Expert answer

Hi Richard,

The phrase ‘can of worms’ springs to mind. In general, a car can be registered to a company, and taxed and insured by the company, and still used by an individual for social, domestic and pleasure use. That’s how company cars work, obviously, but equally obviously there’s a Benefit-in-Kind tax liability to be paid. So it’s possible that your friend with the Land Cruiser is trying to avoid paying BIK.

In the case of the SUV, in theory a car that’s taxed as a commercial cannot be used for personal, social, domestic, or pleasure driving and there’s a fine to be paid if you’re caught displaying incorrect tax. Now, we should state at this point that we’re neither legal nor tax experts, and that the people you’re talking about could be operating entirely above board, and we’re not going to cast any aspersions on anyone.

Of course, this is Ireland and as we know, we don’t like sticking to the rules...

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 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.

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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.

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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. 

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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 Orlagh,

Insurance has for eons been the bugbear of the Irish motorist and, sadly, it’s not getting any easier. Aside from the usual ‘ring-around’ advice, I think your best bet is to find a good local broker — they can often unlock deals not available to mere mortals. 

Expert answer

Hi Declan,

Yes, you will have to pay VAT or import duty when the car is brought here, I’m afraid. VAT will be payable at the standard rate based on the OMSP (Open Market Selling Price) of the car, as defined by Revenue. 

Expert answer

Hi Bartosz,

Easily done, normally, but perhaps a little less so at the moment. It will depend on the precise model you have whether or not it’s App-Connect compatible, but a trip to your local Volkswagen dealer, once they’re open again, will sort you out.

Expert answer

Hi Patrick,

Sadly, with a big engine like that, it’ll be €1,080 a year.