OMSP: the value Revenue taxes, and what to do when your car is not on the VRT calculator
Open Market Selling Price is the figure VRT is charged on. For most cars the calculator shows it. When it shows no versions for your model, a Revenue officer sets the figure by hand after the NCTS appointment, and the paperwork you hand in decides what they work from.
Order: a few questions, about three minutes
Where are you with the car?
Worked example from the sample pack
BMW M4 3.0, 2016
Irish adverts, mileage adjusted
€39,165
VRT at 41%: €16,247
British price grossed up
€46,904
VRT at 41%: €19,830
Same car, two methods, €3,583 apart. Without Irish adverts on the file, the second method is what Revenue has to work with.
What happens when the calculator says “no versions”
- You book the NCTS appointment as normal. The inspector records the car but cannot give you a VRT figure on the day.
- The file goes to Revenue’s valuation desk. The officer looks for comparable cars for sale in Ireland. If none are to hand, they take the British price and add Irish VAT and VRT to it.
- You get the figure by post or email, usually within a week or two, and pay before the car is registered. If you disagree you have two months to appeal.
The weak point is step two. The officer has minutes per file and no obligation to search DoneDeal for you. What you hand in at the appointment is what sits in front of them.
The OMSP evidence pack
Two PDF files built for your exact car, ready to print. Every advert is captured on the day, with the source and the asking price on the page, so nothing depends on a link that might expire.
1. The representation
A one-page letter to the National VRT Service that states the figure, cites section 133 and lists the evidence by number. Your name, PPSN and VIN are left blank to fill in by hand. Behind it, the schedule of adverts and the captured pages.
Open the sample (PDF, 10 pages)
2. The evidence pack
For you, not for Revenue. Where the figure sits between the two methods, the VRT under each, the mileage adjustment on Revenue’s own scale, and what to bring to the appointment.
Open the sample (PDF, 4 pages)
Advert pages as they go in the file: numbered A1, A2 and so on, with the site, the capture date and the asking price under each. The representation refers to them by those numbers.
What it costs, and what you get
A person, not a script, works on every car. Each pack is read before it goes out.
Before the NCTS
€49
one-off, no account needed
- Cars like yours on sale in Ireland right now: dealer and private listings, with price, mileage, year and a dated page capture of each one
- The UK side too, worked through the way Revenue does it when it has nothing Irish to go on, so you see both figures and the VRT gap
- Revenue's own valuations of the closest models that are on its list
- Tax Appeals Commission decisions that match your situation, quoted with paragraph numbers
- A representation letter for the National VRT Service, filled in. Your part is name, PPSN and signature
- A plain page on what happens after the visit and what to do if the figure comes back high
Refund: the pack shows a range. If Revenue’s figure comes in above the top of it, send us the VRT receipt and the €49 comes back.
Appeal
€79
one-off, no account needed
- Everything in the pre-NCTS pack
- Your appeal letter under section 145, built around Revenue's figure: what they set, what the Irish market shows, the VRT difference, the evidence numbered so the officer can check each line
- A line-by-line check of the VRT receipt: CO2 band, NOx charge, mileage, condition. Errors there are often worth more than the price argument
- The decisions where the Commission cut Revenue's figure in a case like yours, quoted, not summarised
- The two-month deadline, the address and the sending method spelled out
Refund: if Revenue’s first-stage decision does not cut your VRT by at least €79, send us the decision and the €79 comes back. You send our letter and evidence as they are, within the deadline.
Usually sent the same working day. Orders after 6pm or at the weekend go out the next working morning. Unusual cars (Japanese imports without a UK record, very rare models) take 2 to 3 working days. Revenue decides the figure; we make sure the evidence is in front of them.
How it works
- Say where you are: before the NCTS visit, or already holding Revenue’s figure. Then where the car is from: a UK or NI plate, a Japanese chassis number, or a VIN from anywhere else. We find the car; if we cannot, you type make, model and year.
- A few short questions, one at a time: the odometer reading today, condition, whether it was ever written off, what you paid. For an appeal, a photo of the VRT receipt and the date you paid. Anything we already know about the car we do not ask.
- Pay by card. A person picks up the case, checks the market and the closest cars on Revenue’s list, and builds the two PDF files. They come by email. Print, fill in your name, PPSN and VIN, sign, and hand in or send.
Started on the VRT calculator and it found no versions for your car? That is the same situation: the calculator sends you here with the registration already filled in.
OMSP questions
Open Market Selling Price: the price Revenue believes the car would fetch in Ireland, sold by a dealer at retail on the day it is registered. It is the base for VRT. Under section 133 of the Finance Act 1992 Revenue sets that figure, not the price you paid abroad.
Sources: Revenue, Vehicle Registration Tax manual section 8 (valuation system for new and used vehicles); Finance Act 1992 section 133; Finance Act 2001 section 145. Sample built from a real 2016 BMW M4; the owner, registration and VIN in the sample are fictional. Checked 10 September 2026.