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Hi Robert,

Absolutely you can, but the only drawback is that you won’t be able to tax it as a commercial vehicle, as being a teacher means that you wouldn’t be able to justify using it in your work. With that in mind, I’d recommend going for the cheapest VW Amarok you can buy (we found one here for €13k on Carzone.ie) as they have a 2.0-litre engine that won’t kill you on motor tax rates. Plus, as a bonus, it’s comfy and practical enough to use as your everyday car.

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Hi Lynn,

There are actually a huge number of tax breaks for disabled drivers in Ireland, including exemption from paying Vehicle Registration Tax and VAT on new cars or imports, plus a repayment of any VAT spent on converting or adapting a vehicle to your needs. You’ll need to be able to provide a Primary Medical Certificate, which you may need to wait until you’ve moved here to get, as it’ll have to come from your local Health Service Executive (HSE) office - although it’s possible that a UK cert would also be acceptable.

You can claim back the VRT and VAT on a new vehicle of up to 6,000cc engine capacity, and there’s also a fuel grant of 60c per litre for petrol, and 49c per litre for diesel, which can be reclaimed at the end of each year (up to a maximum of 2,370 litres). You’ll also be exempt from annual road tax, and you can find out more on all of this by getting in touch with your local Motor Tax office.

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Hi Martin,

That’ll be €358 for a year’s worth of motor tax, for a 1993 1.3 Starlet. Probably more than the value of the car itself...

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Hi Colm,

It depends — for the most part, all vans are charged VRT at a rate of 13.3 per cent of the Irish market selling price, but some N1 vans qualify for a basic charge of €200 if, according to Revenue, they have always had fewer than four seats, and at any time a laden mass greater than 130 per cent of the mass in service. Better check with the local motor tax office to find out which category your Transporter fits into...

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Hi Alan,

If you buy the car yourself, then there’s no BIK issue to worry about, even if you are using it for work. As for taxing it, if you’re strictly and only using it for work purposes, then it can be taxed as a commercial vehicle and will set you back a mere €333 in motor tax every year. If you are using it for personal use as well, then strictly speaking you’re supposed to tax it as a private car, which means taxing it on the engine capacity, which means an annual motor tax bill of €994. Also, you need to openly declare to your insurer what the vehicle is being used for.

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Hi TJ,

It’s pretty easy, actually. You simply contact your local motor tax office and let them know that you wish to tax the vehicle for private use. They’ll then switch it over to the old by-engine-capacity tax system (€1,080 for a year’s tax for a 2.5-litre) and that’s the job done. You should probably inform your insurers too, although there shouldn’t be any major issues with that.

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Hi Stasys,

Cheaper motor tax is available for classic cars, but it starts when they are over 30 years old. Read this for more information: Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained

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Hi Ed,

OK, this one takes a bit of deciphering. I’m guessing that you mean you own two Mercedes-Benz models, both using the 2.1-litre diesel four-cylinder engine. I’m also assuming that you’re talking about the cost of motor tax, although the €290 figure is a little odd — did you mis-type when you meant either €280 (for Band B2) or €390 (for Band C)?

The discrepancy could be down to a number of factors. You don’t, for example, state which models you’re talking about — E-Class? C-Class? Coupe? Convertible? Estate? Do both cars have automatic transmissions? Are they both on the same size wheels? Were they both manufactured in the same year? There’s a huge variation in vehicle emissions and, if you’re talking about the gap between Band C and Band D, it takes only a single g/km of CO₂ to tip from one to the other. 

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Hi Deirdre,

No, you should be able to do all that online (although, god knows, a visit to the local motor tax office is still sometimes needed). If you’re taxing it for private use then there’s no need to make any specific declaration that you will be using it for work — that’s taken as read. 

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Hi Gerry,

In terms of tax there won’t be any changes before the Budget in October, and there are unlikely to be major changes then. There have been rumblings of a change in the diesel tax system, but the various departments are known to be hesitant to introduce a third motor tax regime on top of the two we already have. A general increase in the cost of motor tax, within the existing bands, is quite likely though, as the Government starts to push people towards electric motoring.

In terms of fuel costs, prices at the pump have spiked up in recent weeks thanks to the Trump-Iran standoff, and this week the average per-litre cost of diesel rose to €1.31. That is likely to continue to rise as long as tensions in the Middle East, and indeed in the White House, remain high.