Moving to the UK is expensive enough without paying tax on a car you already own. Fear not: if you are moving your home here, HMRC's Transfer of Residence relief, ToR for short, lets you bring the car in without paying import VAT or duty. On a £30,000 car from outside the EU, that is around £9,600 you keep.
Who qualifies
You need to tick all four of these:
- You have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months in a row
- You have owned and used the car for at least 6 months
- You are moving here to live, for at least the next 12 months
- The car arrives within 12 months of your move
It covers the belongings you bring with you too, not just the car.
How to apply
You apply to HMRC online with form ToR1. Do it before the car ships: HMRC gives you a reference number, and we need that reference to clear the car through customs tax free. Without it, VAT and duty are due on arrival.
HMRC will usually want to see:
- The photo page of your passport
- Proof of your address abroad, dated within the last 3 months
- Proof of your UK address, or a temporary one
- The car's registration certificate and proof of purchase
- A list of the belongings you are bringing
Our customers get guides to help with the application, so you are not on your own with it.
What happens next
- The car ships, and we clear it through customs using your ToR reference.
- We tell HMRC it has arrived through NOVA.
- It has any changes it needs for UK roads, then its IVA test or MOT.
- We register it with the DVLA and fit your plates.
- You tax it, insure it and drive it away.
The 12-month rule. For the first 12 months, you cannot sell the car, lend it, hire it out or use it as security for a loan. Do any of those and the VAT and duty can become payable after all.
If you do not qualify
Normal rates apply: 20% import VAT and 10% duty on a car from outside the EU, 20% VAT on one from the EU, or 5% VAT and no duty on a car over 30 years old. The import tax calculator will give you a rough figure, and your quote will have the exact one.
And if the car was UK-registered before you left, it may come back tax free anyway. See bringing a UK car back home.
We'd be more than happy to talk it through with you should you need it.
