Query re: tax on a used car for sale

alfa beta

Bit of advice needed here from anyone more knowledgeable.


Saw a car for sale - big old Merc - looks good - price is ok - but tax is €1809


the thing is, the car is currently taxed until early 2020 ... so I'm thinking, hey that's a bonus (and in my particular case that car would only be a short-term solution so I wouldn't be holding on to it for very long (Company car is the offing late 2019.)



but a closer look at the disk shows that the car is currently taxed (until early 2020) for just €95 (with the word limousine written before the amount.)


my question is, can i buy it and drive it privately with that tax disc until it runs out ... or are things more complicated than that?



I certainly wouldn't buy the car if it meant I had to turn around tomorrow and land out another eighteen hundred quid for tax.


thanks in advance for replies :-)

This is it

No, you can't drive it privately with that tax disc. The current tax is invalid once you buy it.

Atlantic Dawn

No you must tax it private.

elperello

You can't legally drive that car privately on Limousine Tax.
If you buy it you must surrender that tax disc and tax it at the private rate.

mickdw

That's taxi / limo tax and is not valid for you as a new owner.
People have been known to drive on with the disc in the window but not legit.

punisher5112

You could drive it home but must tax it private right away...

Technical you would have to truck it home but most cops will get it...,

Atlantic Dawn

On a seperate point, how can someone commercially be allowed use the car on the roads for €95 a year and someone wanting to drive it privately pays €1809?

bazz26

Because one rate is for commercial/psv use in conjunction with a business or service while the other is private use.

Atlantic Dawn

bazz26 wrote: »

Because one rate is for commercial/psv use in conjunction with a business or service while the other is private use.

Related then how come a pub/hotel is charged multiples for their water* than a private house is?

*When we had water charges.

Larbre34

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

On a seperate point, how can someone commercially be allowed use the car on the roads for €95 a year and someone wanting to drive it privately pays €1809?

Thats just a policy that the people have shrugged at for decades, if you are sufficiently motivated get on to your TD, but the private motorist always gets shafted. In fairness the private motorist has been getting their own back by importing so many second hand imports from UK and screwing the Govt out of VAT and VRT so the Lord giveth with one hand and taketh away with another.

You could do what my cousin did, in 2017 he bought a 1987 Jaguar XJS V12 and drove it off the ferry in Rosslare when it was 30 years +1 day old. He declared it to Revenue, registered it and applied for his road tax of €56 very smugly avoiding the €1,809 it would have cost the previous day.

Guy:Incognito

Larbre34 wrote: »

. In fairness the private motorist has been getting their own back by importing so many second hand imports from UK and screwing the Govt out of VAT and VRT so the Lord giveth with one hand and taketh away with another.
.

How so? The VRT is already paid on the new cars bought here. So instead of buying one with VRT paid by someone else, that car is still there but now they are importing another car and paying VRT on that. So thats more VRT, not less.

alfa beta

Thanks for all the replies folks - very helpful

Larbre34

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

How so? The VRT is already paid on the new cars bought here. So instead of buying one with VRT paid by someone else, that car is still there but now they are importing another car and paying VRT on that. So thats more VRT, not less.

Quite obviously, less brand new Irish cars being sold into the market in the first place to become second hand down the line.

From yesterday's Sindo:

"The average contribution paid to the Exchequer on a new car is around €8,500 but is a much lower €2,500 on second-hand cars. Nissan Ireland's chief executive James McCarthy said that around 50,000 new car sales were displaced last year by the rise in imports.

"The displacement of new car sales since 2016 has cost us [Ireland] around €1bn in forgone taxes," McCarthy told the Sunday Independent.

"That situation is set to worsen in 2020 when around 70,000 new car sales are expected to be displaced by imports. This will result in a likely cost to the Exchequer around €420m." "

1874

Larbre34 wrote: »

Quite obviously, less brand new Irish cars being sold into the market in the first place to become second hand down the line.

From yesterday's Sindo:

"The average contribution paid to the Exchequer on a new car is around €8,500 but is a much lower €2,500 on second-hand cars. Nissan Ireland's chief executive James McCarthy said that around 50,000 new car sales were displaced last year by the rise in imports.

"The displacement of new car sales since 2016 has cost us[Ireland] around €1bn in forgone taxes," McCarthy told the Sunday Independent.

"That situation is set to worsen in 2020 when around 70,000 new car sales are expected to be displaced by imports. This will result in a likely cost to the Exchequer around €420m." "

McCarthy should keep his beak out of it, doesnt concern him, he works for Nissan, not the Revenue, nothing wrong being done, yet not happy people will defer to buy secondhand in the UK, ie wont buy new cars or secondhand cars from main dealers here. If new car sales are being displaced, then its because it makes economical sense to do so or because they can get more for less or similar money there, ie a lot of people dont want to fork out for new here when they can get a range of options for cars in the UK, seems to make sense to me. I dont think the savings are significant, but they exist, more that you can get a lower mileage car with better spec, no doubt there are lemons, but I think they might be easier to detect there than here even.

What does McCarthy have to say about dealers here buying cars in the UK and selling them on?
Im sure he does not give one stuff about how much or how little Revenue lose out on, at the least he should just state he is not happy new car sales for Nissan are down (must be) and be honest about it.
It makes him sound like he's the head of a cartel (no pun) and is trying to either convince the State to take action against their own citizens (likely), OR giving legs to an idea thats already been agreed to.

Del2005

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

On a seperate point, how can someone commercially be allowed use the car on the roads for €95 a year and someone wanting to drive it privately pays €1809?

On the other side how come someone wanting to drive a car van that costs ~€200 to tax privately has to pay €333 commercial tax.

Have you seen the quotes for hire and reward policies?

punisher5112

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Related then how come a pub/hotel is charged multiples for their water* than a private house is?

*When we had water charges.

Business has always had water charge so what you on about?

Larbre34

1874 wrote: »

McCarthy should keep his beak out of it, doesnt concern him, he works for Nissan, not the Revenue, nothing wrong being done

Quite so. I'm not quoting him to back him, just using the example to demonstrate the revenue effect. I've bought my last two cars in the UK and will continue to do so as long as its cost effective for me.

punisher5112

If it's cheaper else where I'll go elsewhere....


If businesses were to make things more affordable then they may well see a change and actually do better.

Dravokivich

I think McCarthy's argument there, is if taxing is eased up on by Revenue, it could help generate new sales.

McCrack

Larbre34 wrote: »

Thats just a policy that the people have shrugged at for decades, if you are sufficiently motivated get on to your TD, but the private motorist always gets shafted. In fairness the private motorist has been getting their own back by importing so many second hand imports from UK and screwing the Govt out of VAT and VRT so the Lord giveth with one hand and taketh away with another.

You could do what my cousin did, in 2017 he bought a 1987 Jaguar XJS V12 and drove it off the ferry in Rosslare when it was 30 years +1 day old. He declared it to Revenue, registered it and applied for his road tax of €56 very smugly avoiding the €1,809 it would have cost the previous day.

As smug as your cousin may have felt you do realise that there is nobody in Revenue/Motor tax that gave a damn

mgbgt1978

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

On a seperate point, how can someone commercially be allowed use the car on the roads for €95 a year and someone wanting to drive it privately pays €1809?

Legally they can only drive that Vehicle while working. They are not allowed to use a Vehicle with PSV Tax for Private use.

And, in fairness comparing these particular figures is a bit extreme. The majority of privately taxed Cars on Irish roads are paying on the emissions system, and as a huge amount of these are using the 1.6 PSA tdci engine (or the VW 1.6 equivalent) they are paying €190 a year.


To really answer your question.....that's the Law .