Expert answer

The short answer Joe is that we don’t actually know.

Officially, the Government is saying that the VRT rebate for electric cars will remain, but will be effectively replaced by the new seven per cent VRT band for the lowest-emissions vehicles. As you point out, that relief is reduced when the car has a price tag of above €40,000 — it chops the VRT rebate in half. Stray above €50,000 and there’s no more rebate at all. For now, the SEAI grant of €5,000 remains in place but that will be phased out over time. How much time and how much phasing? We don’t know yet.

The zero-rate Benefit-in-Kind tax remains in place up to the end of 2023, and will quite possibly be renewed in the Budget for that year, but no announcement has yet been made. 

As far as the rebate is concerned, most of the Irish importers are now scrambling to try and adjust their prices, and indeed are in negotiation with the European and global head offices so that, come January, the current rebate-inclusive prices will remain more or less in place under the new system.

Basically, and not for the first time, the whole motor tax system has been thrown up into the air and we’re all scrambling to understand it fully before it comes crashing back down.

Keep an eye on our How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland? feature for more as it happens.

Expert answer

Hi Arunas,

We're written a guide called Guide to importing cars from the UK to help people like you. You'll need to scroll down through half of it as you already have the car bought, but once you've read that, if you still have questions, feel free to come ask us for more assistance.

Expert answer

Hi Robert,

Getting insurance will probably be slightly tricky just because there aren’t many Jimnys on the ground here, so it’s not a well-known model for Irish insurers from an actuarial point of view. Then again, it’s no GTI so it shouldn’t be too bad. As for road legality, it’s fine — the Jimny was homologated for Europe, so it’s perfectly legal here.

Expert answer

Hi Aidan,

Well, generally speaking, vans fall into one of two categories for VRT. Most will be charged 13.3 per cent of the Irish open market selling price (OMSP), which in the case of a 2014 Transporter is likely to be in the region of €13,000. So 13.3 per cent of that is €1,279 and that should be your VRT cost, more or less.

Of course, there’s a chance that your Transporter of choice will fall into the second category, which gets charged a flat-rate of €200 if, says Revenue, “it always had less than four seats and at any time a laden mass greater than 130 per cent of the mass in service.” 

Expert answer

Hi Mark,

As far as VRT is concerned, pickup trucks generally fall into Category B for tax, which means you’ll pay 13.3 per cent of the Irish Open Market Selling Price, as defined by Revenue. A 2017 Hilux will generally run at about €23,000 on the Irish market, so you’ll be paying in and around €3,000 in VRT.

That €333 rate is the annual rate of motor tax for a commercial vehicle, though be aware that you cannot use the vehicle for any private reasons if you tax it as a commercial.

Expert answer

Hi Ian,

If the specific model isn’t shown, then you can make a rough back-of-a-napkin calculation based on the CO₂ emissions and the prices that such a car would sell for In Ireland. The 508 1.6 turbo GT-Line’s emissions of 125g/km put it into Band B1 for VRT, which means 18 per cent of the Irish market price. That price is a little difficult to calculate as most 508s sold here in 2019 were diesel, but values seem to run between €25,000 to €30,000 — so, splitting the difference, 18 per cent of €27,500 is €4,950. The NOx levy on top of that will only be €135. 

Obviously all of this is an approximation only.

Expert answer

Hi David,

OK, let’s take the last question first. No, there’s no publicly available second hand value guide for Ireland (more’s the pity), but you can get a good idea of values and prices by keeping an eye on classified ad websites, such as Carzone, and if the specific model isn’t sold in Ireland, then prices for its competitors or other models in the same range will at least give you an idea. Feel free to send us queries to do the estimating for you as well.

If the bands change in the Budget (and they most definitely will this year), then that will usually be implemented from the 1st of January, but there’s a chance that with the big changes coming up this year, there might be a slight deferment or lead-in period. As for when you pay your VRT, don’t expect any mercy — the rates used will be the rates on the day that your car is inspected, not the date it was brought into the country.

Expert answer

Hi Richie,

There is slightly better value to be had on a Tucson in the UK — a 2016 model will cost you around £12-13,000, compared to somewhere in the region of €17-19,000 here, but that doesn’t take into account the cost of VRT (probably in the region of €2,500 to €3,000 depending on spec) and of course the costs of getting to the UK and back with the car.

Trading in shouldn’t be a major issue — most of the big UK dealers are well set up to deal with Irish customers, and there are services that can even find the car you want, arrange a trade-in and then deliver the new car to your door, from the UK.

It’s always, always worth having a good shop around at home though — Irish dealers need the business, and many will trim their prices to match the cost of importing a car if you ask nicely and bargain hard.

The arrival of the new Tucson will, we presume, put a little downward pressure on the used prices of the current model, but it probably won’t be by much — considering how well the current model is still selling, it’s likely that there will be significant demand for used stock for some time to come.

Expert answer

Hi Patrick,

You certainly can do, but just be aware that you’ll have to pay some import duty on it, which may reduce any potential saving compared to an Irish market car. Do your research carefully and get in touch with your local Nissan dealer to make sure that they’ll honour any outstanding vehicle or battery warranty.

Expert answer

Hi Gerard,

For VRT purposes, vans are charged at 13.3 per cent of the Irish market value. A 2017 Berlingo van is going to be worth in and around €10,000, so the relatively simple calculation is that it’ll cost you around €1,300 in VRT.