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Hi Eoin,

VAT isn’t charged on second hand car sales in the UK, so while technically you will be paying a residual portion of the car’s original VAT cost, on a car that’s between seven and eight years old, it’s not going to be a particularly big proportion. You could — technically — claim it back from the UK authorities on export, but the process is byzantine and time consuming, and generally not worth the effort.

You will definitely have to pay Irish VAT, though, which will now be charged at 23 per cent as the rate has gone up since the 1st of March. Unlike VRT, which is charged according to the OMSP, the Open Market Selling Price or what Revenue thinks the value of the car would be on the Irish market, VAT is charged on the price you paid for the car, plus shipping costs.

As for the import duty, you may well get away without paying that, as the XF’s structure and engine (the V6 diesel was made by Ford in Dagenham) were built in the UK, which should push it over the minimum value necessary. You’ll have to fill out a customs declaration form first, though, which should help you figure all of that out. 

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Hi Kathryn,

Not quite. You don’t deduct the VAT and VRT to find out the OMSP — Open Market Selling Price — as that’s a figure arrived at independently by Revenue. It’s on that figure, whatever it might be, that your VRT and VAT will be calculated. 

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Hi Tony,

Are you sure you’re putting the details in correctly? As we’ve just run a quick calculation for a 2016 Golf Match 1.6 TDI and it’s giving us a VRT charge of just under €4,000, which sounds a lot more like what we’d expect.

Did you perhaps put in the wrong NOx emissions figure? We’re estimating that at 129mg/km, but if you put in a higher figure that could give you a much higher combined VRT charge and NOx levy.

On the other part of your question: yes — you pay VRT in addition to the cost of buying the car, and it’s calculated as a percentage of the Irish market price (as defined by Revenue) not the price you actually paid for the car.

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Hi Maire,

Unfortunately, you might as well ask us how long a piece of string might be. Irish insurance companies are something of a law unto themselves, and the cost of insurance will depend more on you and your record than on the vehicle itself. On top of which, some of our readers have been telling us that they have been finding it difficult to get some insurers to cover commercial vehicles as private cars at all. Our advice is to get hold of a good broker, who can help you navigate through all this. 

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Hi Marcin,

I’m afraid you may have gotten yourself into a bit of bother here, because the Revenue rulebook states that any vehicle being brought into the state must be announced to Revenue within a week of its arrival and have gone through he VRT process within 30 days.

Failure to pay VRT on time results in a penalty. Between 30 and 60 days overdue, you’ll pay a penalty equivalent to five per cent of the car’s Irish market value. If it’s more than 60 days, but less than six months, then it’s ten per cent. If it’s more than six months, then it’s an additional five per cent of the value for every month that you’re overdue. 

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Hi Antony,

A motorhome is going to be charged at the commercial VRT rate, of 13.3 per cent of the vehicle's Irish market value. Now, as you say, that value can be difficult to work out ahead of time, and the best that you can do really is to scan the classified ads and start seeing what other similar vehicles are on sale and what kind of money they’re going for. That will at least give you a ballpark in which to start. The good news is that once you do have it imported, motor tax is charged at just €102 a year for camper vans and motorhomes. 

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Hi Maria,

Nope, it’ll have no effect. Camper vans are charged on the commercial vehicle VRT rate, which is 13.3 per cent of the Irish market selling price, and the emissions don’t come into it. 

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Hi Donal,

They’re not VRT exempt; it’s that Revenue applies a rebate of VRT, up to a maximum of €5,000, on an imported electric car, as long as it’s a regular production model, up to a maximum OMSP of €50,000 (that’s the current Irish market value as defined by Revenue). So, as a rough example, if the car you’re importing has an OMSP of €35,000, you’ll technically pay VRT of seven per cent, at €2,450, but that is obviously covered by the VRT rebate, so you effectively pay nothing. However, the car has an OMSP of €60,000, you’ll pay €4,200 in VRT and won’t get any rebate.

If you’re bringing a car in from the England, Scotland or Wales, even if it’s an EV, you’ll be liable for 21 per cent VAT (charged on the OMSP value) and ten per cent import duty (charged on what you paid for the car plus the costs of getting it here). If you're bringing it in from Northern Ireland, as long as it’s either previously been registered to a person or company resident in the North, or you’ve bought it from a dealer, then you won’t pay the import duty, and you’ll only be charged VAT if the car is younger than six months, or has fewer than 6,000km on the clock.

Expert answer

Hi Babs,

It depends on how much over the 30 days you’ve gone. Between 30 and 60 days, you’ll pay a penalty equivalent to five per cent of the car’s Irish market value. If it’s more than 60 days, but less than six months, then it’s ten per cent. If it’s more than six months, then it’s an additional five per cent of the value for every month that you’re overdue. 

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Hi Ailin,

OK, I think the best advice is to buy as soon as you possibly can. According to Revenue, you MAY be able to claim exemption on VRT, VAT and customs duty if you’re bringing your car in as part of a permanent move. You need to have owned the vehicle for ‘at least six months’ so being as we’re into February already, the clock is ticking. Make sure you keep every receipt and proof of address, road tax and insurance (and maybe keep them for the car you have now too, just to extend the paper trail).