Mileage Depreciation in VRT Calculations

Mileage and OMSP € How Revenue Values Your Car

Revenue doesn't just glance at your odometer and make a guess. They use the Open Market Selling Price, or OMSP, as their baseline. That's what they reckon your car is worth on the open market at the time of import. Mileage feeds into that number, but it's not the only thing they look at.

Here's what catches people out. Revenue already has a fairly good idea what a 2020 BMW 3 Series with average mileage should cost. If your car has done 180,000 miles, they know that's well above normal. But if it's got 25,000 miles and it's five years old, they also know that's unusually low and the car might actually be worth more than the standard OMSP suggests.

A well-maintained high-mileage car with full service records can sometimes hold its value better than a low-mileage car that's been sitting idle. A car that's been garaged for years with barely any use can develop problems from disuse. Seals dry out, batteries die, tyres crack. So don't assume low mileage automatically means better condition or a lower bill.

Revenue considers mileage alongside age, condition, service history, and what similar cars actually sell for. They check auction results, dealer listings, and trade valuations. If the market says a high-mileage example of your car is worth less, they'll factor that in. But the adjustment has to be backed up by evidence, not just your word.

Average Mileage by Vehicle Age

If you're trying to figure out whether your car's mileage is high, low, or about right for its age, here's a rough guide based on what Irish drivers typically do. A one-year-old car will usually have somewhere between 8,000 and 15,000 miles on it. That's the range where most new cars sit. By the time a car is three years old, you're looking at 30,000 to 50,000 miles as fairly typical.

Five years old? Around 60,000 to 80,000 is the sweet spot. After that, the numbers spread out quite a bit. A seven-year-old car could have anywhere from 70,000 to 120,000 miles depending on whether it was a daily commuter or a weekend runaround. A ten-year-old car with 100,000 miles is pretty normal. But a ten-year-old car with 200,000 miles? That's going to raise eyebrows at the Revenue office.

The average Irish driver does about 16,000 to 17,000 kilometres a year, which works out at roughly 10,000 to 10,500 miles. So if you're importing a car and it's got notably more than that per year of age, Revenue will notice. A four-year-old car with 80,000 miles on it is doing about 20,000 miles a year. That's above average but not extreme. A four-year-old car with 140,000 miles? That's doing 35,000 miles a year, and that's the kind of mileage that really impacts value.

These numbers matter because they give you a benchmark. If your car is sitting at or below the average for its age, you've got nothing to worry about. If it's well above, start gathering your documentation.

High Mileage vs Low Mileage € VRT Impact

Let me walk you through a couple of examples so you can see how this plays out in practice.

Say you're importing a 2021 Volkswagen Golf. The standard OMSP is around €24,000. If that Golf has done 120,000 miles in three years, that's 40,000 miles a year. That's well into "excessive" territory. You might get a mileage depreciation of 15-20% on the OMSP, bringing it down to around €20,000 to €20,500. That could save you anywhere from €400 to €1,500 on VRT depending on the CO2 band.

Now take the same car with just 20,000 miles on it. That's 6,500 miles a year, which is genuinely low. Revenue might actually value that car slightly higher than the standard OMSP because low-mileage Golfs in good condition sell for a premium. You won't get any mileage depreciation, and you might even end up paying a bit more than you expected.

The difference between those two scenarios is worth understanding. High mileage can knock a few hundred quid off your VRT, but it's not going to transform a €3,000 bill into €500. The savings are real but they're modest compared to what most people expect. And if your car is already older and the OMSP has already factored in typical mileage for its age, you might not see any reduction at all.

One thing that surprises people is how much vehicle type matters. A high-mileage commercial van gets treated differently from a high-mileage luxury sedan. The van was built for hard use, so high mileage is expected. The luxury car loses more perceived value because buyers in that segment expect lower mileage.

Tips for Accurate Mileage Documentation

If you want Revenue to accept your mileage figure, you need to back it up with paperwork. Here's what actually works.

Start with your service history. If the car has been serviced regularly and the stamps show the mileage at each service, that's your strongest evidence. Revenue loves a consistent paper trail. A car that was serviced at 10,000 miles, then 20,000, then 30,000, and so on, tells a believable story. A car with one service stamp and then nothing for three years? That's harder to explain.

Get the NCT or MOT history. In the UK, the MOT test records the mileage every year. If you're importing from the UK, grab the full MOT history from the GOV.UK website. It's free and it gives you a year-by-year record. For cars from other EU countries, look for the equivalent national test certificates.

Take photos of the odometer when the car arrives. Do it the same day, ideally at the port or border crossing. The timestamp on the photo helps prove the mileage at the point of import. Keep your insurance documents handy too. Most insurers ask for your estimated annual mileage, and that can support your case if the numbers line up.

If the car was previously on a lease or company fleet, get the final mileage statement from the leasing company. Fleet managers keep meticulous records and Revenue trusts them. Don't round your numbers either. If the odometer reads 87,342 miles, write 87,342. Writing "about 87,000" looks sloppy and makes Revenue wonder why you're approximating.