Skip to content
Camber

Buy here or import

Enter the asking price of a car on sale in Ireland and see what importing the same car would cost.

Example: Toyota Aqua 2019

Step 1: The car on sale here

Enter what the dealer is asking, then the same car's details below to see what importing it yourself would cost.

The price on the windscreen or in the advert for the same car, already imported and registered.

Importing it yourself: €11,126. Importing saves €3,874.

Step 2: The car

Where are you buying it?
Where was it built?

Duty depends on where the car was built, not where you bought it. The export certificate or the seller can confirm it.

Needed for 0% duty. Without it the rate is 10%. Ask the seller in writing before you pay.

Built in JapanCustoms duty: 0%

Step 3: The price and costs

What you pay the seller. Shipping, insurance and the costs on arrival are under More costs.

More costs€2,350 in all

Port to port, or door to door if quoted that way. Part of the customs value.

Enter 0 if the shipping quote already includes it.

For filing the import declaration. Enter 0 if you file it yourself or none is needed.

Tyres, radio conversion and anything else to fix on arrival.

Step 4: Irish value

VRT is charged on the open market selling price (OMSP): what Revenue thinks the car would sell for in Ireland with every tax paid, not what you paid for it.

Revenue's value for this version€8,425

Price when new, as Revenue holds it
€20,200
Left after 7 years, table A6
43%
For registering in October
3% less
For distance, not given
no change

Statistical code 50070492, from Revenue's VRT calculator on 29 September 2026. For a car in good condition with no extras. Revenue can change its figures, and sets the value only when the car is presented.

From Revenue

Revenue's own figure for the version you chose, worked out for a car registered this month. Type a figure to use yours instead.

Other ways to set the Irish value

Revenue's VRT calculator on ros.ie holds a value for over 25,000 models. Choose the car there, enter the date it was first registered and its mileage, and type the line “Current OMSP determined by Revenue” into the Irish value above.

Open Revenue's VRT calculator in a new tab

Or three comparable cars on sale in Ireland

Same model, year and similar mileage. Enter each asking price and the middle one stands in.

Step 5: Fuel and emissions

Revenue's figure for this version

The CO2 figure is the one Revenue holds for the version you chose, so it is the one the band will be chosen on. Revenue holds no NOx figure, and the UK figures have none for this engine. Enter the one on the car's documents, or the cap applies. Check both against the car's documents.

Fuel

Revenue recalculates an NEDC figure. This one becomes 96 g/km.

Which test is the CO2 figure from?

VRT is charged on the WLTP figure. Cars first registered before about 2019 usually carry an NEDC figure, which Revenue recalculates upwards before it chooses the band. How it treats a figure from a Japanese test is not yet confirmed.

Without evidence of the NOx figure, the cap applies: €4,850 for diesel, €600 for other fuels.

Step 6: Age and distance

Revenue values a car by its age, and takes the value down for one that has covered more than the norm.

In 2019. Left at not sure, January is used.

In kilometres: a mile is 1.609 km. The norm is 1,500 km a month, 2,100 for a diesel.

Landed cost · example

€11,126

range €11,020 to €11,230

Importing saves
€3,874

An estimate by an independent site. Revenue sets the figure when the car is presented.See the breakdown

Importing saves €3,874

Import it yourselfCheaper
€11,126
range €11,020 to €11,230
Buy here at the asking price
€15,000
the dealer's price, registered and ready

The dealer's price covers their margin, warranty and the work and risk of importing. The saving is what you keep for doing that yourself.

Toyota Aqua 2019

Rules 2026.10.4

Rates last verified 7 October 2026

The landed cost split into four parts. The same figures are in the list and the table that follow.
  • Car and shipping€7,500
  • Customs, VAT and agent€1,875
  • VRT and NOx€1,051
  • Preparation€700

Every line

Every line of the landed cost
LineAmount
Purchase price€6,000
Shipping€1,500
Transit insurance€0
Customs valuePrice, shipping and insurance€7,500
Customs duty0% of the customs value€0
Import VAT23%€1,725
Customs agent fee€150
VRT on CO212% of €8,425, band over 95 to 100 g/km. 67 g/km NEDC, recalculated as 96 g/km€1,011
NOx charge€40
VRT total€1,051
PreparationTyres, radio conversion and other work€700
Landed cost, estimate€11,126
  • Check: The Irish value of €8,425 is worked out from the price when new and the depreciation table Revenue holds for this version, for a car in good condition with no extras. Revenue can change them, and sets the value when the car is presented.
  • Check: The CO2 figure of 67 g/km is from the older NEDC test. Revenue recalculates it before choosing the band, which makes it 96 g/km.

On paper, for €9.99

The import report

This estimate as a dated report: three cost scenarios, with and without proof of origin, the comparison, the timeline, the document checklist and every line to the cent, laid out to print for a lender or a partner. One payment, nothing renews.

Get the report, €9.99See a sample

The report is made from your own car's figures, so enter them first.

Going ahead?

Start the import file

It tells you what to do next, tracks the documents still to get, keeps both registration deadlines, and at the end sets this estimate against what you really paid.

These are the example's figures. Enter your own car first.

Free, and no account is needed to start: the file is kept in this browser. Sign in later for email reminders.

Questions

Is a Japanese import on an Irish forecourt good value?
Compare the asking price with what the same car would cost to import yourself. The difference pays for the dealer's work, risk and warranty. The comparison shows both figures on one scale.
What costs does the comparison include?
The purchase price, shipping and transit insurance, customs duty, import VAT at 23%, a customs agent's fee, VRT and the NOx charge, and preparation costs.
Why might importing cost more than the calculator I used elsewhere?
Some calculators apply 0% duty to every car from Japan. A car built outside Japan pays 10% duty, and import VAT is charged on the duty as well.
Does the electric vehicle relief still apply?
The relief is for pure electric cars registered before 31 December 2026, unless it is extended. The calculator stops applying it from that date.