How much is the import tax on a car from the UK to Ireland?

It depends on where the car was manufactured. UK-built cars: 0% customs duty + 23% VAT + VRT. Non-UK-built cars (German, Japanese, Korean…): 10% customs duty + 23% VAT + VRT. On a typical €20,000 used car the combined tax burden lands between €4,500 and €9,000 depending on emissions.

Do I have to pay customs duty on a Northern Ireland car?

Not if the car was genuinely in use in NI before sale, with documentary evidence (V5C showing NI keeper, NI MOT history, taxed in NI). Revenue applies the Windsor Framework here. If the car was first registered in GB and only briefly moved to NI before sale without proper customs treatment, Revenue treats it as a GB import and customs duty plus VAT may apply.

How is VRT different from customs duty?

Customs duty is a border tariff on goods entering the State from outside the EU customs union, calculated on the CIF customs value. VRT is a domestic Irish tax charged on first registration regardless of origin, calculated on the OMSP. On a UK import you pay both.

Can I avoid customs charges when importing a car from the UK?

The only legal route to 0% customs duty on a GB import is to bring in a vehicle whose origin qualifies under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement — typically a UK-built car with the supplier's origin statement on the invoice. Edge cases exist: qualifying NI-sourced vehicles under the Windsor Framework, transfer-of-residence relief for returning expats meeting the 12-month abroad / 6-month vehicle ownership conditions, and vintage exemptions for vehicles over 30 years (Category C, €200 flat).

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

You must contact NCTS within 7 days of the vehicle's arrival to book an inspection, and complete the registration and pay any VRT due within 30 days of arrival. The clock starts at the ferry port or airport, not the day you bought it. Past 30 days, the vehicle can be seized by Revenue or the Gardaí, and additional VRT may apply.

Is the calculator's estimate the same as Revenue's official assessment?

Close, but not guaranteed identical. The official figure can differ when Revenue's OMSP for your specific make and model deviates from our estimate, or when your declared NOx or CO₂ values are challenged. Treat the result as a reliable budgeting figure, not a final invoice.

Do I pay VAT twice when importing a car from the UK?

No. UK VAT is removed at the point of sale (the dealer issues a zero-rated export invoice) and Irish VAT at 23% is charged at import. If you were charged UK VAT in error, claim it back from the seller before completing the Irish import — you cannot recover UK VAT through Irish Revenue.

VRT Calculator by Reg : calculate your import car tax in Ireland

Why Plate-Based Calculators Beat Manual Forms

The single biggest source of inaccurate VRT estimates is selecting the wrong variant when filling a manual form. Two cars with the same model name can differ by €1,500–€3,000 in VRT depending on engine, transmission and trim. Plate-driven calculators eliminate that risk by reading the specification directly from DVLA or DVA records.

The other reason to run the calculation before you buy is leverage. Once the car is in your driveway, you can only register it as-is or sell it on. A 30-second check at the auction screen gives you the option to walk away if the numbers don't work.

How Our Calculator Works

Four steps run in sequence when you submit a plate:

1

DVLA/DVA lookup

Make, model, fuel, engine, WLTP CO₂, NOx and first-registration date returned.
2

Match against Revenue's database

The decoded specification finds its 8-digit statistical code, which locks in the OMSP Revenue will apply.
3

CO₂ component

The WLTP figure is mapped to one of Revenue's 20 Category A bands, then multiplied by the OMSP. Bands run from 7% (≤50 g/km) to 41% (>190 g/km).
4

NOx levy

Calculated on a 3-tier banded scale: €5/mg up to 40 mg, €15/mg from 41 to 80, €25/mg above 80. Added to the CO₂ component.

Total displayed = (CO₂ band % × OMSP) + NOx levy. Lookup completes in under 2 seconds for any vehicle present in the Revenue database.

Reading Your UK or NI Plate Before You Calculate

You're an Irish importer looking at a plate on a UK or NI car. Before you even type it in, the plate already tells you most of what affects your VRT bill in Ireland.

UK plates (current format from 2001) — like LK19 ABC

The two digits in the middle are the only part that matters for your VRT estimate. They encode the age of the vehicle, which drives the OMSP Revenue applies:

19 = first registered March–August 2019 (so ~7 years old when calculating in 2026)
69 = September 2019 to February 2020
21/71 = 2021 plates, where WLTP CO₂ is guaranteed on the V5C
Anything 16 or earlier = pre-WLTP. Revenue applies the NEDC→WLTP conversion at registration, which usually pushes the car into a higher VRT band than the V5C suggests. Expect a slightly worse outcome than the calculator first shows.

The first two letters identify the DVLA office that issued the plate — useful to verify the V5C is genuine, irrelevant to your VRT.

NI plates — like MEZ 4521

Three letters + four digits, no age indicator. You can't read the year off the plate — check the V5C for the date of first registration before you calculate. The first letter combination indicates the original NI district (MEZ = Belfast, JIA = Antrim, etc.).

Why the country of the plate matters for your Irish bill

VRT is the same for both UK and NI imports, but the surrounding taxes are not:

GB plate (England, Scotland, Wales) → on top of VRT, you pay 23% Irish VAT and 10% customs duty at registration. These can add several thousand euro to a typical import.
NI plate → if the vehicle qualifies under the post-Brexit Windsor Framework (genuinely registered and used in NI before sale, with proof of status), it's exempt from customs duty, and VAT treatment depends on the vehicle's VAT history. This is why NI imports remain consistently cheaper for Irish buyers.

The calculator on this page handles the VRT calculation itself. For the full landed-in-Ireland figure including VAT and duty, you'll need an import-cost calculator that adds those layers on top.

Plate-input quick-fixes

A few things that trip up Irish users every week:

Personalised plates sometimes return wrong vehicle data (DVLA records the plate against whichever vehicle currently holds it). If the result looks off, double-check against the V5C before walking into NCTS.
Type the plate without spaces — LK19ABC, not LK19 ABC. Hyphens and dashes are stripped automatically.
O and I don't exist on UK plates — they're letters that look like zero and one, which the DVLA avoids. If yours seems to have them, try the digit version.
Trade or dealer plates won't work — they're not tied to a specific vehicle's specification.

VRT Calculators Compared

Five free Irish calculators are worth knowing. They read from the same underlying Revenue data but differ in interface and coverage.

Calculator	Plate decode	NI plates	Commercial vehicles	NOx integrated
ROS (Revenue official)	❌ manual entry only	❌	✅	✅
MotorCheck	✅	✅	partial	✅
VRT.ie	✅	✅	✅	✅
vrt-calculator.ie	❌ manual entry	❌	✅	✅
vrt-calculator-by-reg.ie	✅	✅	✅	✅

The ROS calculator is the authoritative source but requires every dropdown to be filled by hand. Plate-driven tools share the same Revenue valuations database, so the OMSP and statistical code returned are identical across them. Differences sit in NOx handling depth, Category B (van) support, and the speed of the interface.

When the Calculator Can't Find Your Vehicle

A small share of plate lookups return no result. The three reasons we see:

1

Excluded by design from Revenue's database

Motor caravans, classics 30+ years old, kit cars, low-volume prestige marques, and large commercials. These need manual valuation.
2

Plate not in DVLA/DVA records

Recent imports with new plates, exported vehicles, plates not yet activated.
3

Variant never valued in Ireland

The plate decodes correctly but the specific configuration has no Revenue code.

In all three cases, contact Revenue's Central Vehicle Office with your V5C details. Revenue researches the specification and issues a bespoke code, typically within a week or two. For unusual or pre-2000 imports, submit Revenue's Form VRT Estimate (PDF) before you commit to purchase.

Common Mistakes That Distort the Estimate

Variant misselection is covered above. Four other recurring errors:

1

NEDC CO₂ submitted instead of WLTP

NEDC values are systematically lower. Revenue applies a conversion at registration — for diesels, (NEDC × 1.1405) + 12.858 — and the corrected figure pushes the car into a higher band.
2

Chargeable enhancements ignored

Factory options not standard on the Irish-spec equivalent (leather, panoramic roof, larger alloys, premium audio) are added to the OMSP. Build a buffer.
3

NOx levy forgotten

Shown separately on the output and easy to miss. For older diesels above the 80 mg/km bracket it can add several hundred euro.
4

Estimate treated as a binding price

The output is indicative. Revenue confirms the final VRT only at physical NCTS inspection. Carry a 5–10% contingency.

Worked Example — 2019 BMW 320d M Sport (UK Import)

A representative import scenario, calculated against the official Revenue rates in force (Category A CO₂ table since 1 January 2022; NOx schedule current at April 2026). The OMSP shown is an illustrative figure typical of 2026 Irish-market valuations for a clean example of this generation; Revenue's actual OMSP for any specific vehicle is determined at registration.

Vehicle inputs	Value
Make / model	BMW 320d M Sport (G20)
First registration	March 2019, United Kingdom
OMSP (illustrative)	€19,200
WLTP CO₂	142 g/km
NOx	38 mg/km

Calculation step	Result
CO₂ band: >140 up to 145 g/km	21.5%
CO₂ component: 21.5% × €19,200	€4,128
NOx levy: 38 mg in the first 0–40 mg band → 38 × €5	€190
Total VRT due	€4,318

The CO₂ component dominates — over 95% of the bill — which is typical for any diesel between 130 and 150 g/km. Push the same car one band higher (above 145 g/km) and the rate jumps from 21.5% to 25%, adding roughly €670 on this OMSP. This is why the variant matters: an M Sport with larger wheels can cross the band threshold versus the standard SE specification.

For NOx above 40 mg/km, split across the bands. At 90 mg/km: (40 × €5) + (40 × €15) + (10 × €25) = €1,050.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the VRT calculator free?

Yes. No signup, no payment. The official ROS calculator and most third-party tools (VRT.ie, MotorCheck.ie) are also free.

Can I calculate VRT for a commercial vehicle?

Yes for vans up to 3.5 tonnes (Category B, taxed at 8% or 13.3% depending on CO₂). Larger commercials (Category C) attract a flat €200 charge instead of a percentage of OMSP.

How often is the Revenue data refreshed?

Revenue updates valuations on a rolling basis throughout the year, with substantial revisions after each Finance Act. Our calculator pulls from the live database — no static cache.

Will Revenue accept this estimate at the NCTS counter?

No online estimate is binding. Revenue confirms the final figure only at physical inspection. The calculator exists to support budgeting and the buy/walk-away decision before purchase.

Can I appeal the OMSP if it looks too high?

Yes. After paying the VRT calculated at registration, submit an appeal to Revenue with comparable Irish market evidence — private sale ads, dealer listings of similar vehicles. Unresolved appeals can be escalated to the Tax Appeals Commission.

Do I still need to do an HPI check on top?

Yes. The VRT calculator estimates tax due; an HPI check verifies finance, theft, write-off and mileage history. Two different jobs — both essential before any UK or NI import.

Is there a phone line to confirm the estimate before I buy?

Revenue does not pre-confirm online estimates. The Central Vehicle Office handles cases where no code can be returned automatically, but does not validate figures from third-party tools. Direct contact details are listed on revenue.ie/contact-us.

Does the estimate include VAT and customs duty?

No. The calculator returns VRT only. UK imports may also be liable for Irish VAT (23%) and customs duty (typically 10%) depending on the vehicle's history. Use a full import-cost calculator for the all-in figure.

VRT Calculator by Reg, Updated for 2026