What a car from abroad costs on your driveway

A car that is cheaper abroad is not always cheaper at home. This calculator adds up what a private buyer pays on top of the asking price to register a used car in the Netherlands or the United Kingdom: import duty, VAT, the Dutch registration tax (BPM) and the registration itself. Every cost links to the official rule it comes from.

An estimate for a private buyer, not tax advice. A business that reclaims VAT pays differently. Rules as of 2 October 2026.

Importing into the Netherlands

BPM is the one-off Dutch registration tax. It depends on the car's CO2 emissions and age, and for most supercars it is the biggest cost. For a used car you may choose the rate that applied at any point from two months before its first registration up to the inspection by the RDW, so the calculator picks the lowest one. Cars first registered before July 2020 use their NEDC figure and the rates up to that date. The tax office's depreciation table then takes off a percentage for the car's age: 33% after nine months, 81% after nine and a half years. A car first registered 17 years and 10 months ago or longer pays no BPM at all.

VAT: a used car from another EU country pays no Dutch VAT; any VAT is already in its price. A car that has driven at most 6,000 km or has been in use for at most six months counts as new: then the seller charges no foreign VAT and you pay 21% in the Netherlands.

From Switzerland or the UK you pay 10% import duty, or none with proof that the car was made in the EU or Switzerland (from Switzerland) or in the UK (from the UK), plus 21% import VAT. A Ferrari or Porsche bought in the UK pays the full 10%. A collector's car at least 30 years old and in original state pays no duty and 9% VAT.

The RDW identifies the car and registers it: €144.10 in 2026. It does not check the technical condition. A car without European type approval needs an individual approval in Lelystad.

Importing into the United Kingdom

A car built in the EU and bought in the EU pays no import duty with an origin statement from the seller; otherwise duty is 10%. VAT is 20% of the price, transport and duty; for a historic vehicle at least 30 years old it is effectively 5%. Buying from an EU dealer for export, you can get the car without that country's VAT if customs confirm the export. You tell HMRC through NOVA within 14 days, a car under ten years old needs a GB conversion certificate or an individual approval, and the first registration at the DVLA costs £55.

What the calculator cannot know

  • The car's exact CO2 figure: it is on the registration papers or the Certificate of Conformity. Many adverts leave it out. Without it, the Dutch tax office uses 550 g/km, which is expensive.
  • Whether the seller supplies proof of origin, and whether the car has European type approval.
  • The exact transport price. The calculator estimates enclosed transport from the seller's town to the middle of the Netherlands or England at €1.70–€2.00 per km before VAT, the long-distance guide price of a German transporter, without the Channel crossing. A quote replaces the estimate.
  • Insurance and the exact inspection date. Road tax is not included.
  • Older Dutch BPM rates from before 2013 depend on the Dutch list price; for cars from those years the result is a maximum.

Sources

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