VRT Calculator Ireland 2026

The calculator

Pick a category, enter OMSP, fuel, WLTP CO₂ (or NEDC — we convert), NOx and any reliefs that apply. The result updates as you type. Below the tool you'll find the complete 2026 rate tables, worked examples for new petrol cars, used diesel imports, EVs, vans and motorcycles, the OMSP appeal route, and a step-by-step plan for registering after arrival.

How the VRT calculator works

Vehicle Registration Tax in Ireland is a one-off tax charged the first time a vehicle is registered here. It is administered by Revenue under the Finance Act 1992 (as amended) and collected by the National Car Testing Service (NCTS) at the point of registration. Whether you are buying new from an Irish dealer, importing a used car from the UK or Japan, bringing a vehicle home on a move, or registering a van or motorcycle, VRT is unavoidable — the only questions are how much, and what reliefs apply.

The calculator at the top of this page implements Revenue's 2026 rules in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, no account is needed, and the maths follows Revenue's own VRT Manual: the 20-band Category A WLTP CO₂ table, the Cat B 8% / 13.3% split at 120 g/km, the Cat C €200 flat charge, the Category M per-cc schedule for motorcycles, the NOx levy with its three-step rate and fuel-specific caps, and the BEV relief tapering between €40k and €50k OMSP. Optional toggles cover vintage status (30+ years), the Disabled Drivers & Passengers Scheme caps, and NEDC-to-WLTP conversion for older vehicles registered before WLTP rolled out.

The 2026 VRT formula in plain English

For a passenger car (Category A), the formula is:

Walking through each piece in order:

• OMSP — Open Market Selling Price. Revenue's view of what your specific make / model / variant / mileage / age / condition would retail for in Ireland. Independent of what you actually paid.
• CO₂ % — A percentage from the 20-band WLTP table (full table below) applied to OMSP. Cars on older NEDC figures get an automatic conversion.
• NOx levy — Added on top of the CO₂ VRT, charged per mg/km. Three rate steps (€5 / €15 / €25), capped by fuel.
• Reliefs — BEV relief up to €5,000 (OMSP ≤ €40k tapering to zero at €50k); the Disabled Drivers & Passengers Scheme; vintage flat-rate; Transfer of Residence; diplomatic; trade.

For light commercials (Cat B): a simpler 8% of OMSP at ≤120 g/km WLTP (minimum €160) or 13.3% above 120 g/km (minimum €266). For heavy commercials (Cat C): a flat €200. For motorcycles (Cat M): €2/cc to 350cc then €1/cc, reduced by an age-based percentage that climbs from 10% (3 months old) to 100% (30+ years).

Category A — full 20-band CO₂ table 2026

These are Revenue's WLTP bands, unchanged in Budget 2026 from the structure introduced in Budget 2021. A proposed weight-based surcharge on larger SUVs was considered for Budget 2026 but ultimately not adopted.

The NOx levy — the bit that catches diesel imports

For Cat A passenger cars only (not Cat B vans, Cat C HGVs or Cat M motorcycles), a NOx levy is added on top of the CO₂ VRT, calculated per mg/km of NOx emissions from the CoC:

Caps by fuel type:

• Petrol cars (and petrol HEVs): €600
• Diesel cars (and diesel PHEVs): €4,850
• Other / emissions not established: €5,000
• BEVs (battery electric): €0

Older Euro-5 diesels often have NOx in the 100–180 mg/km range — that's where the €25/mg step bites. A diesel at 130 mg/km incurs (40 × €5) + (40 × €15) + (50 × €25) = €2,050 NOx alone, on top of a Cat A CO₂ VRT typically already in Band 18–20. This is why used diesel imports from the UK and Japan are increasingly hard to make pencil out at 2026 rates.

What OMSP really is — and why it surprises people

OMSP is the most misunderstood number in the entire VRT system. It is not the price you paid. It is not what DoneDeal listings show. It is Revenue's own assessment of what your specific vehicle would retail for on the Irish market, calculated from a live database of comparable Irish sales, trade guide values and make/model/spec/mileage/age history.

Revenue's free e-VRT enquiry tool at ros.ie/evrt-enquiry/vrtenquiry.html lets you look up the current OMSP for your exact make, model, variant and date of first registration before purchase. Use it before you commit to any UK import, and use it before accepting any Irish dealer's quoted "VRT" line on a new car order — both can be off. If you only have the Irish reg plate to start, our VRT by Registration decoder extracts the year, half and county honestly — it does not invent OMSP or original VRT figures from a registration alone, which several lookup sites do.

For popular models (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Tucson) Revenue's database is close to the live Irish market. For unusual specs, low-volume models or cars with modifications it can drift either way. If you disagree with Revenue's OMSP at NCTS inspection, you can appeal — but only after paying the VRT in full. The full mechanics, what moves OMSP up and down, and the Stage 1 / Stage 2 appeal process are in our OMSP Ireland guide.

Worked examples — five common 2026 scenarios

Example 1 — New petrol family car (VW Golf 1.5 TSI Life)

A typical Irish dealer order: petrol, ~130 g/km WLTP CO₂, ~40 mg/km NOx, OMSP €35,000.

Example 2 — Used UK diesel import (BMW 320d, 2019, 180 g/km)

The classic "good deal" UK import that often isn't: €18,000 paid in the UK, but Revenue's Irish OMSP for the equivalent car is €25,000. NOx ~80 mg/km.

On top of the VRT, you may also owe 23% VAT (if the car is under 6 months old or has under 6,000 km) and customs duty (0% UK-origin under the TCA, up to 10% otherwise). Our UK import guide walks through the full landed-cost maths.

Example 3 — New EV (Hyundai Kona Electric, OMSP €38,000)

The €5,000 relief exceeds the €2,660 base VRT, but it is capped at the VRT actually due — the unused €2,340 is not refunded. The €140 minimum band-1 charge still applies.

Example 4 — New EV above the relief band (OMSP €52,000)

Example 5 — Diesel van under 120 g/km (Cat B)

Example 6 — New 600cc motorcycle

Reliefs and exemptions you might be missing

• BEV VRT relief — up to €5,000 off, OMSP ≤ €40,000 full, tapering linearly to zero at €50,000. Extended to 31 December 2026 in Budget 2026. Capped at VRT due — unused relief is not refunded. Available on first Irish-registration of new and used BEVs alike (it's the Irish OMSP that matters, not whether the car was new or used in the exporting country).
• Transfer of Residence (TOR) — full VRT exemption when you move to Ireland from outside the State, provided you owned and used the vehicle for at least 6 months before the move, lived outside Ireland for at least 12 months, bring it in within 12 months of becoming Irish-resident, and don't sell within 12 months of Irish registration. Apply to Revenue before NCTS inspection. See our new-to-Ireland car admin checklist.
• Disabled Drivers & Passengers Scheme — VAT + VRT relief up to €10,000 (driver), €16,000 (passenger), €22,000 (specifically adapted), €48,000 (extensively adapted). Requires a Primary Medical Certificate. Hold period of 2–6 years depending on adaptation level.
• Vintage vehicles (30+ years) — flat €200 VRT, NOx-exempt, eligible for ZV-series plates and €56 flat annual motor tax. Pre-1980 vehicles also NCT-exempt.
• Diplomatic / embassy vehicles — full exemption for accredited staff.
• Temporary use by non-residents — up to 12 months use of a foreign-registered vehicle in Ireland, no Irish registration required.

Step-by-step: from "thinking about it" to Irish reg plate

1. Run the calculator above with realistic OMSP, WLTP CO₂ and NOx figures. Compare scenarios — petrol vs diesel, new vs used, EV under €40k vs above. Use the breakdown to see exactly which line item is driving the cost.
2. Verify OMSP on Revenue's tool at ros.ie/evrt-enquiry. For UK imports especially, do this before you bid or commit — Revenue's Irish OMSP is what you'll be charged on, not your purchase price.
3. Get the CoC and NOx evidence. New EU cars have a CoC; for used UK imports, get the V5C plus the original NOx figure (Revenue requires evidence; without it, the higher €5,000 cap applies).
4. For UK imports: complete the customs declaration on arrival (you cannot present at NCTS without it), keep the shipping / ferry documentation showing date of arrival in Ireland.
5. Book NCTS within 7 days of arrival. The 7-day deadline is for booking; you have 30 days from arrival to actually complete the inspection and pay VRT — miss it and the vehicle is liable to Revenue seizure plus late-registration penalties.
6. Bring everything to NCTS: CoC or V5C, invoice, PPSN, photo ID, proof of address, shipping evidence, customs declaration (UK imports), card for payment.
7. Pay VRT, get registration number, drive home legally. The Vehicle Registration Certificate (Irish logbook) is posted to you within 2–3 weeks; you can drive immediately on the temporary VRC issued at NCTS.
8. Tax it within 10 days. Once VRT is paid, you can tax the car online at motortax.ie.
9. Set up reminders for the recurring stuff. NCT is now on a rolling cycle (4 years from first registration, then every 2 years until 10 years old, annually after); motor tax is annual, half-yearly or quarterly; insurance renews annually. odo.ie tracks all of these in one place.

Common mistakes that blow up the VRT bill

• Using purchase price as OMSP. The most expensive misconception. UK bargain ≠ low VRT. Revenue values on Irish market.
• Quoting NEDC where WLTP applies. NEDC figures are typically 15–25% lower than WLTP for the same engine — using NEDC understates VRT badly. The calculator above runs Revenue's official conversion automatically when you select NEDC.
• Forgetting NOx. NOx alone adds €1,500–€4,850 on older diesels. Petrol cars are usually fine (~€100–€600). The NOx cap is the key consumer protection here.
• Assuming all hybrids get relief. Only BEVs get VRT relief in 2026. PHEVs lost VRT relief at end of 2021. They're taxed by exactly the same Cat A bands as a regular petrol or diesel.
• Buying a EV at OMSP €52,000 thinking the relief still applies. The relief is zero from €50,000 and tapers steeply between €40k and €50k — a €45,000-OMSP BEV gets €2,500 relief, not €5,000.
• Missing the 30-day deadline. Revenue can seize the vehicle. Penalties compound monthly. NCTS adds missed-appointment fees. Always register within 30 days of arrival.
• Trying to skip the customs declaration on UK imports. NCTS will not accept the car for VRT inspection without it.
• Not appealing OMSP when you have evidence. If 3–5 directly comparable Irish DoneDeal listings show €4,000 less than Revenue's OMSP, you have a Stage 1 appeal worth submitting via MyEnquiries on Form VRT14 within 2 months. Costs nothing.

Sources & accuracy

All rates, bands and reliefs in this calculator follow:

• Revenue's VRT Manual — the official rule book covering the Cat A WLTP band table, NOx schedule, Cat B / C / M structure and reliefs.
• Revenue's "Calculating Vehicle Registration Tax" guidance pages on revenue.ie.
• Revenue's e-VRT enquiry system at ros.ie/evrt-enquiry — the live OMSP source.
• Finance Acts 1992–2025 as amended, including Finance Act 2024 (Cat B 8%/13.3% split, electric-van weight ratio tightened to 125%).
• Budget 2026 documentation on gov.ie — BEV relief extended to 31 Dec 2026; CO₂ band rates unchanged; NOx rates and caps unchanged.
• citizensinformation.ie — Vehicle Registration Tax overview and reliefs.

The calculator is reviewed at every Budget and Finance Act. The maths runs in your browser; no data leaves your device. For any specific vehicle, always verify OMSP on Revenue's own e-VRT enquiry tool before purchase, and remember that the figure on your NCTS inspection day is what Revenue actually charges.

Frequently asked questions