Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

NI car in ROI?

Options
  • 05-10-2022 7:15pm
    #1
    bigstudio123
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭


    Hi guys

    i was hoping to get some help here as its been frying my head for weeks!


    I travel around europe / USA frequently for work as an entertainer. Last year I moved my company and personal taxes to NI as the Irish tax system was charging me a fortune. My current tax resident address is NI but when home I spend most my time in ROI as thats where my friends and family are. I spend a good 5 months a year (in different periods) out of country and usually away weekends

    Is it possible to buy a car in Northern Ireland, get insured as a UK resident - but still spend my home time in ROI? I have been told since I am a NI tax paying resident and can show my resident status is in NI i should have no problems but im slightly worried that I might get stopped somewhere or get reported (you know what we're like in Ireland). The car would be parked in NI most weekends at Belfast airport and the likes.

    I currently hold an Irish driving license but considering swapping out to a UK one?


    FYI - I tried going down the route of buying a car in ROI but figured i wont get insured in ROI now that im not a tax paying resident here.


    Thanks alot



Comments

  • Options
    #2
    zg3409
    Registered Users Posts: 6,599 ✭✭✭zg3409


    Sound like a tax dodge on both taxes for work and taxes for car. I would thread very carefully and answer questions asked by insurer such as place normally resident carefully. Your car is supposed to be registered to where you live in non company car cases.

    I am sure people in border areas many have companies in NI but live in ROI. You should get good legal advice as if you are prosecuted for say vrt avoidance it might get expensive. Customs would be interested in this case too. Try to remain as legal and honest as you can. You do t want a back dated tax bill.



  • Options
    #3
    Dav010
    Registered Users Posts: 14,131 ✭✭✭✭Dav010


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058266171/ni-car-in-roi

    As NI is still in that grey zone between being inside and outside the EU, if you insure with an insurer in NI, they allow unlimited driving in the south. I know this because I’ve just insured my son with AxaNI and that is their policy. One of my daughters recently insured her car with a mainland UK insurer, and it only gives 60 days driving per year in Ireland. So you will have to do your research.

    Im by no means a tax expert, but you might want to talk to your accountant, I can’t imagine it’s as easy as saying you live in NI, but actually living in ROI.



  • Options
    #4
    galwaytt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,761 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058266171/ni-car-in-roi


    The short answer is related to the key item you've stated in your post : UK residency. If you are tax-resident in RoI, that really is where the buck stops. Residency is what determines a lot of things.

    Indeed, under the Finance Act (1997 iirc), an Irish resident cannot even DRIVE a foreign registered car here, under penalty of having it seized by Revenue. Naturally all the other matters hinge on that too; insurance, tax, NCT etc.

    As for licence, I'm not 100% sure, but if you're tax-resident there you may have to surrender it/get a UK one after 12 months anyway.

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



  • Options
    #5
    NIMAN
    Registered Users Posts: 33,144 ✭✭✭✭NIMAN


    Its where you live. If you are an roi resident , you must have irish plates on the car. Customs often have sweeps in border counties to try to locate those driving ni plated cars when they actually reside in Ireland. And they have major powers to hit you with fines and even confiscate your car.

    I am in a similar position. Work in NI, pay tax in NI, but live in Ireland. So I have irish cars.

    Re: car insurance. Where you pay tax is irrelevant. I pay tax in NI but insure my irish car without any issue.

    Post edited by NIMAN on


Advertisement