Motor Tax on Vans and Trucks in Ireland: Commercial Rates, the RF111A and the Rules

Most of what people know about motor tax is about cars: CO2 bands, engine sizes, cheap tax on electric cars. Vans and trucks work differently, and choosing the wrong class costs money either way. Taxed privately, a van can cost several times the commercial rate. Taxed commercially and used privately, it can bring a penalty of three times the difference.

How goods vehicles are taxed

A goods vehicle taxed at the goods rate, what most people call commercial motor tax, pays according to its unladen weight: the weight of the empty vehicle, not its emissions or engine size. The rates have been unchanged since 1 January 2021:

An articulated truck is taxed as one vehicle, on the unladen weight of the tractor unit plus the heaviest semi-trailer it will pull during the period. An electric goods vehicle over 1,500 kg pays the ordinary rate for its weight, so going electric doesn't cut a van's motor tax the way it does a car's.

Buses and coaches pay by seating capacity instead: €154 a year for 9 to 20 seats, €202 for 21 to 40 and €403 for 41 or more. A taxi or hackney pays €95.

Paying for the year costs less

Motor tax is issued for 3, 6 or 12 whole calendar months, and the shorter periods carry a surcharge: a half-year costs 55.5% of the annual rate and a quarter 28.25%. On a van up to 3,000 kg that is €333 for a year, €368 paid as two half-years, or €376 as four quarters. A vehicle whose annual rate is €119 or less, such as a small electric van, can only be taxed for 12 months.

Tax that is paid late still has to be paid: arrears are charged at a tenth of the annual rate for each month. If a vehicle is going to be parked up, declare it off the road in advance instead.

Getting the goods rate: the RF111A

The first time a vehicle is taxed at the goods rate in your ownership, you make a goods only declaration on form RF111A. You declare that the vehicle will be used only to carry goods in the course of your business or trade, that it will not be used at any time for social, domestic or pleasure purposes, and that your business is registered with Revenue. If the vehicle's design gross weight is 3,500 kg or less, the declaration must be completed at a Garda station, where a Garda signs and stamps it.

You also need to show you are in business. What each motor tax office accepts varies: usually a recent Revenue document such as a VAT or tax registration notice or a notice of assessment, or for a company a tax clearance certificate in the company's name, and some offices also want to see insurance that covers carrying goods for the business. Check with your own office before you go.

After the first time, renewals at the goods rate can be done online, as long as the declaration is on file with your motor tax office.

Crew cabs

A crew-cab van, with a second row of seats, can still be taxed at the goods rate if it meets the conditions motor tax offices apply. Guidance published by Sligo County Council lists them:

• Seats in the cab for the driver and three to six others
• The load area completely and permanently separated from the cab by a fixed, rigid partition
• A load area bigger than the seating area
• Passengers who are the owner's employees, carried only during their paid working time
• A crew cab declaration signed at a Garda station

A crew cab that doesn't meet them is taxed at the private rate. Each office applies the rules, so check with yours before you buy one expecting the goods rate.

Private use isn't allowed at the goods rate

The declaration is a promise that the vehicle won't be used for social, domestic or pleasure purposes. A van that does the weekend shopping should be taxed at the private rate. Using a vehicle for a purpose that carries a higher rate of tax can bring a penalty of three times the difference, and a false declaration is an offence with a fine of up to €2,500 or up to six months in prison.

A goods vehicle taxed privately is taxed on its engine size, and the bands are steep: €710 a year for an engine of 1,901 to 2,000 cc, €906 for 2,001 to 2,100 cc and €1,809 for anything over 3,000 cc. Against €333 at the goods rate for a van up to 3,000 kg, the class matters.

The CVRT comes first

The CVRT's own guidance says a valid Certificate of Roadworthiness is a condition of taxing a vehicle over a year old, and motor tax offices check for one. Keep the test in date before the tax falls due. See the CVRT guide.

Driving an untaxed vehicle

• It isn't a fixed charge or a penalty point offence. It goes to court, with a fine of up to €2,500 on conviction
• Gardaí can detain and remove a vehicle whose tax has been unpaid for two months or more
• Not displaying the tax disc is a separate fixed charge offence: €60, with no penalty points
• A bill before the Dáil in 2026 would end the paper tax disc and make driving without tax a fixed charge offence. Until it becomes law, the disc must still be displayed

See the penalties for untaxed, uninsured and untested vehicles for how these compare with the others a fleet can face.

Keeping a fleet taxed

1. Tax for 12 months wherever you can. It costs less and leaves one renewal a year to track
2. Keep each vehicle's RF111A paperwork on its file, so a change of office or a query doesn't catch you out
3. Line up the CVRT before the tax, because a lapsed test can block the renewal
4. If a vehicle is going to sit idle, declare it off the road before the tax runs out
5. Check the class again when a vehicle's use changes. A van moving to private use should be taxed privately

How FleetMain helps

FleetMain tracks the motor tax expiry for every vehicle alongside its CVRT and insurance, so you can see when a lapsed test is about to hold up a renewal. You get an email before each date, 30, 14 and 7 days ahead by default or at lead times you choose, and a regular reminder of anything that has already lapsed. FleetMain doesn't pay the tax for you: you renew on motortax.ie or at your motor tax office.

This article is a general summary of motor tax for goods vehicles, not tax or legal advice. Rates, declarations and the evidence each office accepts should be confirmed with your local motor tax office.