Vehicle Registration Tax is chargeable on the registration of a motor vehicle in the State. All motor vehicles in the State, other than those brought in temporarily by visitors, must be registered with Revenue Commissioners. A vehicle must be registered before it can be licensed for road tax purpose
Passenger vehicles (e.g. saloon, estate, hatchback, convertible, coupé, MPV, jeep etc.), designed and constructed for the carriage of passengers and comprising of a maximum of 9 seats including the driver’s seat are classified as EU Category M1. M1 vehicles are classified as Category A for VRT purposes.
The rate of VRT applicable is determined by the level of CO2 emissions of the vehicle at the time of manufacture, and the rates are applied to the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) to calculate the VRT
With the full implementation of the new emissions testing system, WLTP, from January a new structure of rates and bands for VRT and motor tax. This new structure sees an increase in the number of VRT Bands to 20, with a wider gap between the highest and lowest VRT rate (7% to 41%) From 1st January 2022 VRT will be based on the WLTP Co2 values, the calculation will be based on the following
| To | From | VRT Rate |
| 0 | 50 | 7.00% |
| 51 | 80 | 9.00% |
| 81 | 85 | 9.75% |
| 86 | 90 | 10.50% |
| 91 | 95 | 11.25% |
| 96 | 100 | 12.00% |
| 101 | 105 | 12.75% |
| 106 | 110 | 13.50% |
| 111 | 115 | 15.25% |
| 116 | 120 | 16.00% |
| 121 | 125 | 16.75% |
| 126 | 130 | 17.50% |
| 131 | 135 | 19.25% |
| 136 | 140 | 20.00% |
| 141 | 145 | 21.50% |
| 146 | 150 | 25.00% |
| 151 | 155 | 27.50% |
| 156 | 170 | 30.00% |
| 171 | 190 | 35.00% |
| 191 | 600 | 41.00% |
There are two components to VRT, the NOx charge and the CO2 component.
All vehicles (excluding electrics but including hybrids) registered after 31 December 2019 are liable and will be charged Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions as part of the VRT payable. The charge apply to new car purchases and used imports.
The NOx figure is located on the vehicle logbook (V5) if it is not available on this document then the existing Certificate of Conformity (CoC)
should contain a NOx figure. If in doubt a manufacturer may be able to clarify which figure to use.
Charges are applied on a per-milligramme basis, based on a car’s officially recorded emissions of NOx per kilometre. The scale below outlines the amount payable.
| NOx emissions (NOx mg/km or mg/kWh) | Amount payable per mg/km or mg/kWh |
| The first 0-40 mg/km or mg/kWh, as the case may be | €5 |
| The next 41-80 mg/km or mg/kWh or part thereof, | €15 |
| The remainder above 80 mg/km or mg/kWh, as the case may be | €25 |
The NOx charge will be capped at a maximum of €4,850 for diesel vehicles and €600 for other vehicles.
In order to register a vehicle, a person must first book an appointment at an NCTS centre to have the vehicle examined to ascertain whether or not it meets the definition of mechanically propelled vehicle for VRT purposes. Visit the NCT website where the have further information on the VRT process in their FAQ section.
Carbon Dioxide charge + NOx Charge = Total VRT payable.
The Revenue Commissioners website provides a calculator that will help determine an estimate of the charge payable, the potential NOx levy for the vehicle.
The website also provides information on NOx and examples of VRT calculations.
The €5,000 relief for Battery Electric vehicles is tapered for vehicles with an OMSP over €40,000, so that no amount of relief is available for BEVs with a value of over €50,000.
VRT Category B – Light commercial Vehicles
The rate of VRT applicable to Category B vehicles, subject to a minimum VRT of €125, is 13.3% of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP).
VRT Category C – Heavy Commercial Vehicles
The VRT rate applicable to Category C vehicles is a flat rate of €200.