Shipping household goods to Ireland

The conditions

Who can claim the relief

Twelve continuous months outside the EU

You must have lived outside the European Union for a continuous period of at least twelve months before the date you move to Ireland to live. Revenue adds that you may qualify if you can prove that you intended to live outside the EU for a continuous period of at least twelve months.

Six months’ possession and use

You must have had possession of, and used, the goods for at least six months before the date you move. The period is twelve months for goods acquired duty-free by diplomats and members of international organisations.

Duty and tax paid where you bought the goods

Duty and tax must have been paid on the goods in the country of purchase. On the form you declare that the goods were acquired under the general conditions of taxation in that country, and were not exempted from tax, or given a tax refund, because they were being exported.

When the goods come in

• Six months before to twelve months after. You must import the goods within six months before, or twelve months after, the date you move to Ireland to live.
• Goods sent ahead of you. If the goods are imported before you move, you must agree to take up residence in Ireland within six months of the importation.

What the relief does not cover

The form states that the relief does not apply to commercial means of transport, tools of a trade or excisable products. For those it points to Revenue’s separate relief for a transfer of business.

The declaration

Form C&E 1076 (Rev 2)

Its full title is “Transfer of Residence from Non-EU country: Application and Declaration for Relief from Import Charges and Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT)”. It asks you to read Revenue’s transfer of residence pages first, and to send the documentary evidence it lists with the application.

Open form C&E 1076 (Rev 2) on revenue.ie (PDF)

What the form asks

• Section 1: personal details. Asked so that Revenue can establish your normal residence: your occupation outside the State, your PPS number where you have one, your spouse or partner, your reason for taking up residence, and whether you had income in Ireland before.
• Section 2: residential details. How long you lived outside Ireland, your address there, the date you take up residence, and your address in Ireland and whether you own or rent it.
• Section 3: vehicle details. A separate page for each vehicle: make, model, registration, VIN, and when it was registered in your name and first used by you.
• Section 4: personal property. The list of personal and household effects: quantity, description and current value in euro.

You then sign a declaration that you have lived outside the EU for a continuous twelve months, and that the goods are your personal property, are brought in within twelve months of taking up residence, were in your possession and used by you for at least six months outside Ireland, and bore tax where you bought them. The form also carries a declaration at import by you or your agent, and a declaration by the carrier, which is not needed when the goods travel in a groupage load with a special manifest.

The evidence Revenue asks for

Appendix 1 of the form asks for documentary evidence, which may be copies, that establishes that every condition has been met:

• Your residence abroad. At least one official document showing day-to-day living abroad. The form’s examples are utility bills in your name, rental or mortgage documents, and employment or social welfare documents; it says these are neither mandatory nor exhaustive.
• Your residence in Ireland. Typically one of: rental or mortgage documents, or employment or social welfare documents.
• The date your goods came in. Evidence of the date of importation of your effects, such as ferry or plane tickets.
• A vehicle’s ownership. The vehicle registration document, which is also needed to register the vehicle in Ireland.
• A vehicle’s use. A certificate of insurance valid for six months, when arriving from outside the EU.

Revenue may ask for more. The form says that, depending on the evidence and your circumstances, further documents may be required to process the claim, and that sensitive information may be redacted from the documents you send.

Your shipment

Where Ruby International fits

We move households internationally, door to door, from the United States. The rules above shape how a shipment to Ireland is planned.

• Timing: the goods come in between six months before and twelve months after your move, and the application goes to Revenue two weeks before they arrive. Tell us your moving date and what you are shipping, and we will quote the move around it.
• Paperwork: the claim is yours, on form C&E 1076 (Rev 2), with evidence of your residence abroad and in Ireland and, for a vehicle, its registration and insurance.

We do not give legal, tax or customs advice. Whether your goods qualify is decided by Revenue.