All cars for sale in the UK are also on sale in Ireland. Due to the weak Euro and strong yen the prices are expensive however. For UK residents the price shown is the final price including all taxes. The only additional expenses are ferry tickets, MOT and road tax. For Irish residents however there is a tax required to register the car in Ireland. It is called Vehicle Registration Tax. (VRT)

So a 1994 Mazda MX5 costing STG£6,950 in the UK will cost.....

STG£6,950 divided by 0.785 equals IR£8,853 (£IR = 0.785£STG) plus IR£1,998 VRT. Total price IR£10,851.

VRT is calculated as follows:

1. It is based on the value of the car in Ireland not the cost of the car (From wherever imported)

2. It is a percentage of the value of the car (including vehicle registration tax !!!!) Therefore it is a tax on the tax itself !!!!

3.It varies depending on the size of the engine.

1. For cars less than 1.4 litre it is 22.5% of the open market selling price (OMSP) of the car.
2. For cars between1.4 and 2.0 litre it is 25% of the OMSP of the car.
3. For cars over 2.0 litre it is 30% of the open market selling price OMSP of the car.

The following table is an approximate estimate of VRT for most makes. While it is not completely accurate it is likely to be within 5% of the actual figure and so should give a good idea.

The VRT office continually update the figures reflecting the changing Open Market Selling Price of the cars. They can be contacted at:

VRT Office Castleforbes Street 01-8554045

VRT Office Dun Laoire 01-2800077

VRT Office Tallaght 01-4149777

Electronic mail: arti@tinet.ie (Enquiries from the UK and Ireland only) - Please leave your phone no. if possible.

Last modified: 18/3/00