Expert answer

Hi Damien,

OK, as you don’t have a VAT number, you’ll have to pay the VAT on the Hilux at the time of purchase. But the good news is that, as you’re bringing it in from Northern Ireland, there won’t be any extra charges (no import duty and no Irish VAT) on top of the usual VRT payment. VRT will charged at 13.3 per cent of the Irish market value. That value should (emphasis on the should) be around €29,000, so VRT will be in the region of €3,900.

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Hi Conor,

You say you’ve already taxed the Yeti privately, is that right? Once you’ve informed your local motor tax office of the change of status, that should be sufficient for any insurer. That said, Irish insurers will find any excuse in the book to either not quote you, or to give you some astronomical quote just to make you go away. Our advice is to find a good insurance broker who can help you navigate the ins and outs. 

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Hi Brian,

You will have to pay the VAT I’m afraid. In fact, you’d have to pay it as a commercial buyer as well, but you could of course reclaim it then subsequently. As a private buyer, you just have to pay it, unfortunately. For using a commercial as a private car, you have to let your local motor tax office know that you’re doing so, and you’ll then pay tax based on the size of the engine, not the CO₂ emissions figure. Getting private insurance for a commercial vehicle can be tricky, so shop around carefully or get in touch with a good broker before you commit.

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Hi Joseph,

If you want to tax a commercial vehicle at commercial vehicle rates, then it has to be strictly used for work purposes, so yes you would need a commercial business to do that. It has to then be used strictly for work purposes — no dropping the kids to school or heading off for the weekend — and there are substantial fines for any breach of that rule. If you want to use it as personal or family transport, then it’ll have to be taxed as a private car. 

Read our Buying a commercial vehicle for private use feature for more detail.

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Hi Sean,

You should be fine, but I’d check with Revenue beforehand just to be certain. Revenue has previously told us that they will be carefully watching the papertrail of cars being imported from Northern Ireland to make sure that they’re not just being temporarily housed there to avoid the new taxes. If you’re buying from a dealer, though, it shouldn’t be an issue — after all, if you’ve bought from a dealer, then you’re just buying from their stock, and have no control over how long the car has been in the North. Just make sure that the papertrail for the purchase is clear and complete and you shouldn’t be liable for either the ten per cent import charge, nor the 21 per cent VAT (assuming the car is older than six months). 

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Hi Kieran,

To tax a commercial vehicle privately, it goes by the engine size. Assuming this is the 2.4 (with a 2,393cc engine), then that works out as €1,034 per annum.

Read our Buying a commercial vehicle for private use  feature for more.

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Hi Alan,

Yes, you’ll have to pay import duty, which will be ten per cent of the price of the car, plus transportation costs. You’ll also have to pay VAT twice — once to the UK authorities and again when you complete the import process here. If you’re VAT-registered you should be able to claim back the VAT at this end, but claiming it back  from the UK will be much trickier.

In theory, the Brexit trade agreement allows for such things, but the paperwork’s a mess at the moment, and no-one really seems to know what’s going on. You could make things a little easier for yourself by buying from a dealer in Northern Ireland — you’ll not have to pay the ten per cent import duty and, although you’ll be stung for the VAT, the NI authorities are a little more switched on as there are reciprocal cross-border tax arrangements. 

Expert answer

Hi Danielle,

Yes, you can fill out a TR1 or TR2 form with Revenue to apply for VAT (depending on whether you’re applying as an individual, a sole trader, or a limited company) and you can find full details on that here. If you’re using the van privately (ie for anything other than journeys solely connected to business), then you’ll have to tax it as a private car, which puts you onto the old by-engine-capacity tax system. You’ll need to notify your local motor tax office that you’re doing this, and your insurer too.

We’ve heard tales from some readers that getting private insurance for a van can be tricky, so shop around, and maybe get in touch with a good broker, first.

In the meantime, have a read of our Buying a commercial vehicle for private use feature.

Expert answer

Hi Maurice,

A car has to be over 30 years old to qualify. See Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained for full details.

Expert answer

Hi Jason,

It’s not a bad thing, at any rate. As far as campers are concerned, you get charged the same 13.3 per cent VRT rate as regular panel vans at the point of import (based on the Irish market price, of course), but the good news is that once you have it converted it’ll only cost you €102 to tax it for a year.