How to prepare to pay the pension levy for a car’s first registration

When this applies

You have bought a new pas­sen­ger car in Lviv or im­port­ed a used car across the western border and want to receive a Ukrain­ian reg­is­tra­tion cer­tifi­cate for the first time. Before booking a service center visit, check whether you must pay the pension levy and open the first reg­is­tra­tion levy cal­cu­la­tor with your value doc­u­ments ready.

The levy is tied to the first state reg­is­tra­tion of this pas­sen­ger car in Ukraine, not to how many cars the owner has bought before. A pre­vi­ous reg­is­tra­tion in Poland or another country does not make the Ukrain­ian action a re-reg­is­tra­tion. If the car has already been reg­is­tered in Ukraine, de­ter­mine the correct process for that sit­u­a­tion.

Which deadline or procedure applies

For reg­is­tra­tion in 2026, Law No. 400/97-VR sets three rates based on the doc­u­ment­ed value ex­clud­ing VAT: 3% up to and in­clud­ing UAH 549,120; 4% above UAH 549,120 and up to and in­clud­ing UAH 965,120; and 5% above UAH 965,120. These UAH thresh­olds are tied to the sub­sis­tence minimum for able-bodied persons on 1 January of the reg­is­tra­tion year; check them again before a visit in a later year.

The value must be sup­port­ed by a pur­chase agree­ment, invoice, customs de­c­la­ra­tion, val­u­a­tion, or another proper doc­u­ment. For an im­port­ed car, the base cannot be lower than its customs value. Exclude VAT only when its amount is doc­u­ment­ed; as­sum­ing that any total price in­cludes 20% VAT is not ev­i­dence.

Example for an owner in Dro­hobych ter­ri­to­r­i­al com­mu­ni­ty: doc­u­ment­ed value of an im­port­ed pas­sen­ger car ex­clud­ing VAT is UAH 620,000, while the customs value is UAH 650,000. For a pre­lim­i­nary check, use no less than UAH 650,000. This falls in the 4% band, so the es­ti­mat­ed levy is UAH 26,000. This example does not replace check­ing your own doc­u­ments, and the amount ex­cludes customs clear­ance and the reg­is­tra­tion service fee.

The law exempts pas­sen­ger cars equipped ex­clu­sive­ly with elec­tric motors. A hybrid is not au­to­mat­i­cal­ly covered. Other statu­to­ry ex­cep­tions apply only after check­ing the spe­cif­ic legal basis and sup­port­ing doc­u­ments.

Steps to take

Start with the pur­chase doc­u­ment and the car’s tech­ni­cal details. If the car was im­port­ed, add its customs de­c­la­ra­tion and lawful import doc­u­ments. For a used import, the MIA Main Service Center de­scribes the reg­is­tra­tion doc­u­ment package sep­a­rate­ly, in­clud­ing when an expert ex­am­i­na­tion is manda­to­ry. Compare the VIN and owner details before booking.

Then compare the doc­u­ment­ed price ex­clud­ing VAT with the customs value, if one applies. Iden­ti­fy the value band, cal­cu­late the amount with the cal­cu­la­tor, and note which doc­u­ments support the base. This is a pre­lim­i­nary cal­cu­la­tion; it does not resolve con­flict­ing doc­u­ments or a dis­put­ed ex­emp­tion.

Where to check payment details

On the of­fi­cial Lviv MIA Re­gion­al Service Center payment details page, find the sep­a­rate link to pension levy ac­counts for first car reg­is­tra­tion. It leads to the Trea­sury income-account search. Ad­min­is­tra­tive service payment details on the same page relate to another payment; do not au­to­mat­i­cal­ly copy them into a pension levy receipt.

Confirm the re­cip­i­ent, account, and payment purpose with the center where you plan to reg­is­ter, even if you are using a center in another com­mu­ni­ty in the oblast. Your home address or someone else’s old receipt is not enough to choose an account. After paying, keep the receipt with the pur­chase doc­u­ments and check service, doc­u­ment, and number plate fees sep­a­rate­ly.

Use the of­fi­cial Lviv Re­gion­al MIA Service Center online ap­point­ment page to choose a service and an avail­able center. For someone in Dro­hobych, Stryi, or another com­mu­ni­ty in the oblast, the con­ve­nient route may differ from a visit to a city center in Lviv. Check the portal for the re­quired service, date, and doc­u­ment re­quire­ments. Do not rely on un­ver­i­fied ad­dress­es or opening hours in ad­ver­tise­ments.

What to check before submitting

Compare the VIN, owner, and amount in every doc­u­ment. If the con­tract shows less than the customs de­c­la­ra­tion, do not choose the lower figure only because it is more con­ve­nient. If the seller did not show VAT sep­a­rate­ly, do not derive it math­e­mat­i­cal­ly from the total without ev­i­dence.

Check the vehicle and engine types sep­a­rate­ly. This rule applies to pas­sen­ger cars, and the ex­cep­tion for ex­clu­sive­ly elec­tric motors re­quires sup­port­ing tech­ni­cal data. Unusual ex­emp­tion grounds, a rep­re­sen­ta­tive’s doc­u­ments, or mis­match­es in customs in­for­ma­tion need in­di­vid­ual review before payment.

The party reg­is­ter­ing the car for the first time pays the pension levy, while taxes on a car sale concern the seller’s income. If you buy from an in­di­vid­ual, do not combine these two issues into one per­cent­age. There is a sep­a­rate cal­cu­la­tor for the seller’s taxes.

When to consult a lawyer

Ask for a doc­u­ment review before paying if the con­tract and customs values differ after import, VAT is not item­ized, it is unclear whether a Ukrain­ian reg­is­tra­tion cer­tifi­cate was issued, or the owner claims a special ex­cep­tion. For a matter in Lviv or the oblast, a lawyer can help es­tab­lish the proper base and sup­port­ing doc­u­ments; the com­pe­tent MIA service center makes the final reg­is­tra­tion de­ci­sion.