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Reference · Ireland · 2026 rates

Importing a car to Ireland: what it costs, and what decides the cost

Any make, any source country. Irish import cost is built from four stackable charges, and the gap between a well-chosen import and a badly-chosen one is routinely €8,000 on the same budget. This page sets out how each charge is calculated, which decisions move it, and where the expensive traps are.

Last reviewed 21 August 2026Reflects Revenue's 2026 VRT ratesEU–Japan EPA at 0% since 1 February 2026
Customs duty
0% or 10%on CIF value
VAT
23%on landed value + duty
VRT
7% – 41%of Revenue's OMSP
NOx levy
€0 – €4,850petrol and diesel only

Who this is for

This page is written for someone who has decided to import and is now pricing the decision — comparing source countries, checking whether a specific car clears the duty threshold, or working out how much of the budget the taxes will take.

It is long, and it is mostly tables. If you only want a number for one particular car, the landed cost calculator will get you there in about ninety seconds. If you want to understand which cars are worth calculating in the first place, start here.

Every section ends with a takeaway — read only those for the short version, and stop whenever you've seen enough to ask us for a quote.

01

What an import actually costs

Three real cases, priced end to end. Same idea, three source markets — and the spread between the best and worst is €8,329 before anyone has negotiated a discount.

Worked landed-cost comparison for importing a car to Ireland from three source markets
ChargeJapanese-built hybrid, from JapanUK-built hatchback, from GBEU-built premium, from GB
Purchase price€11,000€13,000€15,000
Shipping / transport€1,500€450€450
Customs duty€0 (EPA, 0%)€0 (UK origin, 0%)€1,545 (10%)
VAT at 23% on landed value + duty€2,875€3,094€3,909
VRT (varies with CO₂)€2,400 (low CO₂)€2,900€5,200 (higher CO₂)
Landed in Ireland€17,775€19,444€26,104

Illustrative, to show how the charges stack. Actual VRT depends on Revenue's OMSP for the specific car and its exact emissions — treat these as directional, not as quotes.

Read the third column carefully

The EU-built premium car costs €4,000 more to buy than the Japanese hybrid, but €8,329 more to land. Two of the four charges turned against it at once: it pays 10% duty rather than 0% because it was built in Germany rather than Britain, and its higher CO₂ pushes it several VRT bands up. Neither of those is visible in the advertised price.

The takeaway

The charges are the same for everyone. What changes is the car you point them at — across these three examples the tax bill alone runs from €5,275 to €10,654, and the buyer decided that spread the moment they chose the car.

Price my car
02

The four charges

Customs duty, VAT, VRT and the NOx levy. They are assessed separately, they stack, and only two of them are meaningfully within your control.

2.1 · Customs duty — 0% or 10%

Duty applies to vehicles entering Ireland from outside the EU customs union — which since Brexit includes Great Britain. It is charged on the CIF value: the cost of the car, plus insurance, plus freight.

The rate is 10% by default. There are three routes to 0%:

  • The car is in free circulation in the EU or Northern Ireland — no duty at all.
  • The car was built in Japan, under the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, which reached 0% on cars on 1 February 2026.
  • The car was built in the United Kingdom, under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Both preferential routes require a valid statement of origin from the seller. Without one, Revenue applies 10% regardless of where the car was genuinely built.

Country of registration is not country of origin

This is the most expensive misunderstanding in Irish importing. A Nissan or Toyota built in the UK qualifies for 0%. A BMW, Audi, Mercedes or VW sold in Britain but built in Germany pays the full 10% — EU-origin cars in use in the UK do not qualify for the TCA rate. On a €20,000 landed value that is €2,000, plus the knock-on VAT, because VAT is charged on the duty as well.

2.2 · VAT — 23%

Irish VAT on vehicles is 23%, charged on the customs value plus any customs duty already added. On a non-EU import the 23% therefore effectively sits on top of the 10%. Whether it applies at all depends on where the car comes from:

From outside the EU

Japan, India, Australia, NZ

23% always applies at the point of import, regardless of the car's age or mileage.

From Great Britain

England, Scotland, Wales

23% always applies, new or used, because GB is outside the EU.

From the EU or NI

Germany, France, Northern Ireland

No VAT on a genuinely used car. 23% applies only if it counts as a 'new means of transport'.

The 'new means of transport' rule — an OR, not an AND

An EU or NI car is treated as new for VAT — and attracts the full 23% — if either threshold is met:

  • it is under 6 months old, OR
  • it has under 6,000 km on the odometer.

Both conditions must be cleared for the car to count as used. A nine-month-old car with 4,000 km is still "new". The clock and the odometer are read on the date the car arrives in Ireland, not the invoice date.

2.3 · VRT — 7% to 41% of OMSP

Vehicle Registration Tax is the largest controllable cost. It is charged on the OMSP — Revenue's own estimate of what the car would sell for at Irish retail, not the price you paid abroad — and the rate is set entirely by CO₂ emissions.

VRT = OMSP × CO₂ rate (7% – 41%)  +  NOx levy

Because it is a percentage of Irish retail value, buying cheaply abroad does not reduce your VRT. Choosing a lower-CO₂ car does — and it is the single biggest lever on the page.

2026 Irish VRT rates by WLTP CO₂ emissions band
CO₂ (g/km, WLTP)VRT rateOn €20k OMSP
0 – 507%€1,400
51 – 809%€1,800
81 – 909.75 – 10.5%~€2,025
91 – 10011.25 – 12%~€2,325
101 – 11012.75 – 13.5%~€2,625
111 – 12015.25 – 16%~€3,125
121 – 13516.75 – 19.25%~€3,600
136 – 15020 – 25%~€4,500
151 – 17027.5 – 30%~€5,750
171 – 19035%€7,000
Over 19041%€8,200

Condensed for readability — Revenue publishes 20 bands. The calculator applies all of them.

The NEDC-to-WLTP conversion trap

Cars first registered before roughly 2018–2020 often carry only an older NEDC CO₂ figure. Revenue will not use it directly — it applies a conversion formula that inflates the number, which can push the car up a band or two. A car showing 95 g/km NEDC is assessed at roughly 114 g/km WLTP-equivalent, moving it from the 11.25% band into the 15.25% band before you have done anything wrong.

2.4 · The NOx levy

Every petrol and diesel car, hybrids included, pays an additional NOx levy on top of the CO₂ charge. It is a sliding scale:

First 40 mg/km

€5 per mg

Next 40 mg/km (41–80)

€15 per mg

Above 80 mg/km

€25 per mg

The levy is capped at €600 for petrol and €4,850 for diesel. Battery EVs produce no NOx and pay nothing. In practice a hybrid around 10 mg/km pays roughly €50, a typical petrol at 40 mg/km pays €200, and a diesel at 80 mg/km pays €800.

Undocumented diesels are assessed at the highest rate

Older diesels with no documented NOx figure are assessed at the highest assumed rate rather than given the benefit of the doubt. Combined with the €4,850 diesel cap against €600 for petrol, this is a strong structural reason to favour petrol and hybrid over diesel when importing.

The takeaway

Two of the four are fixed by rules you cannot argue with — VAT is 23% or it is not, duty is 0% or 10%. The other two, VRT and the NOx levy, are chosen by the car, and that is where an import is won or lost. Send us a registration or a listing and we will tell you which side of each line it falls on.

Have us check a car
03

How the charges stack

Order matters, because each charge is calculated on the running total of the one before it. This is why a 10% duty costs far more than 10%.

  1. 1

    CIF value

    Cost of the car + insurance + freight. This is the base everything else is built on.

  2. 2

    + Customs duty

    0% or 10% of the CIF value, depending on where the car was built and whether you hold a statement of origin.

  3. 3

    + VAT at 23%

    Charged on CIF plus the duty — so duty is itself taxed. €1,545 of duty drags roughly €355 of extra VAT with it.

  4. 4

    + VRT and NOx

    Assessed separately at the NCTS inspection, on Revenue's OMSP rather than on anything you have paid so far.

The takeaway

Because each charge compounds on the last, that €1,545 duty bill really costs about €1,900 once the VAT charged on top of it is counted. Proving origin before you buy is worth more than anything you will win haggling over the purchase price.

Check my car's origin
04

Where to buy from

Four factors decide a source market: customs treatment, shipping cost and time, steering side, and whether the stock you want actually exists there.

Comparison of source countries for importing a car to Ireland
CountryCustoms dutyVATTransportTransitSteering
JapanViable0% — EU–Japan EPA23%€1,000 – €2,0006 – 10 weeksRight-hand drive
United Kingdom (GB)Viable0% if UK-built, otherwise 10%23%€250 – €700DaysRight-hand drive
EU (Germany, France…)0% — free circulationNone if genuinely used€400 – €9001 – 2 weeksLeft-hand drive
Northern IrelandViable0% — treated as EUNone if genuinely used€100 – €300Same dayRight-hand drive
India10% — trade deal not yet at 0% on cars23%€1,500 – €2,8006 – 8 weeksRight-hand drive
Australia10% — no car concession23%€2,500 – €4,5006 – 10 weeksRight-hand drive
New Zealand10% — no preferential tariff23%€2,500 – €4,5006 – 10 weeksRight-hand drive

Japan

The strongest all-round source. Zero duty since 1 February 2026, huge hybrid supply, and graded auction condition.

United Kingdom (GB)

Best logistics by far, but duty depends entirely on where the car was built — not where you bought it.

EU (Germany, France…)

No duty and no VAT on a genuinely used car, but almost all stock is left-hand drive, which hurts Irish resale.

Northern Ireland

Cheapest route on paper, but Revenue checks that the car was properly imported into NI in the first place.

India

Right-hand drive is the one point in its favour. Duty, stock mix and emissions paperwork all work against it.

Australia

Niche only. Australia stopped building passenger cars in 2017, so its stock is built elsewhere and pays 10%.

New Zealand

Its used fleet is largely ex-Japan anyway. Buying the same car directly from Japan is cheaper and faster.

In short: Japan for mainstream value, the UK for speed on UK-built models, and Northern Ireland where a genuinely NI-resident car exists. India, Australia and New Zealand are niche — use them only when a specific model is unavailable elsewhere. See our source-country network.

The takeaway

The right market depends on the car, not the other way round. We buy directly in eight countries and compare the total landed cost across every one that can supply your specification — then buy where it lands cheapest, which is not always where you expected.

Compare markets for me
05

Age, mileage and condition

The tax rules push hard toward one particular band of car, and it is not the newest one you can afford.

The sweet spot

Three to eight years old, average mileage

Comfortably clear of the 6-month / 6,000 km VAT trap.
The first owner has absorbed the steepest depreciation, so OMSP — and therefore VRT — is moderate.
Recent enough to carry a genuine WLTP CO₂ figure, avoiding the NEDC conversion penalty.
Old enough that condition is provable from service history and auction grading.

Brand new — generally the worst value

Highest possible OMSP and therefore the highest VRT in absolute euro. From the EU or NI a new car also triggers the 23% 'new means of transport' VAT with no escape, and you personally absorb the 20–35% of value a car can lose in its first year. The one exception is a battery EV registered before the relief deadline.

Very low mileage — a false economy

Revenue explicitly adjusts OMSP upward for below-average mileage, so an ultra-low-mileage import is assigned a higher OMSP and pays more VRT than an equivalent car with average mileage. The genuine value play is average or slightly-above-average mileage with documented good mechanical condition.

Over 30 years old — a special case

A vehicle more than 30 years old at registration falls into VRT Category C and pays a flat €200, regardless of value or emissions. Duty and 23% VAT still apply, but the VRT collapse is why classic importing from Japan and the UK remains popular.

Any imported car four years or older needs an Irish NCT

A valid foreign roadworthiness test does not carry over. Budget for the NCT on arrival — a well-kept car in the three-to-eight year band passes without drama, but it is a cost and a delay that people routinely forget to plan for.

The takeaway

Three to eight years old, average mileage beats both the newer car and the lower-mileage one — OMSP, the VAT trap and the NEDC conversion all turn against you outside that band. Tell us the model and we will source inside it.

Find me one in that band
06

What to buy, what to avoid

The ideal import qualifies for 0% duty, sits low in the CO₂ table, produces little NOx, is right-hand drive, and has a real price gap between the source market and Irish retail. Very few cars tick all five.

Worth calculating

Japanese-built hybrids

Toyota Aqua, Prius, Corolla and Yaris; Honda Fit and Jazz; Nissan Note e-POWER. Zero duty under the EPA, CO₂ low enough to sit near the bottom of the VRT table, negligible NOx, and right-hand drive as standard.

Small efficient Japanese petrols

Suzuki Swift, Mazda 2 and Mazda 3. Cheap at auction, low emissions, and strong Irish resale because they are familiar models rather than grey-import curiosities.

UK-built models, bought in Britain

MINI hatch and Cooper (Oxford), Nissan Qashqai, Juke and Leaf (Sunderland), Toyota Corolla (Burnaston), older Honda Civic (Swindon). These are the cars that actually earn the 0% TCA rate on a ferry-length journey.

A used battery EV, before the deadline

Lowest CO₂ band, zero NOx, and up to €5,000 off the VRT if it is registered before 31 December 2026. The Nissan Leaf is the obvious UK-built candidate.

Rarely worth it on cost

Large diesel SUVs

The worst combination on the board: a 35–41% VRT band and the heaviest NOx levy, which is capped at €4,850 for diesels rather than €600 for petrol.

German premium brands bought in Great Britain

A BMW, Audi, Mercedes or VW sold in Britain was almost certainly built in the EU. EU-origin cars in use in the UK do not qualify for the TCA rate, so they pay the full 10% duty — and 23% VAT on top of it.

Anything over 190 g/km

The 41% VRT band. Only worth it when the specific car is the point of the exercise and the tax is simply the price of admission.

Pre-2018 cars with NEDC-only CO₂ data

Revenue will not use an NEDC figure directly. It applies a conversion that inflates the number and can push the car up a band or two before you have done anything wrong.

These are starting points, not verdicts. Whether a specific car works depends on its exact CO₂ figure, its OMSP and what you can buy it for — run the numbers before you commit.

The takeaway

A shortlist is not a decision. Two cars from the same "worth calculating" list can land thousands apart once their actual CO₂ figures and OMSPs are applied. Give us your budget and use case and we will come back with specific cars, priced landed.

Shortlist cars for me
07

Reliefs you can legally claim

These are legitimate mechanisms in Irish and EU rules, not evasion. Each has strict conditions, and Revenue audits them.

Transfer of Residence

If you are genuinely moving your residence to Ireland and owned and used the car abroad for at least six months before the move, you can bring it in free of customs duty, VAT and VRT. It is by far the largest exemption available.

The condition: It applies only to a real relocation, and the car generally cannot be sold for 12 months after registration.

The 30-year classic rule

A vehicle more than 30 years old at the date of registration falls into VRT Category C and pays a flat €200, regardless of its value or emissions. Duty and VAT still apply, but the VRT collapse is dramatic.

The condition: Age is measured at registration, not at purchase — a car a few months short of 30 pays the full emissions-based rate.

Battery EV relief, until 31 December 2026

A battery EV registered before the deadline gets VRT relief of up to €5,000, sits in the lowest 7% CO₂ band and pays no NOx levy at all. The relief tapers between €40,000 and €50,000 OMSP and cannot exceed the VRT actually due.

The condition: This is a closing window. Registration — not purchase or shipping — has to happen before 31 December 2026.

A valid statement of origin

The single biggest avoidable cost is paying 10% duty on a car that qualified for 0%. Insisting on a statement of origin before you buy converts the charge on a Japan-built or UK-built car to zero.

The condition: On a €20,000 landed value that is €2,000 of duty, plus the knock-on VAT — because VAT is charged on the duty too.

The Northern Ireland route

Northern Ireland is treated as EU territory. A used car genuinely resident in NI can often come south with no customs declaration and no VAT, removing both charges at once.

The condition: Revenue verifies that the car was properly imported into NI from GB first, and that it was in genuine NI ownership for a reasonable period.

Appealing the OMSP

VRT is charged on Revenue's estimate of Irish retail value, not on what you paid. If that estimate is too high — common on high-spec or unusual imports — you can formally appeal with comparable listings and condition reports.

The condition: A successful appeal reduces VRT directly, but you need documentary evidence, not an opinion.

Postponed VAT accounting

A VAT-registered Irish motor trader can declare and simultaneously reclaim the 23% import VAT on the same return, instead of paying it in cash at the border.

The condition: This is a working-capital advantage available to businesses only — not to private buyers.

The takeaway

Every one of these is claimable, and every one is auditable — the conditions matter more than the headline. The EV relief is the urgent one: registration, not purchase, has to happen before 31 December 2026, and shipping time has to fit inside that.

Ask which reliefs apply
08

The process and its deadlines

Two deadlines carry penalties, and both start from the day the car arrives in the State — not from the day you bought it.

  1. 01

    Model the landed cost before you bid

    Price the exact car — purchase price, shipping, duty, VAT, VRT and NOx — before you commit to anything. The headline foreign price is never the real price, and this is the only step that is free to get right.

  2. 02

    Confirm origin in writing

    Get the seller to state where the car was built and to supply a statement of origin. Without one, Revenue defaults to 10% duty even on a car that genuinely qualified for zero.

  3. 03

    Buy, ship and clear customs

    Customs duty and import VAT are settled at the point of entry, on the CIF value — the cost of the car plus insurance plus freight.

  4. 04

    Book the NCTS inspection within 7 days of arrival

    The vehicle has to be presented at an NCTS centre, where VRT is assessed. Book the appointment within seven days of the car arriving in the State.

  5. 05

    Register within 30 days of arrival

    Registration must be completed within 30 days of the car arriving. Missing the deadline risks penalties, and in the worst case detention of the vehicle.

  6. 06

    Pay VRT, get plates, then the NCT

    Once VRT and any NOx levy are paid the car gets its Irish registration. Any imported car four years or older also needs to pass the Irish NCT, regardless of a valid foreign test.

Keep every document

Statement of origin, purchase invoice, shipping and CIF paperwork, the Certificate of Conformity carrying the WLTP CO₂ and NOx figures, and the customs declaration. Missing paperwork is what turns 0% duty into 10% and a low VRT band into a high one — the car has not changed, only what you can prove about it.

The takeaway

Both deadlines start the day the car lands, not the day you buy it. We handle the customs declaration, the NCTS booking, VRT and Irish registration end to end, so the 30-day clock is our problem, not yours.

Hand this to us
09

Tools

Everything we run that is useful at this stage of the decision.

10

Guides

Longer reads on the parts of this page that deserve more than a paragraph.

Browse all import guides
11

Questions buyers actually ask

How much does it cost to import a car to Ireland in 2026?

The landed cost is the purchase price plus shipping, then customs duty (0% or 10%), VAT at 23% where it applies, VRT at 7%–41% of the car's OMSP, and a NOx levy on petrol and diesel. As a worked example, a Japanese-built hybrid bought for €11,000 lands at roughly €17,775 all-in, while an EU-built premium car bought for €15,000 in Britain lands at roughly €26,104 — because it pays 10% duty and sits in a higher CO₂ band.

Do I pay customs duty on a car imported from the UK to Ireland?

Only if the car was not built in the UK. Under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a UK-manufactured car qualifies for 0% duty with a valid statement of origin. A car that was built elsewhere — including an EU-built BMW, Audi or Mercedes that was simply sold in Britain — pays the standard 10% on the CIF value. Country of registration is not country of origin, and this single distinction is the most expensive mistake buyers make.

Is there customs duty on a car imported from Japan to Ireland?

No. Since 1 February 2026 the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement has been at 0% on cars, so a Japanese-built car now enters Ireland at the same zero duty rate as a UK-built one. You need a statement of origin confirming Japanese manufacture; without it Revenue applies the 10% rate.

Do I have to pay Irish VAT on a used car from the EU or Northern Ireland?

Not if it genuinely counts as used. A car is treated as a 'new means of transport' — and therefore attracts 23% Irish VAT — if it is under 6 months old OR has under 6,000 km. Both conditions have to be cleared for the car to count as used. The clock and the odometer are read on the date the car arrives in Ireland, not the invoice date.

What is VRT and how is it calculated?

Vehicle Registration Tax is a once-off Irish charge of 7% to 41% of the car's OMSP, with the rate set by WLTP CO₂ emissions. A battery EV or plug-in hybrid under 50 g/km pays 7%; a performance car over 190 g/km pays 41%. On a €20,000 OMSP that is the difference between €1,400 and €8,200 of tax on the same money.

What is OMSP and why does it matter more than what I paid?

OMSP is the Open Market Selling Price — Revenue's own estimate of what the car would sell for at Irish retail. VRT is charged on the OMSP, not on the price you paid abroad, so buying cheaply abroad does not reduce your VRT. Revenue derives it from the price when new, depreciated by age against model-specific tables and adjusted for month of registration, condition and mileage.

What is the NOx levy and how much is it?

It is a 'polluter pays' charge on top of VRT for every petrol and diesel car, including hybrids. It runs at €5 per mg/km for the first 40 mg, €15 per mg for the next 40, and €25 per mg above 80 mg. It is capped at €600 for petrol and €4,850 for diesel. Battery EVs pay nothing. Older diesels with no documented NOx figure are assessed at the highest assumed rate, which is a common and expensive surprise.

What age of car is cheapest to import to Ireland?

Three to eight years old, with average rather than ultra-low mileage. That band clears the six-month 'new means of transport' VAT trap, lets the first owner absorb the steepest depreciation, keeps OMSP and therefore VRT moderate, and is recent enough to carry a genuine WLTP CO₂ figure instead of an NEDC number that gets converted upward.

Does very low mileage make a car cheaper to import?

No — it usually makes it more expensive. Revenue explicitly adjusts OMSP for mileage, so a very low-mileage import is assigned a higher OMSP and therefore pays more VRT than an equivalent car with average mileage. The value play is average or slightly-above-average mileage with documented good mechanical condition.

How long do I have to register an imported car in Ireland?

Thirty days from the date the vehicle arrives in the State, with the NCTS inspection appointment booked within seven days of arrival. VRT is assessed at that inspection. Missing the deadline risks penalties and, in the worst case, detention of the vehicle.

Is it still worth importing a car from the UK after Brexit?

For UK-built models, yes. The ferry is cheap and fast, the paperwork is familiar, and a UK-manufactured car still lands at 0% duty. What changed is that 23% VAT now applies to every GB import regardless of age, which added roughly €6,500 to a car that previously landed at €20,000. For EU-built cars sold in Britain, Brexit removed the case entirely.

Can I still get the electric car VRT relief?

Until 31 December 2026. A battery EV registered before that date qualifies for VRT relief of up to €5,000, tapering away between €40,000 and €50,000 OMSP, and cannot claim more relief than the VRT actually due. It also sits in the 7% band and pays zero NOx. The deadline is on registration in Ireland, not on purchase, so the shipping time has to be built into the plan.

Every tax figure on this page reflects Revenue's 2026 rates and current EU trade agreements as reviewed on 21 August 2026. Rates, bands and trade terms change. Confirm the position for your specific vehicle with Revenue before committing money. This page is general information, not tax advice.

Next step

Tell us the car. We'll price it landed in Ireland.

Give us the make, model and rough specification you are after and we will come back with the full landed cost — purchase price, shipping, duty, VAT, VRT and NOx — sourced from whichever of our eight markets lands it cheapest. No cost, and no obligation to proceed.

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