Import duty and VAT are paid through the customs declaration when your car arrives in the UK, and normally before it is released from the port. Your import agent works out what is due, makes the declaration, and settles it with HMRC on your behalf. You do not pay it in advance, and you do not pay it once the car is already on your driveway. It is paid at the border, as the car is cleared.
When you pay
The moment that matters is arrival. When your car reaches a UK port, it has to be declared to customs before it can be released. That declaration is where the duty and VAT are calculated and paid. Until the payment clears, the car stays where it is.
This catches people out, because it is easy to assume the tax is something you sort out later, once the car is home and registered. It is not. It comes first, at the border, and nothing moves until it is dealt with. That is also why you should know the figure before you ship, not after.
Who actually pays it
In principle, the tax is your liability as the importer. In practice, if you use an agent, the agent pays HMRC and then invoices you. This is one of the main reasons people use an agent in the first place.
To pay HMRC directly at the point of import, you generally need your own account with them set up to defer the payment. Most private importers do not have one, and setting one up for a single car is not worth the effort. An agent already has the arrangements in place, pays on your behalf, and settles up with you afterwards. You get one clear invoice instead of a scramble at the port.
You tell us about the car. We work out the duty and VAT, make the customs declaration, and pay HMRC. You pay us. The car is released. No deferment account, no dealing with the border yourself.
How the figure is worked out
Two taxes apply, and the order they are applied in changes the total.
Customs duty is worked out first, as a percentage of the customs value of the car. The customs value is not just the price you paid: it also includes the cost of shipping and insurance to bring the car to the UK.
VAT is then charged on top, on the customs value plus the duty. Because VAT sits on the duty as well as the car, the two stack together rather than being added side by side.
Here is a standard car worth £15,000, coming from outside the EU, under 30 years old:
- Customs duty: 10% of £15,000 = £1,500
- Import VAT: 20% of £16,500 (value plus duty) = £3,300
- Total payable at the border: £4,800
Shipping and insurance would be added to the value before the duty is worked out, so the real figure is usually a little higher than the price of the car alone suggests.
Want your figure before you commit?
Set your vehicle, its age and its country, and see the duty and VAT in seconds. From £95 to handle the whole import.
Work out my import taxThe 2026 rates
What you pay depends first on the age of the car, and then on where it was built.
| Your car | Customs duty | Import VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Over 30 years old, original condition, any country | 0% | 5% |
| EU built, under 30 years, valid origin proof | 0% | 20% |
| Japan built, under 30 years, valid origin claim | 0% | 20% |
| Any other country, under 30 years | 10% | 20% |
Origin removes the duty for EU and Japanese cars, but it does not touch the VAT. A five-year-old car from Germany still pays the full 20% VAT, even though its duty is zero.
Why classics pay so little
A car over 30 years old and in original condition is treated by HMRC as a collector's piece. That brings two things at once: 0% customs duty and a reduced 5% VAT, in place of the standard 20%. For a classic, this applies whatever country the car comes from, so origin stops mattering entirely.
On a £15,000 classic, the tax is around £750. On the same car under 30 years old, it is nearly £4,800. The build date is worth more than £4,000.
Age is the starting point, not an automatic pass. The vehicle needs to be in its original condition, and HMRC can ask for evidence. We go into the detail in our guide on tax on a 30-year-old car, and on the routes that remove tax completely in when you are exempt from paying VAT.
What happens if you do not pay
The car does not move. It sits at the port, uncleared, and it cannot be released, driven or registered until the duty and VAT are settled. Worse, storage charges build up daily while it waits, so a delay in paying quietly adds to the cost.
This is the practical reason to have the figure worked out before the car is shipped. If you know what the tax will be, you can budget for it and clear the car the moment it lands. If you find out only when it arrives, you are paying storage while you scramble.
Paying the duty and VAT is also separate from telling HMRC the car has arrived, which is a further step before the car can be registered. We explain that part in our guide to what NOVA is and how it works.
Let us handle the border for you
We clear customs, work out the duty and VAT, and pay HMRC on your behalf. Over 1,500 vehicles cleared since Brexit.
Discuss your import