Expert answer

Hi John,

You can absolutely insure it as a private vehicle, but the only issue is that means reverting to the old by-engine-capacity tax system, so it’ll cost you €514 a year. 

Expert answer

Hi Stephen,

If it’s a full LPG conversion — i.e. the entire petrol fuel system has been removed and replaced — then there may be some way of applying for a lower VRT rate. Revenue doesn’t currently allow for LPG in its NOx ratings, and the likelihood is that if the car is still capable of running on petrol, then it will still be charged at the normal rate.

The really tricky part is the acceptance of the figures. In theory, Revenue will only accept the NOx figure taken from the car’s original Certificate Of Conformity, which obviously won’t cover any later conversions. I think the first thing to do is to get every scrap of papwerwork relating to the LPG conversion, and then have a long chat with your local motor tax office. 

Expert answer

Hi David,

Well, regular (as in non-PSV) car tax is worked out on the CO₂ emissions. As yours is a Superb 1.6 TDI Greenline, that has official CO₂ emissions of 114g/km, and so will cost you €200 a year to tax.

Expert answer

Hi Bridie,

If it’s commercial tax you’re talking about, then it’s a flat rate of €333 per year. If it’s to tax as a private vehicle, then you revert to the old by-engine-capacity tax system, and so the cost for a 2.2-litre engine would be €951.

Expert answer

Hi Ray,

Generally speaking, if you re-tax a commercial vehicle as a passenger car, you revert to the old by-engine-capacity tax, which, with a 2.0-litre engine, would cost you €710 per year. If that X-Trail is a converted passenger car, you could of course return it to full passenger car status, which would cost you the same in tax per year, as it’s a pre-2008 car. 

Expert answer

Hi Roisin,

Unfortunately, we can’t tell you the precise amount of VRT payable on a Tesla Model 3 as Tesla doesn’t provide us with a wholesale price, net of VRT and VAT. However, it’s not going to be much, if anything at all, thanks to the €5,000 VRT rebate available on electric cars.

As for the vast difference between the price of a Model 3 in the US, most of that is down to tax — don’t forget that the American price Tesla quotes does not include local sales taxes, whereas the Irish price is inclusive of VAT (which is, at a rough guess, the guts of €5,000 to €8,000 depending on the model).

Expert answer

Hi Mark,

The government knows the emissions of each vehicle simply because each vehicle is put through a series of official laboratory tests as part of the process of homologation — the legal process whereby a car is pronounced as passed for sale to the public - and that data is made available by the car manufacturers. As for which is cheaper to tax, it’s down to the CO₂ emissions and we’d have to know which make and models you’re looking at before we could give you a precise answer, but in most cases, for a given car, the diesel would have lower CO₂ emissions and hence motor tax.

Expert answer

Hi Gerry,

If you paid €270 last year, that means your car is in Band B1 (121-130g/km). You can pay for half a year, at €149 or a quarter of a year, at €76, if you so wish.

Expert answer

Hi Ionut,

According to Revenue, yes, the NOx levy will be refunded if a vehicle is exported. Of course, that’s contingent on the NOx levy having been paid on the vehicle in the first place, and the overall amount repayable will be contingent on the value of the vehicle as defined by Revenue.

Expert answer

Hi Leigh,

Yup, that’s exactly right.