Expert answer

Hi Camillus,

Ok, I think you might be about to have a MASSIVE row with Revenue over this one...

Lexus IS diesels of that age are ridiculously cheap in the UK. Your £4,000 isn't even the cheapest I've seen.

Here at home though, they're massively over-priced. I've seen some advertised at north of €16,000 and that's the sort of figure Revenue is  going to value the car at. With 168g/km of CO₂ that means 27 per cent VRT and a bill therefore of around €4,000 to €5,000. Which is just ridiculous for a car that's cost you, in cash, about the same amount. But unless you can show that the car would be worth significantly less in Ireland than other advertised IS 220ds then you're stuck with it I'm afraid.

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Hi Maria,

OK, please bear in mind that this is a total ballpark figure - the car will have to be inspected at an NCT centre and it will depend on how much optional equipment is fitted and precisely what Open Market Selling Price is applied by Revenue. It's a very, very inexact science.

However, assuming that it's judged to be worth around €14,000, the VRT will be 17 percent of that, which is €2,300. 

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Hi Barry,

It depends on whether it's the 90hp versions (with CO₂ emissions of 109g/km) or the 134hp stop-start version (CO₂ of 94g/km). It'll be either 15 or 16 per cent of the open market selling price, which is around the €16,000 mark - so around €2,400 to €2,500. 

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Hi Barry,

Well, it’s never possible to say exactly as each car is assessed individually, and it depends on what optional extras etc are fitted, but the cee'd has CO₂ emissions of 100g/km, which means you’ll pay 15 per cent of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) in VRT, which, with values hovering at around the €16,000 mark, means a VRT cost of around €2,200.

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Hi Paul,

It depends on the car and its CO₂ emissions. VRT is calculated on the basis of emissions starting at 14 per cent of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP - or what Revenue calculates the car would sell for in Ireland) and topping out at 36 per cent. 

That said, if the car is only costing you £595, the VRT isn't going to be very much regardless.

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Hi John,

Basically it's what you do when you can't find an already-calculated Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) for your car. You look instead at similar models in the UK market, calculate an average and then calculate the difference between that and the average price for similar models in Ireland. Basically, it's a quasi-official guesstimate and Revenue has some helpful tips and hints here: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/faqs-vrt.html

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Hi Paul,

I can't tell you as you won't get a final figure until you bring it to an NCT centre for assessment, and Revenue will give you the cost of the VRT. Anything I tell you is mere speculation, but if you want a very vague ballpark figure, a 2014 Optima will probably be judged to have an Irish Open Market Selling Price (and that's what Revenue will base its assessment on, not the price you pay in the UK) of around €24,000. With 136g/km CO₂ emissions, that means you're in Band B2 for tax, so that means 19 per cent of OMSP, which works out at roughly €4,500.

But, please, don't take my word for it...

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Hi Peter,

As an import, each car is individually inspected and rated for VRT,  which is probably why Revenue is being evasive - they really don't like to pass judgement on something they've not seen, even if it is nominally the same as an Irish market car. Ultimately you shouldn't have any problems - if the X5 can be categorised as an N1 vehicle, it should be fine, but check to make sure as to whether that's with five or seven seats. Seven seats are optional on the X5 and could cut the boot space to under the N1 limit.

On the VAT thing, it just depends on the age of the car. If it's less than six months old, and/or has fewer than 6,000km on the clock, it's liable for Irish VAT on arrival - no ifs, ands or buts. 

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Hi Molly,

Effectively, yes. If you're buying it brand new, then you can, theoretically, export it from the UK and claim back the VAT, but you really need an accountant, not a motoring journalist, to walk you through that process. Of course, you'll have to pay Irish VAT on it then. You'll have to pay VAT twice, essentially, if you're buying nearly new - a car under six months old is liable to Irish VAT upon entry into the state, and of course you'll already have essentially paid the UK VAT in the purchase price. You could claim it back of course, but again that's a job for an accountant.

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Hi Brian,

Yes, you can tax and insure it privately, and indeed you should do because if it were taxed as a commercial, you'd be caught rotten if you were stopped with the kids in the back and it's a €4,000 fine. However, you can legally have it assessed for VRT as a commercial so that's a saving. The odd thing is that taxing it as a private car means, under the current rules, you'll revert to the old pre-2008 tax system, which is based on engine capacity. Odd, but there you go.

As for whether or not an import will be cheaper, it probably depends on how many of the specific style of T5 you want are available on the ground here. All I can suggest is that you do your sums, figure out how much the import will cost, and then have a shop around Irish dealers and ask them if they can match the numbers.