Why has an imported BMW 520d higher tax?
I bought a 2016 BMW 5 Series (F10 2.0-litre diesel) from a garage and was thinking that the tax would be €200 for the year as I had the exact same car last year, but was a 2015 - tax band on CO2 emission was 111-120g/km.
Now when taxing the 2016 car the tax for the year it's showing as €600 for a year at CO2 emissions of 156g/km. It is a Jap import. I just want to make sure if there could be a mistake on the system or it is actually 156g/km emissions before I tax it?
Dilan (Dublin)Aug 2025 Filed under: taxation
Expert answer
Hi Dilan,
The lower CO2 rating of that earlier car was according to the old “NEDC” standard. Any cars imported since 2021 with an NEDC-standard CO2 figure (as this Jap import would have had) would have had the number 'uplifted' by Revenue to make it comparable to the newer WLTP standard. It was trying to reduce the number of older, more polluting diesels being imported, but it just means that people may more motor tax at times, even if the cars are identical to those already registered in Ireland.
Of course, a Japanese model's CO2 figure could be a little different on top of all that.
Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Advisor