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Hi Bill,

You can absolutely tax and insure a commercial vehicle for private use and, as it is more than 30 years old, it’ll be really cheap to import and to tax — the VRT will be a flat rate of €200 while the motor tax will be €56.

Insurance will, as ever, be the wrinkle — generally, if you want to put it on a classic scheme, most insurers will insist that you have another ’normal’ car for everyday use, and it might be tricky putting down your son as a named driver. I’d suggest getting in touch with a good local broker, who might be able to unearth a better deal for you than just searching around on the internet. 

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Hi John,

The only form you’ll need will be form RF100 (you can find that here: https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/content/RoadsandTraffic/MotorTax/Documents/RF100_Car_GDPR.pdf) and I think a call to your local motor tax office would be a good idea as you’re taxing it privately. It shouldn’t be an issue — you just have to declare it — but they’ll be able to help you over any potential hurdles. 

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Hi Kevin,

Yes, I would definitely query that with the motor tax office — in theory, when you use a commercial vehicle for private use it reverts to the old by-engine-capacity tax system, so you should not be paying the CO₂ rate. Call and ask them to double-check that and you may be refunded the difference. 

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Hi Nicola,

Sadly, that is the correct rate. A 2009 Auris, which would have been on the CO₂ tax system from the get-go, with the 1.4-litre VVTi petrol engine, has CO₂ emissions of 163g/km, and is therefore liable for €570 a year in motor tax or, as you currently pay, €160 every quarter. 

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Hi Roger,

Yes, in theory, you can register any commercial vehicle for private use, once you let the local motor tax office know. There can be issues with getting private insurance on some models, so check that with your insurer or broker first, and with a Hilux you’ll probably end up paying quite a chunk in tax, as it’ll switch to the by-engine-capacity system. 

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Hi Ann,

For all counties, motor tax is processed centrally, and if you head over to https://www.motortax.ie/OMT/ you’ll find everything you need there. 

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Hi Barry,

No, there’s no particular restriction, once the vehicle is approved for use on the public roads, and as long as there are no weapons fitted (obviously). For the most part, military vehicles will just be imported as a commercial vehicle, and you might have some difficulty getting a valuation for Revenue to calculate VRT on. Most likely you’ll be charged the basic Category C rate of €200. 

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Hi Eoin,

The only cost will be in the change of tax. There’s no cost to have a commercial vehicle re-registered as a private car (although you will have to satisfy the NCT that the conversion has been carried out to an adequate standard), but your tax costs will go up, as you’ll be put onto the by-engine-capacity tax system, which, depending on the engine in the Transporter (I’m presuming it’s a 2.0-litre), will be much more costly than the existing commercial tax of €333 per year. 

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Hi Peter,

Campers are now charged at the standard 13.3 per cent of the Irish market value, as defined by Revenue. They’re not subject to the NOx tax, though — that’s only for passenger cars. 

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Hi Derek,

It depends on which petrol-engined version of the Audi A1 that you mean. The basic 1.2 TFSI, with 86hp, has CO₂ emissions of 118g/km, so will cost €200 a year to tax. The 122hp 1.4-litre TFSI has CO₂ emissions of 126g/km, so will cost €270 a year. Oddly, the more powerful 140hp engine is rated at between 109g/km and 113g/km, so will cost between €190 and €200 a year.