Guatemala’s Decreto 40-2022 (Ley de Incentivos para la Movilidad Electrica) exempts fully electric vehicles from IVA and IPRIMA — at 100% in the law’s first five years — and exempts hybrids from IPRIMA only. The IPRIMA rate itself is 5% for both, against the 20% a petrol car pays. Note that customs duty (DAI) is 0% for every vehicle, electric or not — that part is not an EV incentive, and any page presenting it as one is misreading the tariff.

Quick summary: Fully electric vehicles pay 0% duty, and at the law’s current 100% step they are exempt from IVA and from IPRIMA (statutory rate 5%, art. 114 numeral 14) — zero import tax, provided the vehicle is not more than 5 years past its manufacture date and carries no salvage-type title (Decreto 40-2022 art. 16). Hybrids are exempt from IPRIMA only, so they pay 12% IVA, against about 32% for a petrol car. By our count the 100% step runs to 29 August 2027; the exemption then drops to 80%, 60%, 40%, 20% and 10% over the law’s years 6 to 10. On an example taxable base of $25,000, a used EV pays $8,000 less in IVA and IPRIMA than a petrol SUV with the same base (12% + 20%).

Tax Comparison: EV vs Gas vs Hybrid

Duty on vehicles is 0% for everyone — the EV advantage lives in IPRIMA and in the Decreto 40-2022 exemption, not in the tariff.

Vehicle TypeDAIIVAIPRIMA (art. 114)Total Tax on a $25K base
Electric (EV)0%0%5% statutory, exempt under Decreto 40-2022$0
Hybrid0%12%5% statutory, exempt at the 100% step (art. 7 b)~$3,000 (the 12% IVA)
Used gas vehicle0%12%20% (numeral 1)~$8,000
New gas vehicle0%12%20% (numeral 1)~$8,000

Savings Example: Tesla Model 3 vs Toyota RAV4

CostTesla Model 3 (EV)Toyota RAV4 (Gas)
US purchase price$25,000$25,000
Shipping (Miami RoRo)Quote from your shipping lineQuote from your shipping line
InsuranceQuote from your shipping line or insurerQuote from your shipping line or insurer
Taxable base (the seller’s invoice — art. 113; shipping and insurance are NOT in the base for a used vehicle)$25,000$25,000
DAI$0$0 (0% for every vehicle)
IVA$0$3,000 (12%)
IPRIMA$0 (5% statutory, exempt under Decreto 40-2022)$5,000 (20%, numeral 1)
Customs brokerAsk for a written quoteAsk for a written quote
Port/registrationAsk for a written quoteAsk for a written quote
Total import taxes$0$8,000
Purchase + taxes (before shipping, insurance and fees)$25,000$33,000
Tax savings with EV$8,000—

The exemption schedule, from the law itself

The IPRIMA rate for electric, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles — 5% — is article 114 numeral 14 of Decreto 10-2012, as reformed by Decreto 40-2022. The exemption on top of it is article 7 of Decreto 40-2022, which we read in the Congress copy of the Diario de Centro América of 29 August 2022 (read 1 October 2026):

Year of the lawElectric car, electric motorcycle, hydrogen vehicle: IVA on import, IVA on first sale and IPRIMA (art. 7 a)Hybrid: IPRIMA only (art. 7 b)
Years 1 to 5100% exempt100% exempt
Year 680%80%
Year 760%60%
Year 840%40%
Year 920%20%
Year 1010%10%

The hybrid table in the law has no IVA column, so a hybrid pays the normal 12% IVA. The schedule runs on the law’s own clock — the exemptions apply “durante la vigencia de la presente Ley y no a partir de la adquisición del vehículo” — and the law says “Esta exención tendrá una duración de diez (10) años, a partir de la entrada en vigor de la presente Ley”. Article 22 puts it in force the day after publication, so on 30 August 2022. The law prints no calendar dates for each year; counting each year from 30 August 2022, year 5 (100%) runs to 29 August 2027, year 6 (80%) starts on 30 August 2027, and the ten years end on 29 August 2032. That date arithmetic is ours: we found no SAT page giving dated steps (search of sat.gob.gt and mem.gob.gt, 1 October 2026).

The conditions. The exemption “Aplica para vehículos nuevos y usados, siempre y cuando no incurran en las prohibiciones establecidas en el artículo 16 de esta Ley”. Article 16 bars the import of an electric or hydrogen vehicle that is more than 5 years old counted from its manufacture (“Tengan más de 5 años de antigüedad a partir de su fabricación”), that has a damaged battery or electric motor, or that was declared salvage, total loss, non-rebuildable, flood, fire or junk (art. 16 e lists fifteen title brands). On a domestic resale, the IVA exemption covers only the first transfer of ownership. The law’s Reglamento (Acuerdo Gubernativo 295-2022, published 28 November 2022, according to a Consortium Legal note) sets the procedure for requesting, validating, certifying and approving the incentives; we have not read the Reglamento itself.

Correction published October 1, 2026: this page said we could not read the exemption’s current step, called hybrids’ exemption uncertain, and listed mild hybrids and conversions as excluded without a source. Decreto 40-2022 itself gives the schedule above, exempts hybrids from IPRIMA only, and bars EV imports older than 5 years or with salvage-type titles. The site’s vehicle import calculator also applied 12% IVA to EVs and a 20% customs duty to used cars; both calculators now follow the law.

What Decreto 40-2022 Covers

Fully Electric Vehicles (IVA and IPRIMA exempt, 100% step)

  • Battery electric vehicles (BEV) — Tesla, Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt, etc. (art. 7 a)
  • Electric motorcycles (art. 7 a)
  • Hydrogen vehicles (art. 7 a)
  • Heavy or special-use electric, hybrid or hydrogen vehicles — art. 7 c) exempts them from IPRIMA, import IVA and first-sale IVA at 100% for the full ten years, with the same art. 16 conditions
  • Chargers for electric vehicles and motorcycles — IVA on import and on first sale, 100% for ten years (art. 7 i)

Hybrid Vehicles (Reduced Rates)

  • Hybrid vehicles (vehículo híbrido in the law) — IPRIMA at 5% under art. 114 numeral 14, against 20% for a petrol car. Duty is 0% and IVA is 12% as for any vehicle
  • Decreto 40-2022 art. 7 b) then exempts that IPRIMA on the same schedule as an EV: 100% in the law’s years 1 to 5, stepping down to 10% in year 10. It gives a hybrid no IVA exemption

Barred from import (art. 16)

  • Electric or hydrogen vehicles more than 5 years past their manufacture date
  • Vehicles with a damaged battery, hydrogen cell or electric motor
  • An electric or hydrogen vehicle declared salvage-parts only, lemon salvage or lemon-law buyback, destruction, salvage with no VIN, non-rebuildable, fire damage, parts only, total loss, dismantlers, non-repairable, junk, crush, scrap or Katrina (flood) salvage
VehicleTypeUS Used Price RangeEst. Total Landed Cost
Tesla Model 3BEVCheck current US listingsPrice + shipping + fees; IVA and IPRIMA exempt at the 100% step
Tesla Model YBEVCheck current US listingsPrice + shipping + fees; IVA and IPRIMA exempt at the 100% step
Nissan LeafBEVCheck current US listingsPrice + shipping + fees; IVA and IPRIMA exempt at the 100% step
Chevy BoltBEVCheck current US listingsPrice + shipping + fees; IVA and IPRIMA exempt at the 100% step
Hyundai Ioniq 5BEVCheck current US listingsPrice + shipping + fees; IVA and IPRIMA exempt at the 100% step
Ford Mustang Mach-EBEVCheck current US listingsPrice + shipping + fees; IVA and IPRIMA exempt at the 100% step
Toyota RAV4 PrimePHEVCheck current US listingsPrice + shipping + fees + 12% IVA*

*Hybrids pay the 12% IVA; their IPRIMA is exempt at the 100% step

Charging Infrastructure in Guatemala

Current State (2026)

  • Public charging: before you buy, check each charging operator’s app or website for stations on the routes you drive
  • Home charging: see our electricity guide for tariffs and distributors

Practical Considerations

  • Home charging cost: depends on your distributor, and you don’t choose it. CNEE’s social tariff for 1 Nov 2026–31 Jan 2027 (unchanged from Aug–Oct) is Q1.42/kWh with EEGSA (Guatemala City, Sacatepéquez, Escuintla) and Q1.98–2.03 with Energuate (DEOCSA west / DEORSA east). Filling a 75 kWh battery is therefore about Q107 with EEGSA, about Q149 with DEORSA (east) and about Q152 with DEOCSA (west) — before your municipality’s street-lighting levy.
  • Parts: for parts ordered from abroad, see shipping to Guatemala

How to Import an EV

The process is the same as any vehicle import, with one key difference at customs:

  1. Check the build date before you buy — an EV more than 5 years past manufacture, or with a salvage-type title, cannot be imported at all (art. 16)
  2. Your customs broker files the DUCA declaring the vehicle as electric under Decreto 40-2022
  3. The exemption is requested under the Reglamento (Acuerdo Gubernativo 295-2022), which governs how the incentives are requested, validated, certified and approved — ask your broker for the current filing, since we have not read the Reglamento’s text
  4. At the 100% step, 0% duty, the IVA exemption and the IPRIMA exemption apply — you pay port fees, broker fees and registration
  5. Circulation tax: art. 7 e) exempts electric and hybrid vehicles from the annual circulation tax by model year — 100% for a model of the current or next year, then 80%, 60%, 40%, 20% and 0% for models one to five years older

Important: tell your broker the vehicle is electric before the DUCA is filed.

Additional EV Benefits in Guatemala

BenefitDetails
Circulation tax exemptionArt. 7 e): 100% for a model of the current or next year, 80% one year older, then 60%, 40%, 20% and 0% at five years older — see the tarjeta de circulacion guide
Chargers exemptArt. 7 i): IVA on import and on first sale of chargers for electric vehicles and motorcycles, 100% for ten years

Tips

  • Battery health matters — check the battery degradation percentage before buying a used EV
  • Plan home charging — ask an electrician for a written quote to install a Level 2 charger
  • Tell your customs broker it’s an EV upfront — they need to prepare the Decreto 40-2022 classification paperwork
  • Keep all purchase documentation showing the vehicle is electric — VIN, manufacturer specs, Monroney sticker if available
  • Check the manufacture date, not the model year — article 16 counts the 5-year limit from manufacture
  • Mind the calendar — by our count the 100% step ends on 29 August 2027; an EV imported in the law’s year 6 (from 30 August 2027, by the same count) gets an 80% exemption
  • Insurance: get quotes from several insurers for the specific EV before it ships

Sources