Ireland Import Duty & Customs Calculator

A €1,000 parcel of electronics shipped to Dublin from outside the EU does not cost €1,000 — after customs duty and 23% import VAT it lands at roughly €1,370, and the courier will not release it until the difference is paid. This calculator estimates that full landed cost the way Revenue assesses it: duty on the CIF value, VAT on the duty-inclusive base, plus your carrier’s clearance fee.

The two charges, and the order they stack

Ireland applies the EU’s Union Customs Code, so the charges are the same as any EU member state — only the VAT rate is Irish:

1. Customs duty is a percentage of the CIF value: goods price + international freight + insurance. The percentage depends entirely on the product’s commodity code and country of origin, looked up in the EU TARIC database — anywhere from 0% (books, most electronics) to 12%+ (clothing, footwear). Consignments with an intrinsic value of €150 or less are duty-exempt.
2. Import VAT is charged on a broader base: CIF value + the customs duty itself + any inland transport. The standard Irish rate is 23%; 13.5% and 9% apply to limited categories, and most food and children’s clothing is zero-rated. Since 1 July 2021 the old €22 VAT exemption is gone — VAT is due from the first euro on every non-EU consignment.

CIF        = goods + freight + insurance
duty       = CIF × TARIC rate        (0 if intrinsic value ≤ €150)
VAT base   = CIF + duty
import VAT = VAT base × 23% (or reduced rate)
landed     = CIF + duty + VAT + carrier clearance fee

Worked example

A €1,000 shipment of consumer electronics from the US, €60 freight, €15 insurance, duty rate 3.7%:

That is 37% on top of the goods price before the carrier’s handling fee. Notice the small compounding effect: VAT is charged on the duty, so the effective VAT burden is slightly higher than 23% of CIF.

Thresholds that decide whether you pay at all

“Intrinsic value” means the goods price alone, excluding freight and insurance — a €145 item with €20 postage is still duty-exempt, though VAT is charged on the full amount. Deliberately splitting one order into multiple parcels to stay under €150 does not work: customs may treat goods ordered together and shipped together as a single consignment.

IOSS: why some checkouts charge Irish VAT upfront

For consignments up to €150, many large non-EU retailers register for the EU’s Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) and collect Irish VAT at checkout. If the seller shows an IOSS number on the declaration, the parcel clears customs with nothing more to pay. If not, the carrier collects the VAT (plus its own admin fee) before delivery — An Post and the express couriers each charge a clearance/handling fee on top of the tax itself, which on a low-value parcel can exceed the VAT. When comparing overseas retailers, an IOSS-registered checkout is usually the cheaper and faster route.

The TARIC code is the biggest variable

Duty rates are set per 10-digit commodity code, and near-identical products can carry very different rates — a knitted garment versus a woven one, a plastic part versus a rubber one. Misclassification is the most common cause of surprise charges and post-clearance demands. Look up your product in the TARIC consultation tool by description, and note both the duty rate and any origin-specific preference or anti-dumping duty attached to the code. For repeated commercial imports, a Binding Tariff Information (BTI) ruling from Revenue makes the classification legally certain.

Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and rules of origin

Post-Brexit, purchases from Great Britain are non-EU imports. Under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, goods of UK origin enter duty-free — but only with proof of origin (a statement of origin on the invoice or importer’s knowledge). The trap for online shoppers: goods a UK retailer merely ships from Britain but that were manufactured elsewhere do not qualify, and carry the full TARIC rate. Import VAT applies to GB purchases regardless of origin. Goods moving from Northern Ireland to Ireland remain in free circulation under the Windsor Framework — no duty, no import VAT event.

VAT-registered businesses: cash-flow, not cost

An Irish VAT-registered importer reclaims import VAT as input credit on the VAT3 return, and with postponed accounting (available since January 2021) can self-account for it on the return instead of paying at the border at all. For registered traders the true economic cost of importing is CIF + duty + clearance fees; the 23% only matters for consumers and unregistered businesses, who bear it in full.

Edge cases

Excise goods (alcohol, tobacco) attract excise duty on top of customs duty and VAT — this calculator does not model excise. Second-hand goods and returns of items you originally exported can qualify for returned-goods relief with documentation. Personal baggage allowances (€430 arriving by air/sea) apply to accompanied goods, not posted parcels. And undervalued declarations are checked: customs can reassess against market value, and the recipient — not the sender — is liable for the shortfall.

Sources

• Revenue — buying goods online from outside the EU
• EU TARIC database — commodity codes and duty rates
• Revenue — customs and Brexit (EU–UK TCA, origin rules)

This tool estimates charges for planning; the formal customs declaration to Revenue governs what you actually pay. Rates and thresholds are as last verified — check Revenue’s pages for current values.