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Motorcheck.ie Introduces New VRT Calculator

If you're planning on importing a used car from Northern Ireland or mainland GB you're probably familiar with the dreaded Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) that can add thousands to the final cost of registering your car at home in Ireland.

VRT Calculato
Posted by Shane Teskey on 15 January 2010 in Featured, Used Cars

VRT Calculator

The Revenue Commissioners introduced its online VRT calculator a number of years ago to determine the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) and VRT for any car or motorcycle being imported to Ireland. The service meant that anyone could shop for a car in the UK and calculate the taxes due without leaving their computer.

At Motorcheck we are constantly looking for new ways to improve the quality of automotive data available to our customers, so it was with great enthusiasm that we embarked on a project to improve and enhance the way VRT Calculations are sourced on the web.

Saving You Time

Having looked at the Revenue calculator we realised that Motorcheck could automatically populate the majority of information required directly from the registration number.

Our UK vehicle database is the best of its kind and by harnessing the power of the registration number we were able to bypass all of the manual form-filling required by the Revenue.ie website.

VRT Calculator

Motorcheck.ie VRT Calculator

Now instead of spending 5 minutes entering 14 different fields of information at Revenue.ie (which you may or may not have to hand), you can use the Motorcheck.ie VRT Calculator.

Simply enter a registration number and odometer reading and Motorcheck.ie will do all the work for you. It’s absolutely free of charge and it takes less than 10 seconds to get your VRT figure.

Not only that but you can also get a full UK history on the car you’re thinking of importing from Motorcheck with one click!

Delivering Accurate Results

Woman using VRT Calculator

VRT Calculations in 10 Seconds!

The VRT estimate provided by the Motorcheck.ie VRT Calculator carries the same disclaimer as the Revenue.ie service.

A different amount may be payable if the Open Market Selling Price has changed and/or if a different rate of CO2 emissions is applicable and additional VRT may be payable if the vehicle is fitted with chargeable enhancements/accessories.

What Is VRT?

VRT or “Vehicle Registration Tax” is chargeable on registration of a motor vehicle in the Republic of Ireland. Every motor vehicle in the State, other than those brought in temporarily by visitors, must be registered with the Revenue Commissioners and VRT paid by the end of the next working day following its arrival in the State. A vehicle must be registered before it can be licensed for road tax purposes.

What does the Motorcheck.ie VRT Calculator do?

The Motorcheck.ie VRT Calculator uses the registration number of a vehicle to determine its Make, Model and Variant as well as its first date of registration and its CO2 emissions. With this information it calculates the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) for VRT purposes and the amount of VRT payable. Please note that some Makes / Models / CO2 Emissions of vehicles are not included.

The types of vehicles that are included are typically:

Category ‘A’ Vehicles
Passenger Vehicles e.g. Saloons, Hatchbacks, MPVs, Jeeps, Coupes, Convertibles etc

Category ‘B’ Vehicles
Car Derived, Jeep Derived Vans, Crewcabs

The types of vehicles that are not included are typically Classic Collectable,  Motor Caravans (Campers), Kit Vehicles and vehicles that require to be assessed on an individual basis.

Category ‘C’ or Commercial Vehicles are not included in the calculator, but VRT is assessed at a flat rate of €50.00 on these types of vehicles.

Would You Like A VRT Calculator On Your Website?

If you would like a customised version of the Motorcheck.ie VRT Calculator for your website please contact us at support@motorcheck.ie.

Try out the Motorcheck.ie VRT Calculator now!

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44 comments so far

Reply
RAYMOND
January 23, 2010 at 1:01 am #

Why are specs on Irish cars so different to the uk cars? If you look at a car in Ireland and the UK they look like different cars inside and what they offer. Who makes the desicion on what ireland gets? Why do we get the bottom of the barrel every time? Can someone please answer me this question? Thank you

Reply
Shane Teskey
January 23, 2010 at 9:23 am #

Hi Raymond,
Thanks for your question. Most of the importing of new cars to Ireland used to be done by private distributors. These distributors had an official that would make decisions on the specification of a car for Ireland. As VRT and VAT are added to the price of a car that includes the standard specification, the trend in Ireland used to be one of introducing vehicles with a very low little of standard specification. This kept the list price of the car down but made adding additional extras afterward an expensive luxury.

Things have changed a lot in the past three years. Distributors for Renault, BMW, Audi and VW are now all owned and operated by the manufacturer. The basic trim level is now very similiar to that in the UK so you should start to notice that cars from 07 onwards carry the same standard spec as their UK equivalents.

I hope this answers your question.

Reply
Teresa mc intyre
January 28, 2010 at 3:49 pm #

I have a 99 Citreon Xsara ! Should I be covered for the scrappage? It’s in my name 4 years. Also does everyone get the €1500 or does it differ for everyone? Thanks.

Reply
Shane Teskey
January 28, 2010 at 9:04 pm #

Hi Teresa, if your car satisifies all the criteria at the top of this post and it has been registered as well as insured in your name you should be fine. The 1,500 rebate relates to the car rather than the individual applying for it.

Your dealer will be able to give you the exact VRT figure on the new car. Once it’s over 1,500 Euro – you should be fine.

Reply
Stephen
February 9, 2010 at 1:51 am #

Is there a minimum time limit for which the new car must remain registered in one’s name, or is the owner entitled to sell or trade the new car at will?

Reply
Shane Teskey
February 9, 2010 at 9:59 pm #

Hi Stephen, common question this ;) . The new owner can sell on the car whenever they like!

Reply
Paddy
February 10, 2010 at 2:53 pm #

Disabled Drivers can claim back vrt and vat on their cars. My budget doesn’t run to a new car, is there a way of predicting the rebate on a used car and what type of used family car would get the best rebate here?

Reply
Shane Teskey
February 10, 2010 at 8:19 pm #

Hi Paddy,

The regulations around claiming back VRT and VAT on a used car are pretty complicated. Most of the conditions are dealt with in detail on the Revenue website here. In addressing used car values they say “the amount of the repayment will be the residual tax contained in the value of the vehicle”. If you use the registration number of the vehicle you’re thinking of buying on our VRT Calculator you will get a good idea of the Original Market Value the Revenue will calculate for the car and its associated VRT.

For a definitive figures though I’d contact the Revenue directly at

The Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Central Repayments Office
Freepost
M: TEK II Building, Armagh Road
Monaghan
Phone: 047-62100
Fax: 047-62199

Hope this helps!

Reply
Paddy
February 17, 2010 at 10:19 am #

I used you site to check vrt on a 2007 Grand Vitara and it came in at €3988 but on the ROS.ie site the cheapest was €5732. Granted I am not exactly sure of the model etc so I have check all models on the ROS site and they go up to €8648.
What do I go by?
Great site by the way :)

Reply
Shane Teskey
February 17, 2010 at 11:10 am #

Hi Paddy, thanks for the compliment – we’re working hard to make the site as useful as possible.

Have you any idea what the CO2 emmissions are on your suzuki? It appears that there were a couple of models around in 2007 that it could be. Drop me a line and I’ll do some digging for you.

Reply
vincent
February 21, 2010 at 11:31 pm #

How many months does it take you to change the Registration plate number from a uk to irish

Reply
Shane Teskey
February 23, 2010 at 12:40 pm #

Hi Vincent, we should have the Irish registration number on our database 24 hours after it’s processed by Revenue.

Reply
john hannon
February 24, 2010 at 4:38 pm #

I plan to import a new toyota yaris from uk to irl. but your vrt calculator does not have such a facility so how can I find the VRT to be paid. No reg no & no mileage.

Thanks

John

Reply
Shane Teskey
February 25, 2010 at 4:08 pm #

Hi John
You should check with a VRT office directly but if it is a brand new Toyota Yaris 1.33 VVT-I (for example) the Co2 emmissions will be 120g/km and therefore the Rate of VRT applied will be 14% of the OMSP. Since it is a brand new vehicle the OMSP set by Revenue will be pretty close the the Manufacturers list price of €15,860. This would give a VRT amount of €2,220.40.

Reply
Sean McCarthy
February 24, 2010 at 11:59 pm #

I am buying a vintage bike (Honda CB 550 1976) that has been in ireland for about a year but not on the road. It was being restored by the person I’ll be buying from. I will get full papers for the bike. will there be issues with the bike being in the country and not registered even though it wasnt on the road when i go to pay the VRT?
any advice appreciated

Reply
Shane Teskey
February 25, 2010 at 4:10 pm #

Technically you are obliged to pay VRT on an imported vehicle within 24 hours of import. I’m not sure if there is an exception for vehicles that are off the road or being restored. You should contact your local VRT office before going ahead with the final purchase to ensure you won’t be in for any nasty suprises.

Reply
der
March 4, 2010 at 2:02 am #

Totally confused! If I buy an Audi A4, standard 2.1 tdi, leather seats, zenon lights from NI I cannot find out what VRT will be or what OMSP wil be calculated at. Is it the book price or the price you could buy it straight without trade in here in ireland? Rang VRT office, said they could not tell me until they saw it. Also cannot figure out what or how Custom duty tax is calculated.

Reply
Shane Teskey
March 4, 2010 at 1:01 pm #

Hi Ita, If you can’t find the vehicle by it’s registration number using our calculator try using the dropdowns on the revenue site. If the car isn’t listed there go for something that’s similiar in CO2 with a similiar list price and you’ll get an indicative figure.

The VRT is calculated against what Revenue determine to be the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) of the car. This is the amount they would reasonable expect it to fetch on the open market in the Republic of Ireland. If you feed the value they give on the car is incorrect there is an appeals process that you can enter into but only after you have imported the car and paid the higher amount.

Hope this helps!

Reply
Sean McCarthy
March 4, 2010 at 2:59 pm #

In response to the previous comment. I bought the bike. registration was no problem because there was no VRT to pay. If there was vrt to pay it would be to a persons advantage to delay vrt as the car would depreciate and so it would be looked on differently if this was the case. One comment made was that the vehicle should be registered by the person whose name appears as the irish buyer but this did not seem to be an issue and i was allowed to register the bike.

Reply
Shane Teskey
March 4, 2010 at 3:11 pm #

That’s great Sean! Will you have to do any work on it yourself or has it been fully restored? Hopefully you’ll get some good weather over the next week or so to take it out.

Reply
Jenna Gix
March 4, 2010 at 8:01 pm #

Hi there, I am trying to calculate the VRT for a 01 VW beetle but the site is down today and yesterday it couldn’t calculate it for me? Would you be able to tell me how much would I be looking to pay for the VRT for the car that has 85k miles, 1.6, 2 door, 180 CO2 emissions? Thanks in advance

Reply
Shane Teskey
March 9, 2010 at 10:11 pm #

Hi Jenna,

I’ve tried to get a VRT calculation for your car directly from the Revenue site but I keep getting an alert saying that they don’t have a vehicles that matches your description. It may be that their database doesn’t have a car to match against. I suggest you give one of their VRT branches a call and see if you can get a value over the phone.

I’d be interested to hear how you get on!

S.

Reply
Katie McElvaney
March 14, 2010 at 9:23 pm #

I’m looking at trading my 07 VW Tourna in for a 09 Ford Galaxy. Would a UK dealer be happy to take my Irish reqistered car and Irish bank finance agreements? Cost of car plus vrt still makes the car cheaper.

Reply
Shane Teskey
March 15, 2010 at 7:08 pm #

Hi Katie,
Some UK dealers have no problem taking an Irish registered car in part exchange. I’ve heard of some northern dealerships that use southern traders so don’t be surprised if your car turns up back on the southern roads.

The Irish finance piece will be a bit trickier. Be sure to speak with the dealer you’re buying the new car off. Give him all the information about who the finance’s with and how much is outstanding. You could find it difficult to raise finance from a UK dealer though. I’d have a car loan pre-approved with my bank if I was you before committing to any order.

Reply
Ron Luxon
April 4, 2010 at 10:42 pm #

Please could you explain why VRT has to be paid on bringing in a used car from the UK?
I thought that being in the EEC was to do away with all these boundaries. Ireland is as far as I know the only country still practicing this extra burden on Irish Motorists.
Can anybody say when this will all come to an end as it is unfair? The way the climate is at the moment I can’t see it ending soon. As for your local VRT office giving you a calculation over the phone, there seems to be no definate price calculation, it depends on who you talk to on the day and what mood they are in. A friend of mine was quoted a figure over the phone when he arrived to pay the VRT he was asked exactly double the quote.

Reply
Shane Teskey
April 8, 2010 at 1:17 pm #

Hi Ron, VRT has long been a bone of contention for the Irish consumer and motor industry alike. It was introduced in 1993 as replacement for car excise duty which was deemed illegal under European rules. The current system causes debate as VRT is a tax that is applied on top of the price of a car including VAT. This is in effect double taxation – something that we shouldn’t be subjected to.

There is talk of it being abandoned over an extended period of time but consideration has to be given to implications for the used car market. If we abolished VRT on new cars the residual value of the national car parc would be severely undermined. The changes introduced in 2007 caused mayhem for the industry and began a sharp decline in new car sales that still persists today.

In terms of getting calculations it is advisable that you print a copy of the relevant calculation directly from the Revenue’s website before committing to any final purchase. Whilst you can appeal the VRT amount afterwards unfortunately you have to pay the initial amount quoted first. Our Motorcheck VRT calculator was designed to make it easier for buyers to source VRT prices but in terms of proof a print off from the Revenue site would be preferable if you were actually intending on buying the car in question.

Hope this helps!

Reply
gerry mccloskey
April 9, 2010 at 5:41 pm #

I was thinking of bringing a kit bike from the us, I read on your site that kit bikes are not included, does this mean there is no vrt to be paid?

Reply
Shane Teskey
April 13, 2010 at 5:12 pm #

Hi Gerry, Nope. It just means that we don’t have registration information for which we can look up the vehicle.

If you’d like to post me a link to the KIT bike you’re thinking of buying I can make an enquiry with Revenue for you.

Reply
gerry mccloskey
June 28, 2010 at 10:10 pm #

Hi Shane,the website is southern motercycle works,the bike costs aproxx 10,000 us dollars,thanks Gerry

Reply
p boardman
May 5, 2010 at 10:18 pm #

Great website guys!
I’m looking at trading in my car in the uk and was wondering if there is there a list of recommended garage that would take a Irish registered car as a trade in?
There’s no finance owed on the car, all the paper work and 2 keys.

Thanks in advance.

Reply
Shane Teskey
May 12, 2010 at 3:27 pm #

Hi,

Do you really need to trade it in at the garage? Have you tried selling it privately yourself? The used car market in the south is pretty strong at the moment. I’d recommend an ad on www.dondeal.ie or www.gumtree.ie as two inexpensive ways to test the market.

Failing that, I know that Charles Hurst in Belfast was at one time taking Irish registered cars in part exchange. Perhaps you could give them a call? You’ll get all their numbers online at http://www.charleshurstgroup.co.uk/contact_us.aspx

Reply
Ted
May 15, 2010 at 6:00 pm #

Hi Shane
I’m thinking of bringing in a ford mondeo from england it’s priced at £6,270 and i’m thinking of taken out a 3 year europe wide warranty on it can you tell me how much VRT has to be paid on it, its a Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi 130 Zetec 5dr [Euro 4] — 2007 ‘56′. As far as i can see there is no added extra’s on it like sat nav or leather there is allow’s but surely there nearly standard on all cars by now, looking forward to hearing from you thanks.

Reply
Shane Teskey
May 17, 2010 at 10:36 pm #

Hi Ted, do you have a registration number & mileage reading for the Mondeo? If you send it to me I should be able to get an accurate VRT calculation for you.

Reply
Les
June 2, 2010 at 12:50 pm #

VRT – how can this tax be charged to Irish people if it is illegal in other eurpean countries (european commission)?

Reply
Shane Teskey
June 28, 2010 at 5:28 pm #

Hi Les,

Apologies for taking so long to come back to you. I knew I’d be writing something about VRT on our blog and wanted to cover your question there. It’s up now at http://www.motorcheck.ie/blog/is-vrt-a-legal-tax/

Reply
Robert
June 2, 2010 at 9:37 pm #

Hi there,

I’d like to import a 2006/7 Mazda 6 2.0 Diesel from the UK. The second hand price for one here ranges from €10-14,000, yet when I use the VRT calculator it gives an open market value of €20-22,000. This makes it uneconomical to import the car and the valuation is ridiculously steep compared to similar cars. is Is there anything I can do about this?

Thanks a million.

Best,
Robert.

Reply
Shane Teskey
June 11, 2010 at 10:59 am #

Hi Robert,

I ran a 2006 2.0 Mazda 6, Diesel, Automatic (Comfort Model) with 55,000 miles against the Motorcheck valuation engine and got a forecourt price of 9,500 Euro.

The revenue website came back with a figure of 10,561 Euro which wasn’t too far off. You can see my screenshot here. Are you sure that you were putting in the correct details?

Reply
Tom Kenny
July 12, 2010 at 9:48 pm #

I want to change a passanger jeep to a commercial. What have I to do and how much will it cost?

Reply
Shane Teskey
July 19, 2010 at 5:45 pm #

Hi Tom, Modifying a passenger car to a commercial will cost you approximately 2,000 Euro for a high end vehicle (X5, Range Rover, etc.) lower end cars are around the 1,000 Euro mark.

Give the guys at Blanchardstown 4X4 a call if you need anything done. Their number is 01 838 3944 and they specialise in this type of conversion.

Reply
Cathriona
August 9, 2010 at 1:06 am #

Hi Shane,
I’m considering changing my car and have heard that VRT may be done away with. Is there any truth in this and if so does this mean that the value of my current car will be a lot less or would it make it more difficult to sell??? Also if there is any truth in the VRT being done away when would it be most likely to happen???

Reply
Shane Teskey
August 9, 2010 at 8:25 pm #

Hi Cathriona,

There’s been rumblings about VRT for quite a while now. I wouldn’t expect anything drastic to happen in the next year so you should be fine changing your car. Especially if you go for one of the Band A or B vehicles where VRT is quite low nowadays.

More about VRT here http://www.motorcheck.ie/blog/is-vrt-a-legal-tax/.

Reply
Gerard Doolan
August 23, 2010 at 1:04 pm #

Hi,

I’m looking into the possiblity of buying a commerical crew cab in the UK and bringing it back home to Ireland. Some people have told me that I would only need to pay VRT of €50 flat rate if I do this. I’m looking at a Nissan Navara, Toyota Hilux or a Mitsubshi L200 Passenger.

I don’t own my own business or anything, but I’ve been told that this doesn’t actually prevent me from buying a commercial vehicle, taxing it as a commercial vehicle and insuring it as a commercial vehicle.

Obviously, I wont be claiming back VAT on diesel or anything like that.

Can you tell me if the information I’ve stated here is correct. I’ve been looking online for information but cant find any and have runf the Revenue Commissioners but the person I spoke with wasn’t really 100% certain either way.

Thanks,

Great site too by the way!

Reply
Shane Teskey
August 23, 2010 at 2:59 pm #

Hi Gerard,

Crew Cabs such as the Navara, Hilux and L200 all have back seats and therefore are not treated as Category C (Commercial) vehicles for VRT purposes. Commercials with back seats such as Crew-Cab type vehicles are treated as Category B vehicles. VRT rate for Category B vehicles is 13.3% of OMSP (subject to a minimum of EUR 125).

To get a VRT estimate simply enter the reg into our VRT calculator at: http://www.motorcheck.ie/blog/vrt-calculator/ or try the Revenue’s own VRT estimator at: https://www.ros.ie/VRTEnquiryServlet/showVRT.

In terms of taxing the vehicle I’d advise you contact your local tax office first. I’ve heard of people having difficulties taxing a crew car commercially with some local authorities.

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