VRT on an imported car is worked out from two things: the car's emissions and what Revenue judges the car to be worth on the Irish market, which it calls the open market selling price. There is no flat fee and no figure you can guess from the badge. Revenue's online calculator gives the charge for a specific car once you enter its details, and that is where every import sum should start.
What is VRT?
Vehicle Registration Tax is the tax charged when a vehicle is registered in Ireland for the first time. A car built abroad and brought in, new or used, has to be registered here before it can be driven on Irish plates, and the VRT is paid as part of that registration. Revenue's guide to VRT is the starting point for every rule that follows.
Registration is done at an NCTS centre, by appointment. Revenue sets a time limit after the car arrives in the State within which it has to be registered, and that limit is worth reading on the guide rather than taking anyone's word for it.
Two things get mixed up. VRT is not motor tax, which is the yearly charge on every car on the road. And VRT is not VAT or customs duty, which are separate charges that apply to some imports on top of it.
What is the VRT figure based on?
For a passenger car, the charge is a share of the open market selling price, and the size of that share depends on the car's CO2 emissions. Lower emissions, smaller share. Higher emissions, larger share. On top of that sits a NOx charge, worked out from the car's nitrogen oxide emissions. Revenue's page on calculating VRT sets out both parts.
The open market selling price is not what you paid for the car abroad. It is Revenue's view of what that make and model, in that year and spec, would sell for here in the condition it is in. That is why two identical cars bought at different prices in the UK attract the same VRT, and why an inexpensive purchase abroad does not make for an inexpensive registration.
Emissions figures come from the car's own documents. The calculator either asks for them or finds them from the model version you choose, and the guide explains how a car with no usable emissions figure is treated.
How do you get the figure for a specific car?
Use the Revenue VRT calculator. You pick the make, the model and the version, enter the first registration date and the mileage, and it returns an estimate of the VRT for that car. Do it before you agree a price abroad, not after the car is on the ferry.
Treat the result as an estimate. The final charge is set when the car is inspected at registration, and the calculator says as much. If the exact version you are looking at is not listed, the guide explains how Revenue values a car that is not in its tables.
A car sourced already on Irish plates has none of this. Its VRT was paid when it was first registered here and never comes up again. That is one reason to price a sourced Irish car against an import before you commit to bringing one in.
What about VAT and customs duty on a UK import?
Since the UK left the EU, a car brought in from Great Britain is an import from outside the Union, and that can mean customs duty and VAT on top of VRT. Whether duty applies depends on where the car was made and the paperwork that comes with it, and VAT has its own rules again. Cars from Northern Ireland are treated differently from cars from Great Britain. Revenue's page on VAT and customs duty on imported vehicles sets out who pays what, and its page on importing vehicles from the UK covers the customs declaration that has to be made before the car can be registered.
Do the sums together. The purchase price is the number that gets advertised. Tax on top is what decides whether the trip was worth it.
Does an import cost less than a sourced Irish car?
Sometimes. Put the full cost of the import on one side: the purchase price, the VRT, any VAT and duty, the ferry, the fuel, your days away, a history check in two jurisdictions, and the risk of a car bought unseen. Put a comparable Irish car on the other side, with the VRT long paid and a history you can check from your kitchen table.
On a premium car, the import sum can still win for a specific spec that is thin on the ground here. On an everyday car it seldom does once the tax and the time are counted. If you want a particular luxury car in a particular spec, give a dealer the brief, let the search cover Irish stock and imports, and compare the two sums before you commit to either.
Questions buyers ask
How to calculate VRT on imported cars?
Enter the car's make and model, its version, its first registration date and its mileage into Revenue's online VRT calculator, and it returns an estimate for that car. That estimate is built from the car's CO2 and NOx emissions and Revenue's open market selling price for it. Your final figure is confirmed at the NCTS centre when the car is registered.
How much is VRT on a car?
There is no single answer, because VRT is a share of the car's open market selling price and the size of that share depends on its CO2 emissions, with a NOx charge on top. A small low-emission hatchback and a large diesel SUV at the same price will pay very different amounts. Run the specific car through Revenue's calculator for a figure.
How much customs duty do I have to pay when importing a car into Ireland?
That depends on where the car is coming from and where it was made. A car from another EU country does not attract customs duty, while a car from Great Britain may, and VAT may be due as well. Revenue's page on VAT and customs duty sets out the cases, and cars from Northern Ireland are treated differently again.
How to avoid paying VRT?
VRT is due on every car registered in the State, and the only lawful way not to pay it is to qualify for one of the reliefs or exemptions Revenue itself grants, such as the relief for someone moving their home to Ireland with a car they already own and have used abroad. Each relief has conditions, and Revenue decides whether you meet them. Read the reliefs section of Revenue's guide before you count on one. Keeping a car on foreign plates while living here is not a way around the tax.
Price the Irish car first
Before you book a ferry, ring or WhatsApp RS Motors on 086 800 0001, Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm, with the make and model, the year and the spec you are after. RS Motors' car sourcing page explains how the search works, and you may find the same car already on Irish plates with the VRT long paid.
