The price on the auction sheet or dealer listing is only the start. The worry is the bit that comes after: shipping, tax and the work to get the car on a UK plate. The good news is that most of it can be worked out before you buy, and this guide shows you how.
- Guide shipping price
- From £3,575
- Import duty
- 10%
- Import VAT
- 20%
- Cars over 30 years
- 5% VAT, no duty
How much does it cost to import a car from Japan?
Short answer: on top of the price of the car, expect shipping from £3,575 and then 10% duty and 20% VAT on the price plus shipping. On a £15,000 car that comes to £3,575 for shipping and £5,945 in tax, so £9,520 before registration, conversions and testing. A car over 30 years old pays 5% VAT and no duty, which makes a big difference. The sums for other prices are in our worked import tax examples, and the rest of this guide goes through each line.
The cost lines, one by one
The car
What you pay in Japan, plus any fees from the auction agent or dealer for buying it and getting it to the port. Ask what those cover before you commit, because they sit outside our shipping price.
Shipping
Japan falls into our rest of the world group, with a guide price from £3,575. That figure is built from a year of real jobs. It is shipping only: registration, other services, import tax and remedial fees are not included. RoRo is the usual route from Japan and costs less than a container. Your quote prices your actual car and route.
Import duty
A car from outside the EU pays 10% import duty. It is worked out on the price of the car plus the cost of getting it to the UK, not on the car's price alone.
Import VAT
20% import VAT, worked out on the price plus shipping plus the duty. VAT on top of duty is the part that catches people out, so it is worth seeing it with real numbers.
A worked example
Say you buy a car in Japan for £10,000 and it ships at our guide price of £3,575.
| Line | How it is worked out | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Car | Purchase price | £10,000.00 |
| Shipping | Rest of world guide price | £3,575.00 |
| Import duty | 10% of £13,575 | £1,357.50 |
| Import VAT | 20% of £14,932.50 (price, shipping and duty) | £2,986.50 |
| Total so far | Before UK testing and registration | £17,919.00 |
So on a £10,000 car, the tax comes to £4,344. That is the number to have in your head before you bid.
Old invoices. If your purchase invoice is more than 3 months old, customs use a valuation of the car instead of the price on the invoice.
Run your own numbers
Put in your car's price and the calculator below adds the guide shipping price and the tax. It is a guide, and your quote has the exact figure.
What the guide price does not include
These are the costs that come after the car lands. They vary with the car, so we price them in your quote:
Costs to budget for
0 of 6 done
The good news for Japanese cars is that the changes list is short. They are right-hand drive, and Japanese cars are no longer checked for headlight compliance. Most need a rear fog light, and cars under 10 years old need a speedo that reads in mph.
Ways it can cost less
Cars over 30 years old
A car over 30 years old pays 5% import VAT and no duty. Run the same £10,000 car and £3,575 shipping through that, and the tax drops from £4,344 to £678.75. Plenty of the Japanese cars people want are already past that mark, so check the build date before you buy.
Moving to the UK
If you are moving here and the car is yours already, Transfer of Residence relief can take the tax to nil. You need to have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months and owned the car for at least 6. See Transfer of Residence for the full rules.
Choosing RoRo
If the car runs and drives, RoRo is the usual route from Japan and costs less than a container. A container still makes sense for a car that does not run or one you want sealed away. See container, RoRo or air.
Keeping it under one roof
Testing and registration happen on the same site in Castle Donington, so the car is not moved between different firms after it lands. We are one of only seven privately operated IVA centres in Great Britain, and we register imported cars within 10 working days. Your car never has to leave our site to be tested, so there is no extra transport to pay for.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to ship a car from Japan to the UK?
Our guide price for Japan, in the rest of the world group, is from £3,575, built from a year of real jobs. That is shipping only and excludes registration, other services, import tax and remedial fees.
How is import tax worked out on a car from Japan?
Duty is 10% of the car price plus shipping. VAT is then 20% of the car price plus shipping plus the duty. On a £10,000 car with £3,575 shipping, that is £1,357.50 duty and £2,986.50 VAT.
Do I pay less tax on an older Japanese car?
Yes, if it is over 30 years old. Those cars pay 5% import VAT and no import duty.
Can I avoid import tax if I am moving to the UK?
If you have lived outside the UK for at least 12 months and owned the car for at least 6 months, you can apply to HMRC for Transfer of Residence relief, which means no VAT or duty.
Is there an import tax calculator for cars from Japan?
Yes. Our estimator adds the guide shipping price and the import tax for your car price. Your quote will have the exact figure.
Want the real number for your car? Send us the details on the quote form and we will price the lot, from Japan to your plates.
