rate from new, so the 10-year mark changes nothing: a 4 CV motorbike in Occitanie pays €119 at five years old and €119 at twenty. The motorbike and scooter page explains how engine size sets the horsepower. Mopeds have a zero rate, while quads and tricycles in categories L5e to L7e follow the car rule: full rate, then half at 10 years.

Lorries and coaches

Lorries over 3.5 tonnes, road tractors and coaches also have a permanent half rate, which age does not double.

Classic cars

There is no regional tax reduction specific to classic status: a classic pays half the rate like any car over 10 years. It is, however, exempt from the transport vehicle tax, which matters for an old van. Switching a vehicle you already own to a classic certificate triggers no regional tax: you pay €13.76, fixed tax plus postage. See the classic car page.

Buying just before or just after the anniversary

After buying a used car in France you have 1 month to apply for the new certificate (article R322-5 of the Highway Code), or face a fixed fine of €135. That window often leaves room to wait for the anniversary. Example: a 7 CV car, box B dated 10 November 2016, bought on 25 October 2026 in Brittany.

• Applying on the day of purchase: €433.76, of which €420 is regional tax.
• Applying on 10 November 2026, still within the deadline: €223.76, of which €210.

Waiting saves €210. The calculator counts age in completed years, so on the anniversary the car is 10. The law speaks of a first registration “ten years or more” earlier; to rule out any doubt, apply a day or two after the anniversary. If the anniversary falls after the deadline, apply on time at the full rate: the fine exceeds the saving on low-powered cars, and a late application can also lead to the vehicle being immobilised.

Sellers can use this too: a car that has reached 10 years is cheaper for the buyer to register, which supports the asking price. The change of keeper itself is covered on the used-car transfer page; you apply free of charge on the ANTS website, the official registration portal, and only the taxes are due.

Imported vehicles

For a car bought abroad, age matters twice. The regional tax is halved if the first registration, in the other country, is 10 years old or more. The malus, due at the first French registration, works differently: a depreciation rate based on age in months, set by article L421-7-2, and no malus at all for any car first registered before 1 January 2015. A car imported in 2026 that has just turned 10 dates from 2016: first registered between 1 January 2015 and 1 January 2020, its malus falls under the old NEDC scale, which this site does not compute. An older car, first registered before 1 January 2015, only pays half the regional tax, the fixed tax and the delivery fee. The import from the EU page covers the tax clearance certificate (quitus fiscal) and the documents required.