The full cost of
a car import.
VRT is only part of it. A used car from Great Britain also carries customs duty and 23% import VAT. From Northern Ireland or the EU, it is usually VRT alone. Start with where the car is coming from.
Inputs
England, Scotland or Wales. A third-country import: customs duty (where it applies) and 23% import VAT are due on top of VRT.
What you paid, in euros. Convert from sterling first.
Shipping to the point of entry. Part of the customs value.
Revenue's Irish market value, used for VRT. Not the UK price.
Older imports usually need the NEDC conversion.
NEDC converts to 149 g/km for VRT.
From V5 line V.3.
Total import cost
Customs duty plus 23% import VAT plus VRT.
- Customs value (price + transport)
- €12,500
- Customs duty (10%)
- €1,250
- Import VAT (23%)
- €3,163
- VRT
- €4,000
- of which NOx levy
- €500
- Total landed cost
- €20,913
How the charges stack up
A used car from Great Britain is a third-country import. First customs duty is charged on the customs value (what you paid plus transport and insurance): 10% for a car built outside the UK, or 0% if it is of UK origin with a valid origin statement. Then 23% import VAT is charged on the customs value plus that duty. Then VRT, on the Irish OMSP, exactly as for any registration.
From Northern Ireland, a car first registered in NI, or moved into NI with customs formalities completed under the Windsor Framework, carries no customs duty or import VAT. You pay VRT only. A GB car moved to NI after 1 January 2021 without those formalities is treated as a GB import.
From the EU, a used car that is not a new means of transport pays VRT only. This estimator covers Category A passenger cars; for vans and commercials use the VRT estimator, where the same customs and VAT treatment applies to the value.
Estimate only, for a private import of a used car. VAT-registered traders and the GB second-hand motor vehicle payment scheme work differently. Revenue values and origin status can change the figure on inspection. Sources: VAT and customs duty, GB and NI VAT rules, VRT rates. Last verified 2026-07-04.
Get a defensible OMSP
VRT rides on Revenue's OMSP, and Revenue can challenge a low import declaration. CarValue gives you a real Irish market range backed by live listings.
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