How to Work Out if Your Car Qualifies as a Classic
The key line is 30 years old and in original condition: 0% duty and 5% VAT. Over 40 adds MOT and tax exemption. Here is how to check.
Read guide →Import knowledge
All guides for bringing vehicles into the UK.
Every guide we publish on customs, classic car eligibility, registration and shipping. In one place.
Returned Goods Relief: Bringing a Car Back to the UK
Bring a car back to the UK with 0% duty and 0% VAT, if it was previously exported and returns in the same ownership and condition.
Read guide →How Long Does It Take to Import a Car to the UK?
There is no fixed time. Shipping ranges from days to weeks by origin, then customs, HMRC and DVLA add more. Here is a realistic timeline.
Read guide →How Much Does It Cost to Import a Car from Japan?
0% duty under the UK-Japan trade deal, plus 20% VAT, or just 5% for a classic. Longer shipping. Full cost breakdown.
Read guide →How Much Does It Cost to Import a Car from Germany?
0% duty with valid origin plus 20% VAT, or 5% for a classic. Short crossing keeps shipping cheap. Full cost breakdown.
Read guide →How to Import a Car from France to the UK
A French car can reach 0% duty with valid origin, and pays 20% VAT, or just 5% for a classic over 30. Short crossing, simple process.
Read guide →How Much Does It Cost to Import a Car from the USA?
A classic over 30 pays 0% duty and 5% VAT plus shipping; a newer car pays 10% and 20%. Full cost breakdown with worked examples.
Read guide →How to Insure an Imported Car Before It's Registered
You can insure an imported car before it has a plate, using its chassis or VIN number. Here is how it works and why you need it in place.
Read guide →How to Import a Car from Finland to the UK
A Finnish car reaches 0% duty with valid origin, plus 20% VAT, or 5% for a classic. Careful Nordic ownership keeps cars well.
Read guide →How to Import a Car from Ireland to the UK
An Irish car can reach 0% duty with valid origin, and pays 20% VAT, or just 5% for a classic over 30. Here is the process.
Read guide →How to Import a Car from the Czech Republic to the UK
A Czech car reaches 0% duty with valid origin, plus 20% VAT, or 5% for a classic. Home of Skoda and a strong central-European market.
Read guide →How to Import a Car You Have Inherited
An inherited car can often be imported with 0% duty and 0% VAT under inheritance relief. Here are the conditions and the process.
Read guide →How to Claim Transfer of Residence Relief on a Car
If you are moving your home to the UK, Transfer of Residence relief can bring your car in with 0% duty and 0% VAT. Here are the conditions.
Read guide →How to Import a Car from Croatia to the UK
A Croatian car reaches 0% duty with valid origin, plus 20% VAT, or 5% for a classic. The dry Adriatic coast keeps cars solid.
Read guide →How to Import a Car from Norway to the UK
Norway is not in the EU, so EU 0% duty does not apply automatically. But a classic over 30 still pays 0% duty and 5% VAT.
Read guide →How to Ship a Car to the UK
The two ways to ship a car to the UK, RoRo and container, what each costs in risk and money, and how shipping affects your import VAT.
Read guide →How to Import a Car from Japan to the UK
Shipping, customs, duty and VAT on a car from Japan. Japanese cars pay 0% duty, and a classic over 30 years pays just 5% VAT.
Read guide →How to Import a Motorcycle to the UK
A non-EU bike pays around 8% duty up to 250cc or 6% over, plus 20% VAT, but a classic over 30 pays 0% duty and just 5%.
Read guide →How Do I Get a NOVA on an Imported Car?
The NOVA process step by step: when to file, what HMRC does with it, and why it has to clear before the DVLA will register your imported car.
Read guide →How to Import a Kit Car or Replica to the UK
Customs and tax work like any import, but registration is the tricky part, because a kit car or replica lacks standard manufacturer records.
Read guide →How Do I Find a Customs Agent to Import a Car?
What a customs agent does when you import a car, how to find a good one, and the questions to ask before you choose. Look for one that handles the whole job.
Read guide →How to Avoid Overpaying Tax When Importing a Car
Check the age, prove origin for 0% duty, and use any relief you qualify for. The difference can be thousands.
Read guide →How to Import a Car After Brexit
EU cars now need a customs declaration and can face duty, plus 20% VAT. But origin can still bring 0% duty, and classics pay just 5%.
Read guide →Do You Need an MOT on an Imported Car?
Whether an imported car needs an MOT, when it is exempt, and how the age rules work. Cars over 40 years old and unmodified are MOT exempt.
Read guide →How to Import an American Muscle Car to the UK
Shipping a Mustang, Camaro or Charger over, clearing customs and the tax. A muscle car over 30 years pays 0% duty and just 5% VAT.
Read guide →How Do I Pay Import Duty and VAT on a Car?
How and when you pay import duty and VAT on a car brought into the UK, who pays it, and what happens if you do not. Classics over 30 years pay 0% duty and just 5% VAT.
Read guide →When Are You Exempt From Paying VAT When Importing a Car to the UK?
When are you exempt from paying VAT when importing a car? The 5% classic rate, Transfer of Residence, and Returned Goods Relief, and who qualifies for each.
Read guide →When Do You Pay Import Duty on a Car in the UK?
Non-EU cars usually pay 10%, Japan a reduced rate, and a classic over 30 years pays 0% duty and just 5% VAT, whatever its origin.
Read guide →What Is NOVA? The HMRC Import Check Explained
NOVA is how HMRC checks an imported vehicle before the DVLA can register it. What it does, how the check works, and why there is no fixed time.
Read guide →How to Import a Classic Motorcycle to the UK
Bikes over 30 years old pay 0% duty and 5% VAT. NOVA, MSVA, MOT and DVLA registration for your classic motorcycle, explained simply.
Read guide →How to Register a Left-Hand Drive Car in the UK
LHD cars are fully legal in the UK, no conversion needed. NOVA, tax, MOT and DVLA registration explained simply, step by step.
Read guide →Requirements for Importing a Car into the UK
Customs, NOVA, tax, approval, MOT, insurance and DVLA registration. A clear, simple checklist of everything you need before you buy.
Read guide →How to Get Number Plates for an Imported Car
You need your V5C first, then the right documents at a registered plate supplier. The easy step-by-step for putting UK plates on an imported car.
Read guide →How Much Tax Do You Pay to Import a 30-Year-Old Car?
0% duty and just 5% VAT if your car qualifies as a classic, instead of 10% duty and 20% VAT. The 2026 rules, and why age alone is not enough.
Read guide →How to Register an Imported Car with the DVLA
NOVA, tax, MOT and the right forms, explained simply and step by step, so your imported car gets a UK number plate.
Read guide →Importing a Classic Car from Germany to the UK
0% duty and 5% VAT for qualifying classics from Germany, plus customs, NOVA and DVLA registration for your Porsche, Mercedes or BMW.
Read guide →Importing a Classic Car from the USA to the UK
0% duty and 5% VAT for classics over 30 years, plus shipping, the IVA test, left-hand drive rules and DVLA registration for your Mustang or Corvette.
Read guide →How Much VAT and Duty on a Classic Car Import?
5% VAT and 0% duty for qualifying classics over 30 years, 10% duty and 20% VAT for standard cars, explained with worked examples.
Read guide →Importing a Classic Car from Italy to the UK
0% duty and 5% VAT for qualifying classics from Italy, plus customs, NOVA and DVLA registration for your Alfa, Fiat, Lancia or Ferrari.
Read guide →My Car Is in the UK on Foreign Plates but Never Registered: What to Do
A car already in the UK on foreign plates still needs importing: NOVA, any VAT or duty, and DVLA registration. Here is how to register it legally.
Read guide →How to Import a Classic Car from the EU to the UK
Customs, VAT and duty, NOVA and DVLA registration for classics coming into the UK from Europe. Classics over 30 years pay just 5% VAT.
Read guide →