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Hi Paul,

Yes, VRT on a GT-R would be monstrous, appropriately enough for a car known as ‘Godzilla.’ Happily, yes, if your dad is permanently moving to Ireland, and can demonstrate proof of his new address and residency, then he’ll be exempt from VRT and the car is too old now to incur any VAT charges. 

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Hi Fran,

You have it in a nutshell there, except the UK is defined as including Northern Ireland. Just be careful of the details. Such as NOx levy regardless of where you import it from. And there's also custom duty if you buy from England, Scotland or Wales, but not the North. Oh, and this is all assuming we're talking about a car that's older than six months old and has more than 6,000km on the clock, as otherwise that's classed as new and there is a VAT complication coming from the North.

Read our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK for more

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Hi Daniel,

The VRT bit of importing a motorbike works the same as before in that you’re charged €2 for each cubic centimetre of engine capacity up to 350cc, and €1 for each cc above that. That charge is then discounted by ten per cent for bikes between three months and one year old, 20 per cent for one-to-two years, 40 per cent for two-to-three years, 50 per cent for three-to-four years, 60 per cent for four-to-five years, 70 per cent for five-to-seven years, 80 per cent for seven-to-ten years, 90 per cent for ten-to-30 years, and is totally waived once the bike is 30 years old or older.

The new charges are, of course, import duty and VAT. VAT will be charged at 21 per cent, regardless of age, and there will be a ten per cent import duty (based on the price you paid and the cost of transport and delivery) unless more than 55 per cent of the original value of the parts used to build the bike originated in the UK.

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Hi Declan,

Unfortunately, this is the way things have gone now. Revenue were being relatively generous (relatively is of course a relative term…) in the first couple of weeks of January for people who’d imported in December and been unable to get an inspection date until January, but that grace period seems now to have passed.

Given that the car didn’t come into your possession until after Jan 1st, I don’t think they’ll give you a break on it, I’m afraid, and of course it’s not that you’re paying extra in VRT (although you are, a little, of course thanks to the switch to WLTP emissions), you’re actually paying extra in VAT and import duty thanks to Brexit. I wish I could give you better news, but these are the perils of importing a car.

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Hi Desmond,

OK, while the DB9 is a tricky car to value (mostly because there aren’t that many for sale in Ireland), let’s take €50,000 as a ballpark. If you’re bringing one down from Northern Ireland, it’s pretty straightforward — you’ll pay 37 per cent VRT, which will come to around €18,500. Ish. That’s assuming Revenue agree with our finger-in-the-air valuation. 

If you’re bringing it in from the rest of the UK, then there’s going to be 21 per cent VAT on top of that (€10,500 again assuming our €50,000 guess is about right) plus the NOx levy of €600 and then, finally, the ten per cent customs duty, which will be calculated on the actual price paid for the car (not the notional Irish value as for the VRT and VAT) plus whatever shipping and delivery expenses you incurred. 

The good news is that DB9 prices have actually dipped below £30,000 in the UK (although you’ve got to be careful buying at that price level) so there are bargains to be had. The best thing to do would be to get in touch with the guys at Aston Martin Belfast who could give you a much more precise steer on the whole thing. 

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Hi Luke,

Yes, it is possible — you just need to ring up your local motor tax office and get them to switch you to the private car system. The downside is that, yes, you will be taxed on the engine capacity at that point, which, with a 3.2-litre Ranger is going to be top-whack — €1,809. You might be better off looking for a newer Ranger with the 2.2-litre engine, or the older Volkswagen Amarok, which had a 2.0-litre.

Take a read of our Buying a commercial vehicle for private use feature.

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Hi Dermott,

Indeed, we’ve heard from more than a few readers about difficulties getting private insurance on a commercial. The first thing you need to do is to change the tax status of your pickup by phoning your nearest motor tax office, and ask them to transfer you to the private car taxation setting. That should help. The next thing to do is to get hold of a good insurance broker who can help you navigate through the sticky quicksand of Irish car insurance. There are no insurers who specialise, as far as we know, in commercial-to-private insurance

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Hi Len,

Short answer: yes. If you’re buying used from the North, then you’re avoiding the ten per cent customs duty and the 21 per cent VAT on used vehicles.

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Hi James,

Basically, the situation is as before — as long as the van is older than six months old or has more than 6,000km on the clock, then you’ll pay the usual VRT at 13.3 per cent of the OMSP (the Irish market price as defined by Revenue). As it’s from the North, you’ll also avoid the ten per cent customs duty. Once you do get the camper conversion done, the good news is that motor tax for a camper is only €102 a year.

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Hi James,

You SHOULD be able to bring your car in with you without paying VRT or VAT, as, according to Revenue: “You may be able to claim relief from Customs Duty and Value-Added Tax (VAT). This relief applies to imports of the following: bicycles and motor cycles, private cars, trailers, caravans, pleasure craft and private aeroplanes." VRT would be waived, normally, for a transfer of residence. You’ll need to have all your paperwork in order, and you can bet that Revenue will be checking carefully to make sure no-one is trying to pull a fast one, but you should be OK.