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Hi Alex,

The good news is, you shouldn’t have to pay anything. As long as you can show proof of ownership for at least six months prior to your move, at your previous address, and can show documentation confirming your move to Ireland, you should be exempt from both VRT and VAT.

You can find more details on the Revenue website.

With regards to motor tax for your diesel, it depends when it was registered and, assuming it's post-2008, what its CO₂ emissions rating is. Read our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained feature for full details.

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Hi Ken,

It is technically possible, and allowed under the regulations, but it’s going to be a costly job. You see, the conversion to N1 commercial status in the first place will have involved not merely taking out the rear seats, but also the mounts for the rear seatbelts. Putting those back in is physically both expensive and time-consuming, even for a professional, but with a car like a Range Rover there are also rear-seat safety systems, such as pyrotechnic seatbelts and rear side airbags to consider.

As I say, you can do it and there are some forms to fill out at the local motor tax office to get it re-designated as a passenger car, plus a bunch of extra motor tax to pay, but it’s going to be an expensive project. 

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Hi Brigitta,

OK, this is going to get expensive. For a start, that 272g/km CO₂ rating means you’re going to be paying the top rate of both VRT and motor tax. That’s going to be €2,350 a year for motor tax. As for VRT, well it’ll be 37 per cent of whatever Revenue thinks a year-old Challenger (awesome, awesome car by the way…) is worth.

My best guess is that they’ll benchmark it against a V8 Mustang, which sells, new, for €69,818 here in Ireland. Take off a year’s depreciation, and they’ll probably peg that at around €55,000. Maybe. So 37 per cent of €55,000 is going to be €20,350, but I’ll be honest; that’s just my totally unscientific best guess.

Then you’ll pay 23 per cent VAT on top, which will be charged on the customs cost — that’s the price you paid, plus shipping, plus customs duty (which is ten per cent, usually), so at minimum that’s going to be around €8-9,000.

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Hi Bryan,

OK, in general, yes you should be exempt from VRT when importing a vehicle from Australia if it’s a transfer of residence, but you will have to show proof of ’normal residence abroad’ — basically household bills and bank accounts in your name — plus the original receipts and bills of sale for the Amarok.

You may also be able to skip paying VAT, if you can prove residence outside of the EU for more than 12 months, but you will have a lot of forms to fill out — head over to this page on Revenue.ie to get started…

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Hi Scott,

There shouldn’t be any issue. Anything out of the ordinary will always gets Revenue’s antennae twitching, but as long as you can show proof of change of address, and proof of tax and insurance for at least six months at previous UK address, you should be OK. After all, there’s nothing that says the exemption is specifically limited to one vehicle at a time...

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Hi Helen,

OK, first off there’s nothing to be concerned about. People who are temporarily resident in Ireland are allowed to bring their cars with them, and not have to re-register or fully import them for as long as 12 months. There are no forms to fill out, you just have to be able to show proof of address, purchase, tax, and insurance when and if you’re asked. Students who are studying in Ireland can keep cars with them for the duration of their studies, even if that exceeds 12 months, so there are clearly generally lenient rules when it comes to this. Given that your daughter is (a) intending to return to the UK when it is safe to do so and (b) effectively sheltering with you because of the pandemic, I wouldn’t be too concerned about having the car taken away nor anything like it.

Really, the only issue that would arise is if your daughter wanted to sell the car here, but if she’s going to keep it, I would say you’ve not much to worry about. 

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Hi Caroline,

Right, this is a bit of a tricky one. The good news, first off, is that there’s no issue with moving a car between England and Northern Ireland — no duties nor VAT to pay, all you have to do is inform the DVLA of the change of address.

Bringing that car south might then represent a difficulty, but it will depend on how long you wait between your registering the car in the North and bringing it south. Technically, Revenue have told us that there is no specific timeline when it comes to having a car registered in Northern Ireland and not having to pay import duty and VAT when importing that car into the Republic. However, they have also said that they will be carefully monitoring the paper trail of each car to ensure that no-one is trying to game the system. If there’s only going to be a short gap between you registering the car in the North and then importing it into the South, that could get antennae twitching at Revenue, even if you’re technically above board. 

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Hi Rhys,

If you tax a commercial vehicle for private use then it reverts to the old by-engine-capacity system that was there pre-2008. You'll find the rates in our Motor Road Tax Prices in Ireland Explained feature, and it might be worth your while reading Buying a commercial vehicle for private use as well.

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Hi Chris,

I'm afraid that classic motor tax (or 'Vintage' according to Revenue) only kicks in when a car is over thirty years old.

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Hi Stuart,

No, you don’t need to re-register it, you simply need to call up your local motor tax office and tell them that you want to tax it as a private car. They’ll then put you on the old by-engine-capacity tax system, and the job’s done. The tricky part is insurance — we’ve been hearing that many people are struggling to find insurers who’ll cover a commercial as a private car, so have a good, careful shop around for cover first.