Moving from USA to Ireland

Hi there,

I am moving back from the USA to Ireland at the end of the year. Before I go back I want to buy a new car and maybe a motorbike here, and order it directly from the Manufacturer as a right hand drive (car).

Do I understand properly that the car must remain for at least 6 months in the USA to avoid any import tax ?

What else do i need to consider?

Thanks,
Johnny

best thing to do is contact revenue commissioners

You need to own the vehicle for a min. of 6 months, show that you have put up 'normal' milage in that time, import it, then cannot sell it for at least 6 months. That way, you avoid paying the rvt tax, which is quite heavy. Eastiest way (to avoid E.U. compliance problems, is to buy the car in England - why not a 6/8 month old one?, use it as your car for a few months, keep it then out of Irl for a few months, then legally import it. I am in the process of doing just this myself.

You need to own and use the car for 6 months at least before you come to this country.

You need to register it immediately on bringing it into Ireland (anything else is a scam and is illegal).

You then need to keep it and use it for 12 months at least, after which time you can do what you want with it without any clawback.

Beware of any advice to the contrary.

When I did this I had to show a fair bit of paperwork to show that I was doing this 'bona fide', e.g. to show I was living in the UK, taxing, insuring the car etc, and that I was genuinely bringing the car 'home' with me.

Importing from outisde the EU will attract Customs Duty.

You should telephone customs & excise (I think rather than revenue) and find out the rules and ask them to send you the rules in writing. The laws on this subject change all the time so you really should have it in writing.

Customs & excise is part of Revenue.

RS2K said:

Importing from outisde the EU will attract Customs Duty.

Click to expand...

Transfer of Residence from outside the EU into Ireland has relief mechanisms - as per earlier posters, you need to contact the Revenue Commissioenrs with the specifics of your transfer

there is a minimum mileage requirement - 6k kms, iirc.......