Ireland’s VRT Explained: How Vehicle Registration Tax Is Calculated

Vehicle Registration Tax, VRT, is the tax charged when a vehicle is first registered in Ireland — on a new car bought from an Irish dealer, and on a used car imported from abroad. It is a one-off charge, paid before a registration number is assigned, and it is calculated from three things: the vehicle’s Open Market Selling Price as Revenue assesses it, its carbon dioxide emissions band, and a levy on its nitrogen oxide emissions. The structure has been stable for years, but the details change in budgets, and the full 2026 band table is currently reported inconsistently by secondary sources. This guide explains the calculation honestly, shows it with a clearly labelled illustrative example, and tells you where to read the authoritative table before you commit money.

What VRT is and when it is due

VRT is charged under the Finance Act 1992 on the first registration of a vehicle in Ireland. It applies to new vehicles sold in Ireland and to used vehicles imported into Ireland, whether from the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Japan, or elsewhere. The tax is assessed and collected by Revenue, with the physical inspection carried out at a National Car Testing Service centre, and no Irish registration number is assigned until the tax is paid.

The deadline matters. VRT must be declared and paid within 30 days of the vehicle entering the State. Missing the deadline brings penalties and interest, and the vehicle cannot legally be driven on Irish roads until it is registered. An imported vehicle also needs to clear any customs duty and import VAT that apply — for a vehicle from Great Britain, customs duty and 23% import VAT can apply on top of VRT — and those charges are separate from VRT itself.

Not every vehicle pays the passenger-car calculation. Revenue divides vehicles into categories, and each category has its own basis: Category A for passenger cars, Category B for light commercials, Category C for heavier commercials and certain other vehicles at a flat charge, and further categories for motorcycles and other types. The category is decided by the vehicle’s construction and use, not by what the owner calls it, and a vehicle that looks like a van but has no proper separation between passengers and load can be taxed as a car.

Try the method on your own figures with the VRT Calculator.

The OMSP: Revenue’s value, not your price

The OMSP, the Open Market Selling Price, is Revenue’s assessment of what the vehicle would sell for on the Irish market, including all taxes. It is not the price paid abroad, not the invoice figure, and not the seller’s asking price. Revenue determines it from its own valuation data for the make, model, age, mileage, and condition, and the figure it assigns at inspection is the figure the tax is calculated on.

That distinction is the largest single source of surprise in imported-vehicle VRT. A car bought cheaply abroad can carry a higher OMSP in Ireland, because Irish market values for that model are higher, and the tax follows the Irish value. Conversely, a car in poor condition, with high mileage, or with a specification that Irish buyers do not value, may carry a lower OMSP than a clean example. The inspection is where the OMSP is settled, and the pre-registration estimate tools that quote a figure are estimates until Revenue confirms it.

Keep every document from the purchase and the import: the invoice, proof of payment, the certificate of conformity showing the emissions figures, and the shipping records. They do not set the OMSP, but they support the vehicle’s identity, age, and emissions data, and the emissions figures on the certificate of conformity are what the CO2 band and the NOx levy are read from. If the certificate is unavailable, Revenue applies default NOx figures — €4,850 for diesel vehicles and €600 for others — which is the maximum levy, and a strong reason to obtain the certificate before import.

The calculation: CO2 rate plus NOx levy

For a Category A passenger car, the calculation is short. Take the OMSP, multiply it by the CO2 band rate that matches the vehicle’s WLTP carbon dioxide emissions, add the NOx levy, and subtract any relief that applies. The CO2 rate is read from Revenue’s table of bands, which in the long-standing table runs from 7% for 50 g/km or less to 41% for more than 190 g/km, across 20 bands, with a minimum charge of €140.

Illustrative example, with the band rate assumed and labelled as such: a car with an OMSP of €25,000, a CO2 band rate of 15% assumed for illustration, and NOx emissions of 60 mg/km on diesel. The CO2 component is €25,000 × 15%, which is €3,750. The NOx levy is 40 × €5 plus 20 × €15, which is €200 + €300, or €500. The total before relief is €4,250. If the car were electric and qualified for relief, up to €5,000 could be deducted, capped at the tax due.

The 2026 bands need a warning of their own. Secondary sources currently disagree: one reports new intermediate bands from Budget 2026 raising rates by up to one point in the 51–130 g/km range, while others report the 20-band table unchanged since January 2022. This article therefore does not reproduce a full band table. Read the current table on Revenue.ie, or take the WLTP figure to the Revenue VRT calculator, before relying on any band rate for a purchase decision. A one-point difference on a €25,000 OMSP is €250, and a wrong band is an expensive mistake.

Categories, reliefs, and exemptions

Category B, light commercial vehicles up to 3,500 kg, was re-rated from 1 July 2025: 8% of OMSP for vehicles at or below 120 g/km of CO2, and 13.3% above that, with minimum charges of €160 and €266 respectively. The change halved the rate for low-emission light commercials compared with the previous flat 13.3%. Category C, heavier commercials, buses, and vehicles over 30 years old, pays a flat €200. Motorcycles are taxed on engine capacity, and certain vehicles — including those for people with disabilities, and vehicles for specific public purposes — may qualify for relief or exemption under separate schemes with their own conditions.

The main relief for ordinary buyers is the electric-vehicle relief: up to €5,000 of VRT relief for battery electric vehicles with an OMSP of €40,000 or less, tapering as the OMSP rises above that figure, with no relief above €50,000. The relief is capped at the VRT actually due, so a car whose VRT is less than the relief pays no VRT, and the unused relief is not refunded. The relief has been extended through 31 December 2026 according to Budget 2026 reporting, but reliefs are budget decisions: confirm the current position on Revenue.ie before purchase.

Plug-in hybrids do not receive the same relief as battery electrics, and their VRT follows the ordinary CO2 and NOx calculation on their WLTP figures. The WLTP figure, not the older NEDC figure, is the basis for the band: a car whose paperwork shows both figures must be banded on the WLTP one, and importing a car with only NEDC data can mean the band is assessed on a converted or default figure.

The process, step by step

First, before buying, establish the vehicle’s WLTP CO2 and NOx figures from the certificate of conformity, and estimate the OMSP from Irish market values for the same model, not from the foreign price. Read the current CO2 band table and the relief rules on Revenue.ie. If the car is coming from Great Britain, establish the customs and VAT position separately, because those charges are additional to VRT.

Second, on arrival, book the VRT inspection at an NCTS centre and present the vehicle with its documents within 30 days of entry. Revenue assesses the OMSP, reads the emissions band, calculates the tax including the NOx levy, and the tax is paid before registration. Third, register, tax, and insure the vehicle: motor tax is a separate annual charge, based on CO2 for newer cars, and insurance is required before the vehicle is driven. The VRT receipt and the registration documents should be kept with the vehicle’s papers permanently.

The most expensive mistakes are all avoidable: buying without the certificate of conformity and paying the default NOx levy, assuming the foreign price is the OMSP, assuming a relief applies without checking the OMSP ceiling, and missing the 30-day deadline. Each of them is a paperwork failure, not a tax surprise, and each is cheaper to prevent than to fix.

Frequently asked questions