Budget 2015 which was announced on the 14th October 2014 and has seen no change to the VRT and tax reliefs available for EV and Hybrids which were due to expire in December 2014. At present, VRT is calculated by CO2 emissions, a vehicle that has CO2 emissions of 120g/km or less fall into category A and pay the lowest VRT and road tax. An EV has zero emissions and is exempt from VRT but falls into the lower road tax band of €120. These current reliefs will continue until December 2016.
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle
Where a person registers a Category A or B vehicle from 1st January 2011 until 31st December 2016 and the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that the vehicle is a Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle:
• The Revenue Commissioners shall repay the percentage of the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) which would be payable or €2,500, whichever is the lesser.
Battery Electric Vehicle Registered between 1st May 2011 and 31st December 2012
Where a person registers a Category A or B vehicle from 1st May 2011 until 31st December 2013 and the Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that the vehicle is a series production BEV:
• The Commissioners shall deem it exempt of the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) up to a maximum value of €5,000
(This includes a €5,000 grant available from the seai)
Table 1 – Hybrid Electric Vehicles & Flexible Fuel Vehicles registered during the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2016
| Age of hybrid electric or flexible fuel vehicle | Maximum amount which may be remitted or repaid |
|---|---|
| New vehicle, first registration | €1,500 |
| Not a new vehicle but less than 2 years | €1,350 |
| 2 years or over but less than 3 years | €1,200 |
| 3 years or over but less than 4 years | €1,050 |
| 4 years or over but less than 5 years | €900 |
| 5 years or over but less than 6 years | €750 |
| 6 years or over but less than 7 years | €600 |
| 7 years or over but less than 8 years | €450 |
| 8 years or over but less than 9 years | €300 |
| 9 years or over but less than 10 years | €150 |
| 10 years or over | Nil |
Table 2 – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles registered during the period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2016
| Age of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle | Maximum amount which may be remitted or repaid |
|---|---|
| New vehicle, first registration | €2,500 |
| Not a new vehicle but less than 2 years | €2,250 |
| 2 years or over but less than 3 years | €2,000 |
| 3 years or over but less than 4 years | €1,750 |
| 4 years or over but less than 5 years | €1,500 |
| 5 years or over but less than 6 years | €1,250 |
| 6 years or over but less than 7 years | €1,000 |
| 7 years or over but less than 8 years | €750 |
| 8 years or over but less than 9 years | €500 |
| 9 years or over but less than 10 years | €250 |
| 10 years or over | Nil |
Please note that this information is taken from www.revenue.ie assumed correct at the time of print and is subject to change according to the normal decisions of Government. Dealers are responsible for ensuring that the correct levels of VRT are applied to each vehicle sale.
More information on VRT may be found at http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/co2-emissions-based-vrt.html .
Motor Tax (2013) for a zero emmission category A0 vehicle is €120 per annum (see www.motortax.ie for the latest details).