Expert answer

Hi Emer,

A van taxed for private use is done so according to its engine size, so, if the Relay has the 2.0-litre engine, it will cost €710 per annum to tax. If it has the 2.2-litre engine, it'll be €951.

Full details in our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained feature.

Expert answer

Hi Kathleen,

You've not told us which engine the car has or whether the car is already registered or not. We'd need to know more to work out its CO₂ rating. You should be able to work it out using our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained feature.

Expert answer

Hi Paul,

Yes, that's correct, but you need to watch out for the fact that Revenue will be 'uplifting' the CO₂ figures of imports. So, if a 2016 car you're looking at now has CO₂ emissions of, say, 165g/km, and it's a diesel, Revenue will uplift that to 201g/km, and that's the number that will determine your VRT and motor tax going forward.

Full details of the uplift formulas etc. can be found in our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK.

Expert answer

Hi Noel,

You're right that cars have been WLTP-tested for a while now, but the WLTP CO₂ figure was not in use. Instead, an-NEDC-equivalent value was used and quoted in all official documentation. That was a legal requirement, incidentally, not an attempt by the car makers to mislead. 

Cars already registered will not benefit from the tax changes coming in 2021. We've covered this in detail in our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained feature.

Expert answer

Hi Catherine,

It will depend on the car's CO₂ rating. We believe that is 163g/km. Assuming that this car is already registered in Ireland, then the annual motor tax for that car is €570 up to the end of 2020, and €600 thereafter.

Full details on the Irish motor tax system can be found in our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained article.

Expert answer

Hi Daniel,

In brief, CO₂ emissions used to be measured on the 'NEDC' test, which was found to be inadequate. It was replaced by the new 'WLTP' regime, which still measures CO₂ and outputs the rating that will be the only one used going forward.

So, the VRT and motor tax of an import, if it is registered after 1 January 2021, will be based on the WLTP CO₂ rating if it exists. If it does not exist, then Revenue 'uplift' the NEDC CO₂ rating according to a formula it has devised.

In the case of the 2020 Tiguan you mentioned, the 168g/km figure would be used. That means VRT of 26 per cent and annual motor tax of €420.

I recommend you read our three relevant guides, which have been updated since Budget 2021:

Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained

How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Expert answer

Hi Ciara,

You're right, the value Revenue places on a car does reduce as the car gets older. However, I suspect in your case that that would be offset by the new VRT bands from 1 January 2021. Your car's CO₂ figure will be 'uplifted' to a higher equivalent WLTP figure, which is very likely to increase the VRT rate you would pay. Read these articles for more information, but I'd suggest you're better off registering that car before January if possible:

How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

Expert answer

Hi Fionnuala,

If the car was registered in 2012 then it is on the CO₂-based system already. We can only assume it emits well over the 226g/km that gets it into the top tax Band. Until the end of this year that costs €2,350 and it will go up to €2,400 from 1 January 2021.

Read our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained feature for full details.

Expert answer

Hi Paul,

Only if you've got the original invoice as far as we know. Other than that you'll have to make an estimate based on the car's CO₂ emissions rating and its total Open Market Selling Price. See our How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland? feature for more details on how to do this calculation.

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.