Cars registered between July 2008 and December 2020
A car registered in this window is taxed on CO₂, but on a different table from a 2021 car and with different band edges. The same emissions figure can produce two different annual charges depending only on when the car was first registered, which is not intuitive and is exactly what the Schedule says.
This is the table for a category M1 vehicle registered between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2020, taxed on the CO₂ figure measured under the older NEDC test cycle. It is the table that governs most second-hand cars on Irish roads today, and it is the one people arrive at expecting to be identical to the current one.
| Band | Annual rate |
|---|---|
| of 0 g/km | €120 |
| exceeding 0 but not exceeding 80 g/km | €170 |
| exceeding 80 but not exceeding 100 g/km | €180 |
| exceeding 100 but not exceeding 110 g/km | €190 |
| exceeding 110 but not exceeding 120 g/km | €200 |
| exceeding 120 but not exceeding 130 g/km | €270 |
| exceeding 130 but not exceeding 140 g/km | €280 |
| exceeding 140 but not exceeding 155 g/km | €400 |
| exceeding 155 but not exceeding 170 g/km | €600 |
| exceeding 170 but not exceeding 190 g/km | €790 |
| exceeding 190 but not exceeding 225 g/km | €1,250 |
| exceeding 225 g/km | €2,400 |
| A vehicle whose CO2 figure the Revenue Commissioners cannot confirm from the EC type-approval certificate or certificate of conformity, and are not satisfied of from any other document produced on registration | €2,400 |
Source: Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act 1952, Schedule Part I, para. 6(d)Paragraph 6(d), substituted 19.12.2020 by Finance Act 2020 (26/2020) s. 35(3)(a): a category M1 vehicle registered between 1 July 2008 and 31 December 2020, measured in the manner referred to in paragraph (a)(i) or (iii) of the section 130 definition (the NEDC measure). Rows (I) to (XII), plus (XIII) for an unconfirmable figure.
Twelve bands here, sixteen on the newer table
That difference is the whole story. When the WLTP measurement replaced NEDC, the same physical car started producing a higher CO₂ number — so applying the old bands would have silently reclassified a large part of the fleet upward. The bands were re-cut instead: more of them, and more finely spaced at the bottom where most new cars sit.
The consequence is that the two tables price the same figure differently, in both directions, and there is no rule of thumb for which is cheaper.
| CO₂ | 2008–2020 table | From 2021 table | Which is dearer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 g/km | €120 | €120 | the same |
| 45 g/km | €170 | €140 | the older table |
| 95 g/km | €180 | €170 | the older table |
| 115 g/km | €200 | €190 | the older table |
| 135 g/km | €280 | €210 | the older table |
| 145 g/km | €400 | €270 | the older table |
| 165 g/km | €600 | €420 | the older table |
| 185 g/km | €790 | €600 | the older table |
| 210 g/km | €1,250 | €1,250 | the same |
| 240 g/km | €2,400 | €2,400 | the same |
Read the middle rows. Through most of the range a car on the older table pays more than a newer car with the same stated emissions — which is the opposite of what people expect and is precisely because the newer figure is measured on a harsher cycle. At the top of the range the two converge on the same maximum.
The boundary rule, again
“Exceeding 155 but not exceeding 170” means a car at exactly 155 is in the band below. On this table that boundary is worth €200 a year, which is the largest single step in the table and the one most worth getting right.
This site’s engine implements the bounds as the Schedule states them and its test suite asserts both sides of every boundary in all three tables, rather than a value in the middle of each band. A lookup that is wrong by one band produces a plausible number, so testing the middle of a band tests nothing.
Imported cars
A car registered outside the State in this window and brought into Ireland afterwards does not use this table. Paragraph 6(o) of the Schedule puts it on the post-2021 table if it was registered here on or after 1 January 2021. Two identical cars, one bought new in Ireland in 2019 and one imported in 2022, are taxed from different tables.
What is not on this page
Any figure for a half-year or quarterly disc — see the note on the main motor tax page about why this site does not compute one. And any rate for a vehicle that is not a private car: the Schedule covers goods vehicles, buses, tractors, motorcycles and a long list of specialist machines, and this site carries only the private-car paragraphs.