Motor tax on an imported car: which table applies and what it costs

Motor tax is the yearly charge for using the road, paid to the local authority, and it is separate from VRT, which is paid once at registration. For an imported car the two are joined at one point: the CO2 figure Revenue records when the car is registered is the figure the motor tax is set on for as long as the car is in Ireland.

Ireland has three motor tax tables for private cars, and which one a car falls under depends on when it was first registered and how its CO2 was measured. This guide gives the three tables from the Acts that set them, says which one an import goes on, and explains how the first tax disc is bought. The rates are those in force since 1 January 2021, from section 35 of the Finance Act 2020 and section 4 of the Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Act 2013.

Which table an import goes on

The Finance Act 2020 says it directly. A car registered in Ireland on or after 1 January 2021 that was first registered abroad between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2020 goes on:

• the NEDC table if its CO2 figure was measured on the older NEDC test
• the WLTP table if its CO2 figure was measured on the WLTP test

A car first registered anywhere before 1 July 2008 is taxed by engine size. A new car, or a car first registered from 2021 on, is on the WLTP table.

So a 2017 Golf imported from Japan or Britain this year is taxed on its NEDC figure under the NEDC table, and a 2021 car on its WLTP figure under the WLTP table. The NEDC figure is not recalculated for motor tax the way it is for VRT: VRT converts an NEDC figure upwards before it chooses the band, and motor tax uses the figure as measured, on the table built for that test.

The €2,400 rule

Both tables carry a last row for a car whose CO2 figure cannot be confirmed by Revenue from the EC type-approval certificate or certificate of conformity, and that Revenue is not satisfied about from any other document produced at registration. That car pays the top rate, €2,400 a year, whatever its engine.

This is the motor tax side of the problem a Japanese import can have with its CO2 evidence. A car from Japan has no EC certificate of conformity. NCTS asks for confirmation of the figure from the website of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, translated, and if Revenue is satisfied with it, the car goes on the table at that figure. If it is not, the VRT is charged at the highest rate and the motor tax at €2,400 a year, every year. For a small car that can be more than the VRT itself over the years you own it. Settle the CO2 evidence before you buy; see the NOx charge for the same point on NOx.

The WLTP table

For a car first registered from 1 January 2021, or an older import with a WLTP figure. Annual rates.

The NEDC table

For a car first registered between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2020 with an NEDC figure, wherever it was first registered. Annual rates.

The Toyota Aqua in Camber's worked example, a 2019 car at 67 g/km NEDC, is €170 a year. For VRT the same figure is recalculated to 96 g/km; for motor tax it is not.

Engine size, for cars first registered before July 2008

Annual rates, from the 2013 Act, unchanged since.

This is the table that makes an older Japanese performance car dear to run: a 2006 car with a 3.0 litre engine pays €1,494 a year, where a 2019 car with the same engine and a 230 g/km NEDC figure pays €2,400 and a 2022 one at 230 g/km WLTP the same. Check the running cost, not only the price.

Buying the first disc

The first taxing of an imported car is done in person at the local motor tax office, not online. Bring:

• the RF100 form, which is issued when the car is registered at the NCTS centre
• the insurance details for the car on its Irish registration number
• the fee, for three, six or twelve months

Once the first disc is issued, renewals can be done on motortax.ie with the PIN sent in the renewal notice. Six- and three-month discs cost more over a year than one twelve-month disc.

The car may not be driven on the road until it is taxed, apart from to and from the NCTS centre for the inspection, so arrange the insurance before the appointment and go to the motor tax office straight after it. Camber's import file can hold the renewal date and send a reminder before it.

Where the figure comes from

The CO2 figure is on the car's foreign registration document for a car from the EU or Britain, on the V5C for a British car, and on the export certificate or the ministry's record for a car from Japan. Camber's calculator shows the figure Revenue holds for each version it lists, and the VRT band it falls in; the motor tax table is the same figure read against the tables above. See the NCTS centre for what to bring on the day.