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Hi Kate,

Assuming it's a 1.4 Terra model with around 160,000km on the clock then you're probably looking at around €600 in VRT if you import one. 

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Hi Jim,

You don’t reclaim the UK VAT if you’re exporting a brand new car to Ireland, you simply don’t pay it in the first place. According to HMRC, you won’t be liable for UK VAT on your purchase if you take it out of the UK within two months of buying and don’t drive the vehicle in the UK unless you register and tax it. You’ll also have to fill out a VAT 411 form.

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Hi David,

No, you would only have to pay VAT if the car were younger than six months old or had mileage of less than 6,000km. You will need to show that VAT has been paid when the car was originally purchased in the UK though.

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Hi Derek,

Well, if the car has been correctly adjusted to meet UK and EU standards  then it should be fine, and for lights there are always aftermarket upgrade options such as better bulbs or extra spot lamps. The IVA test is pretty comprehensive so if it’ll get through that and pass an NCT, then I wouldn’t have any major worries, as long as the car’s history etc all checks out.

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Hi Shiu,

It’s an excellent car, but you’ll need to modify your own driving style a little to get the best economy out of the little 1.0-litre turbo engine. It is a terrific engine, though. You’re most likely looking at paying around €2,900 in Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) to import it.

There are a huge number of imports from the UK and we don't believe it will adversely affect the trade-in price in a few years time.

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Hi Fidelis,

Well, it depends on the year, but assuming you mean a 2014 model, you’ll pay around €5,300 in VRT.

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Hi Ray,

If you're buying a new car, then no. There were no changes to the VRT rates announced in the budget so there'll be no difference in rates in January. 

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Hi Brian,

There is a way of doing this, but it requires some very careful timing. Once you import a vehicle, you have seven days from its arrival on these shores to notify Revenue that it’s in the country and also to book the NCT inspection to get the final bill for Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT).

So that gives you a little wiggle room. Ideally, you would be best advised to find a company in the UK who can carry out the conversion and re-register the vehicle with the DVLA in Swansea, before importing it. If that’s not possible, then what you need to do is to make sure you have an Irish conversion company set up and ready to go who can carry out the conversion when the car arrives here, before it goes for its inspection. It’s ever so slightly legally dubious (letter of the law rather than spirit), but if you can keep the timings sharp, it could work.

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Hi Shariq,

Yes, it is worth it, but it is a hassle. There are specialist car-finding agencies (such as Palmdale, for instance) who for a fee will locate and source a car for you, and they’ll even deliver it for another fee on top, and the word from them is that even on everyday models it’s now possible to make a significant saving thanks to the value of Sterling relative to the Euro. If you’re buying a premium model, or spending more than €20,000 on a car then it’s a no-brainder – you can save as much as €4-5,000 even when you’ve paid for VRT, air and ferry tickets.

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Hi Martin,

To be fair to the car companies, they would all like to see the end of VRT – there’s little or no protectionist advantage to them (aside from it causing a small, largely ineffective brake on personal imports) and freeing customers from that yoke would make the Irish car industry much more competitive.

As for lobbying against it, that has largely dried up now. Why? Because of the tacit admission that even if VRT could be dismantled, any Irish Government would simply come up with a replacement for it. Even with the Apple tax decision hanging in the air, no Minister for Finance is going to turn off a €4 billion annual tap of combined motoring revenues, of which VRT makes up a a major component.

As for the application of both VRT and VAT to major safety items, you’re quite right – that is a staggering shame, one that should (but probably doesn’t) weigh heavily on the consciences of all in the Department of Finance, the Road Safety Authority and the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. Whether it’s autonomous emergency or a child safety car seat, adding VRT and/or VAT increases the price and makes it less likely that a customer will spend the extra to buy that system, not least because there is no benefit to your insurance premium for doing so.

Mind you, in some ways, Irish customers have only themselves to blame. Back in the early 2000s, when anti-lock brakes were often an option, and not an especially expensive one at that, most buyers shunned them in favour of a sunroof or a better stereo…