UK reg car in Ireland

lemmno

Hi all
I've bought a car in the UK. It's registered to my address in London and I've been driving it there for 2 months. I'm moving home in a few weeks. What's the situation on vrt? How long would I need to keep it in the UK before I can come back and use it in Ireland without having to pay vrt?
From my research I believe I would have to have owned it 6 months in the UK, but if anyone can correct me on that feel free. I have my old car in Ireland that I'm happy to drive for the next 4 months as I wait, but I would prefer to have my new car with me.

sunnysoutheast

lemmno wrote: »

Hi all
I've bought a car in the UK. It's registered to my address in London and I've been driving it there for 2 months. I'm moving home in a few weeks. What's the situation on vrt? How long would I need to keep it in the UK before I can come back and use it in Ireland without having to pay vrt?
From my research I believe I would have to have owned it 6 months in the UK, but if anyone can correct me on that feel free. I have my old car in Ireland that I'm happy to drive for the next 4 months as I wait, but I would prefer to have my new car with me.

You will need to look up the Revenue requirements for transfer of residence, particularly the evidence needed. The headline figure is 6 months ownership but there are other factors such as habitual usage, taking up employment, moving address etc.

I think a potential issue in your case is that you may not have owned and used the car in the UK for the full 6 months before transferring residence - how long is "a few weeks"?

Atlantic Dawn

You will need proof your living in the UK like utility bills, pay slips, bank statements etc to prove you live in the UK for 6 months, then VRT is exempt. There is a condition that you can't sell the car once it's Irish registered for a year without having to pay the VRT you were exempted for.

lemmno

Ok so once I have utility bills, payslips etc from the UK, that prove UK residency for 6 months I should be ok? Does it have to be the six months immediately prior to registering the car? I could keep my bank account going over there for the sake of having my name on a uk account. My utility bills will all end in sept so that may not do if I try to register the car in February for example. I want to come home at the end of September.

Atlantic Dawn

lemmno wrote: »

Ok so once I have utility bills, payslips etc from the UK, that prove UK residency for 6 months I should be ok? Does it have to be the six months immediately prior to registering the car? I could keep my bank account going over there for the sake of having my name on a uk account. My utility bills will all end in sept so that may not do if I try to register the car in February for example. I want to come home at the end of September.

Yes you have to be 6 months as the owner of the car with proof of being UK resident for those 6 months. If you don't have 6 months worth you will have to pay the VRT.

Falcon L

My understanding is that you need to have owned the car for at least 6 months and that you need to prove you were habitually resident for those 6 months, at least.

Edit: wot he sed.

bazz26

You need to have owned the car for at least 6 months before transferring residency.

Information is listed here: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/reliefs-exemptions.html#section4-1

MarkR

Some links for you.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/moving_to_ireland/coming_to_live_in_ireland/importing_car_into_ireland.html

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/temporary-exemption-foreign-registered.html

sunnysoutheast

lemmno wrote: »

Ok so once I have utility bills, payslips etc from the UK, that prove UK residency for 6 months I should be ok? Does it have to be the six months immediately prior to registering the car? I could keep my bank account going over there for the sake of having my name on a uk account. My utility bills will all end in sept so that may not do if I try to register the car in February for example. I want to come home at the end of September.

Sadly I think you are going to struggle based on the fact you would have only actually owned and used the car in the UK for three months or so prior to the transfer of residence.

Marcusm

lemmno wrote: »

Ok so once I have utility bills, payslips etc from the UK, that prove UK residency for 6 months I should be ok? Does it have to be the six months immediately prior to registering the car? I could keep my bank account going over there for the sake of having my name on a uk account. My utility bills will all end in sept so that may not do if I try to register the car in February for example. I want to come home at the end of September.

Realistically you are too late unless you defer your transfer. Are you working up to the end of your transfer in the UK and then taking up a new job in Ireland in October? Those are proofs they ask you to provide and, irrespective of whether you have utility bills in the UK, would prove your undoing. There is some leeway for Revenue re providing the exemption.

There is definitely leeway in when you present it for registration but not sure about the 6 month ownership while living there.

I availed of the exemption a number of years ago, I actually bought the car while living in Ireland, drove it here on uk plates for a few months and then moved over to the uk for a year with it. I moved back after a year and drove it here on uk plates for 7 or 8 months. I then decided to register it here had no problem getting the exemption, they checked I had it registered to a uk address, looked at my uk insurance cert (I was still driving it on my uk insurance) and half looked at a few pay slips the most recent dated 8 months previous and they were happy and registered it for free.

As I said though I did own it and drive it for a full year in the UK.

colm_mcm

Wouldn't this be fraud?

colm_mcm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Wouldn't this be fraud?

You will either get away with or be told no. No chance of getting in any hassle over it.

Sam Russell

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

You will need proof your living in the UK like utility bills, pay slips, bank statements etc to prove you live in the UK for 6 months, then VRT is exempt. There is a condition that you can't sell the car once it's Irish registered for a year without having to pay the VRT you were exempted for.

You need to have owned the car 'for substantial use outside the state' which means a minimum of 6 months, and a certain amount of use. You normally require ownership of 12 months. If you are granted the exemption, you must retain ownership of the car for a total of 2 years - 12 months over the normal 12 months.

Marcusm

Naya Swift Earplug wrote: »

You will either get away with or be told no. No chance of getting in any hassle over it.

Did you import yours when the VRT exemption was handled by the local motor tax offices? These days the exemptions are dealt with by specialist VRT personnel in Revenue directly. The declaration on the form is stronger and can/will be prosecuted if piss is taken. The extent of documentation has tightened up; as I was not moving from job to job I had to provide almost 200 pages.

Marcusm

Marcusm wrote: »

Did you import yours when the VRT exemption was handled by the local motor tax offices? These days the exemptions are dealt with by specialist VRT personnel in Revenue directly. The declaration on the form is stronger and can/will be prosecuted if piss is taken. The extent of documentation has tightened up; as I was not moving from job to job I had to provide almost 200 pages.

Yeah through the old system alright, I found it very easy. I had no problem ticking all boxes but having gone through it I could see it wouldn't have been overly difficult to con your way through it either, not the entire thing but certainly something like the op's scenario.

Things may be different now of course.

Marcusm

Naya Swift Earplug wrote: »

Yeah through the old system alright, I found it very easy. I had no problem ticking all boxes but having gone through it I could see it wouldn't have been overly difficult to con your way through it either, not the entire thing but certainly something like the op's scenario.

Things may be different now of course.

Revenue have to assess paperwork and perform checks. Tallaght is the only Dublin office and no personal callers. If he takes up a job in Ireland in September and is on payroll then fills out a false VRT TOR form I would expect at a minimum a close look at his affairs and very possibly a prosecution as all the info is to hand. The PPS number is the key linkage.

lemmno

OP here. If it comes down to it, I'll pay the VRT. I'm not going to back myself into a corner over it. I just wish I'd bought it a few months ago now and done my homework properly.
I guess it may come down to who deals with me on the day.

In the situation where someone is living in both countries...For example, my uncles is a pensioner and has an English car in London. He lives there half the time and in Ireland the other half. He's not working so no proof of that. He lives between both countries and decided to permanently bring the uk car to Ireland. What's he entitled to? The car has been used and left in the the UK, yet he's been in Ireland. All he has are utility bills and bank cards. He has a pps, yet also has a uk NINO. What would revenue say to that?

Again, I'll pay it if I have to. Or leave the car in the uk. But if I leave it in the uk for 6 months, and only use it there during that time, will I be exempt? Or will they say, you've been working here since October therefore you're not exempt? Are they looking at where I was, or where the car was or both?! Even though I'll be working here (if I ever find a job!), I will be in the UK every second weekend. Would that count?

Apologies for my many questions but if I can get my exemption I'll take it!

Atlantic Dawn

lemmno wrote: »

OP here. If it comes down to it, I'll pay the VRT. I'm not going to back myself into a corner over it. I just wish I'd bought it a few months ago now and done my homework properly.
I guess it may come down to who deals with me on the day.

In the situation where someone is living in both countries...For example, my uncles is a pensioner and has an English car in London. He lives there half the time and in Ireland the other half. He's not working so no proof of that. He lives between both countries and decided to permanently bring the uk car to Ireland. What's he entitled to? The car has been used and left in the the UK, yet he's been in Ireland. All he has are utility bills and bank cards. He has a pps, yet also has a uk NINO. What would revenue say to that?

Again, I'll pay it if I have to. Or leave the car in the uk. But if I leave it in the uk for 6 months, and only use it there during that time, will I be exempt? Or will they say, you've been working here since October therefore you're not exempt? Are they looking at where I was, or where the car was or both?! Even though I'll be working here (if I ever find a job!), I will be in the UK every second weekend. Would that count?

Apologies for my many questions but if I can get my exemption I'll take it!

You don't need to be working, just prove you were living for the 6 months in the UK while you owned the car.

You should research the car you are bringing in to make sure for example that the motor tax on it here is not huge, if it is there may be no market for it in this country and it could be a waste of time importing it as you will never be able to sell it down the line.

lemmno

It's nothing out of the ordinary. Plenty of them on the road both here and the U.K. Right that settles it, the car stays in the UK and I drive my old one for a while! I have all my English documents and I will be living between both places for a good while yet, thanks for all your help everyone, much appreciated.

gazzaman22

lemmno wrote: »

It's nothing out of the ordinary. Plenty of them on the road both here and the U.K. Right that settles it, the car stays in the UK and I drive my old one for a while! I have all my English documents and I will be living between both places for a good while yet, thanks for all your help everyone, much appreciated.

Howd you fair out ???

lemmno

gazzaman22 wrote: »

Howd you fair out ???

It was a BLOODY NIGHTMARE!!
I brought it home when I came home, VRT was extortionate, much more than the estimate. Not only that, they made me pay VAT as it was a new car. On top of all of that the centre was a nightmare to deal with. I’d go with all the documents, they’d tell me something was missing, I’d bring it and then they’d say something else was missing. I think I did about 6 visits before I got the plates.
Car ended up much more expensive than I’d ever imagined. I understand if you want to put people off importing cars as a business, but if you can prove you’ve lived in the uk and worked there and are genuinely moving to Ireland you should have some form of an exemption.
It’s embarrassing that that’s how people moving to or back to Ireland are treated.
Long story short, just buy in Ireland or you’ll be rinsed. Or hey, just drive with the English plates, can’t be any moe painful/expensive than what I had to go through for trying the do things right!

Charles Babbage

lemmno wrote: »

Car ended up much more expensive than I’d ever imagined. I understand if you want to put people off importing cars as a business, but if you can prove you’ve lived in the uk and worked there and are genuinely moving to Ireland you should have some form of an exemption.
It’s embarrassing that that’s how people moving to or back to Ireland are treated.

There is an exemption for any car you have been using for 6 months, as a convenience for people moving. You cannot just buy one the day before you come home, in that case you might as well just buy one in Ireland and your importing one is just a business import.

lemmno

Charles Babbage wrote: »

There is an exemption for any car you have been using for 6 months, as a convenience for people moving. You cannot just buy one the day before you come home, in that case you might as well just buy one in Ireland and your importing one is just a business import.

It wasn’t bought the day before I came home. I had to move home suddenly so it wasn’t like it had all been planned, but in the end I had the car 4 months before I had to bring it over.
I don’t begrudge paying VRT, I begrudge having to pay much more than it was worth. Make me pay current value, fine, but don’t make me pay above and beyond that. I also begrudge being how I was treated every single time I went to the test centre.
I bought the car thinking I’d be in the UK longer than I actually was. I kept the car as I wrongly thought I’d just pay a fair price for VRT.

Isambard

lemmno wrote: »

It wasn’t bought the day before I came home. I had to move home suddenly so it wasn’t like it had all been planned, but in the end I had the car 4 months before I had to bring it over.
I don’t begrudge paying VRT, I begrudge having to pay much more than it was worth. Make me pay current value, fine, but don’t make me pay above and beyond that. I also begrudge being how I was treated every single time I went to the test centre.
I bought the car thinking I’d be in the UK longer than I actually was. I kept the car as I wrongly thought I’d just pay a fair price for VRT.

there is no such thing as a fair price for VRT

lemmno

Well to me it’s not having paid 7K more than what the car is actually worth. But that’s just me.

Were you able to claim the UK VAT back? You should be able to as you only need to pay VAT once.

Galway_guy_33

Hi OP.... I had exactly the same experience back in 2008... i.e. having to pay both vrt and vat on an almost new car... however there is some good news... get in touch with the garage u bought from in the UK.... send them proof of your Irish vat payment... I did this and had the UK vat refund from the UK garage in two weeks.

lemmno

Galway_guy_33 wrote: »

Hi OP.... I had exactly the same experience back in 2008... i.e. having to pay both vrt and vat on an almost new car... however there is some good news... get in touch with the garage u bought from in the UK.... send them proof of your Irish vat payment... I did this and had the UK vat refund from the UK garage in two weeks.

Hi there
Yes I did end up getting it back but it took months! That was the uk garage’s fault and not something I can blame on the vrt system here