VAT on motor vehicles · 2026

VAT on cars in Ireland: 23% on the car, then VRT

A new car in Ireland carries two taxes. VAT at 23% on the price, then Vehicle Registration Tax when it gets its Irish plates. Used cars, imports, repairs and hire each have their own rules. The calculator is preset to add 23% to a pre-tax price; the rest of the page walks through what Revenue says.

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Your amount is before VAT. We add VAT on top.

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VAT rate

Standard rate. Most goods and services: furniture, motor vehicles, tyres, batteries, adult clothing, alcohol, soft drinks, solicitor and consultancy fees.

VATCalculator.ie

Irish VAT breakdown · 2026

Net: €100.00
VAT @ 23%: €23.00
Gross: €123.00

Standard rate

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New cars: VAT first, VRT second

Revenue’s motor vehicles page puts it in two sentences. “Motor vehicles sold in the State are liable to Value-Added Tax (VAT) at the standard rate. In addition to VAT, Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) is also liable when a motor vehicle is being registered in the State for the first time.” The database entry for new motor vehicles reads “standard rate”, so 23% in 2026.

The two taxes are calculated differently. VAT is 23% of the pre-tax price. VRT, in Revenue’s words, “varies between vehicle types and is mainly dependent on the level of CO2 emissions”, and it is payable on new unregistered vehicles and on vehicles brought into the State. A dealer’s sticker price for a new car normally includes both, so the “on the road” figure is pre-tax price + VAT + VRT + delivery.

Pre-tax price	VAT at 23%	Price with VAT (before VRT)
€20,000	€4,600	€24,600
€30,000	€6,900	€36,900
€45,000	€10,350	€55,350
€70,000	€16,100	€86,100

VRT then goes on top, and Revenue says its size is mainly driven by the car’s CO2 emissions. This site does not calculate VRT. For that use a dedicated tool such as vrtcalc.ie, then bring the VAT figure from here.

Second-hand cars and the margin scheme

Revenue says “there are also special procedures for transactions involving second-hand vehicles”. The main one is the margin scheme. Revenue describes it as a way of reducing double taxation on second-hand goods: the dealer pays VAT on the difference between the sale price and the purchase price, not on the full price. It applies to second-hand vehicles acquired by dealers as stock-in-trade since 1 January 2010 and it is optional; a dealer who does not use it follows the normal rules.

For the buyer this means a used car from a dealer does not show 23% VAT on the invoice the way a new one does; the dealer’s VAT is on the margin and stays inside the price. A used car bought from a private seller has no VAT at all, because the seller is not in business.

Importing a car

Revenue’s page states that VRT “is payable on new unregistered vehicles and also on vehicles brought into the State from other countries”, and that the procedures “may vary depending on the status of the buyers or sellers”: motor dealers, traders buying their own business vehicles, motor auctions and private individuals are each treated differently. Whether Irish VAT is due on an import turns on the car’s origin and whether it counts as new for VAT purposes. Revenue’s further guidance, “VAT and VRT on motor vehicles”, sets out the cases. Check it before you buy, because the VRT alone can be thousands.

Running the car: repairs, parts, hire, fuel

Revenue’s motor vehicles page notes that VAT is also due on maintenance, hire and leasing. The database gives the rates:

Supply	Rate	Revenue note
Repair and servicing labour	13.5%	Reduced rate; input credit allowable
Tyres, batteries, mirrors, media players fitted during a repair	23%	Excluded from the reduced rate; charged at standard rate
Tyres, car batteries, accessories bought on their own	23%	Standard rate entries
Petrol	23%	Standard rate
Car hire, short term (under 5 weeks in any 12 months)	13.5%	Reduced rate
Car hire, long term, and hire purchase	23%	Standard rate

So a garage bill has two rates on it: 13.5% on the labour and 23% on the tyres. Revenue adds that the usual two-thirds rule is not applied to bona fide car repair services, a concession that keeps the labour at 13.5% even when parts are a big share of the bill. Use the 13.5% calculator for the labour line and the main calculator for the parts.

Business buyers

Whether a business can reclaim the VAT on a vehicle is not automatic. Revenue’s motor vehicles page says the circumstances in which VAT and VRT may be reclaimed are set out in its further guidance on VAT and VRT on motor vehicles, and they depend on the type of vehicle and what it is used for. A company buying a passenger car should read that before assuming the €6,900 in the example above comes back. The VAT3 guide shows where any reclaimable amount goes.

Every Irish rate side by side is on the VAT rates page. To back the VAT out of a price that already includes it, use the reverse VAT calculator.

Car VAT questions

Revenue’s motor vehicles page says motor vehicles sold in the State are liable to VAT at the standard rate, 23%. On top of that, Vehicle Registration Tax is due when the car is registered in Ireland for the first time. A car with a €30,000 pre-tax price carries €6,900 of VAT before VRT is added.

It depends on the seller. A private individual selling their own car charges no VAT. A dealer selling a second-hand car usually uses the margin scheme, which Revenue describes as paying VAT on the difference between the sale price and the purchase price rather than on the full price. Revenue says special procedures apply to second-hand vehicles.

VRT is payable on vehicles brought into the State from other countries, according to Revenue. Whether VAT is also due depends on where the car comes from and whether it is new or used for VAT purposes. Revenue’s guidance on VAT and VRT on motor vehicles sets out each case, and a VRT calculator such as vrtcalc.ie estimates the registration tax.

Repair services are at the 13.5% reduced rate. Revenue’s entry for motor vehicle repairs notes that parts such as tyres, batteries, mirrors and media players supplied during the repair are charged at 23%. Petrol and tyres bought on their own are 23%. Short-term car hire is 13.5% and long-term hire is 23%.

Sources and method

Every rate on this site was checked against the pages below on 3 September 2026, and an automated check compares our rates with the Revenue tables every week. We compute VAT the way Revenue does: adding VAT multiplies the net by (1 + rate), removing VAT divides the gross by (1 + rate), and every figure is rounded half-up to the cent.

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Running a small business? We also built an invoice generator, a percentage calculator and a VRT calculator for imported cars.