Tax on importing a UK car to France: rules and exemptions
Brexit trade rules can come into play to reduce levies on certain vehicles
When you ship a car from a country outside of the EU, such as the UK or the US, you only need to pay customs duty once
Alicia G. Monedero / Shutterstock
When a vehicle is shipped from a country outside the EU, such as the UK or the US, customs duty and VAT is only paid when the car first enters the EU.
Once the vehicle has been legally imported into any EU member state, it becomes EU goods.
As a result, it can generally be moved between member states without further customs declarations or additional VAT/duty, allowing you to drive it to France from whichever EU port it first arrived at.
When import taxes apply
Whether you need to pay import taxes at all depends on several circumstances.
If you are an EU resident importing a car from outside the bloc – including the UK since Brexit – the vehicle may be treated like any other import.
This means that you can be liable for both customs duty and VAT.
Importing a car can therefore be expensive. Customs duty on cars is typically 10% of the vehicle's value, while VAT is charged at 20% in France.
If the vehicle enters the EU through another member state, you may pay a different national VAT rate, although customs duty is standard across the EU.
Brexit rules may apply
Having said this, cars imported from the UK do not always attract the standard 10% EU customs duty.
Under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), vehicles that qualify as UK or EU-originating under the agreement's 'rules of origin' can be imported duty-free, although VAT may still apply where relevant.
In general, this means at least 55% of the vehicle's value must originate in the UK or EU rather than third countries. Many petrol and diesel cars built in the UK meet this requirement.
Electric vehicles, however, are subject to additional rules because batteries account for a large share of their value.
The UK and EU had expected battery production to expand rapidly after Brexit, but manufacturers still rely heavily on batteries and battery components from outside Europe.
The car industry has, therefore, been urging the two sides to delay stricter battery-origin requirements due to take effect from January 2027, warning that otherwise some UK and EU-built electric vehicles could become liable for the 10% tariff.
For a private buyer of a used or new UK car the safest approach is to ask the seller or manufacturer whether the vehicle qualifies for preferential origin under the EU–UK TCA.
For a new car, the manufacturer or dealer should be able to provide a statement on origin or equivalent documentation that allows the preferential tariff to be claimed.
Without any proof of origin, customs may charge the 10% duty, even if the vehicle was in fact built in the UK and would otherwise have met the rules.
Import fees waived if you are moving to France
If you are relocating to France and the car is being imported as one of your personal possessions you are normally exempt from both customs duty and VAT.
Under a 2009 EU-wide law on customs duty relief, there is an exemption for imports considered to be personal property.
However, the burden of proof rests on the importer to show that both you and the car qualify for the import tax exemption.
According to the official French Customs website (douane.gouv.fr), you may be asked to show that:
You have lived outside the EU for at least a year
You owned and used the car for at least six months before moving
You are moving your main residence to France
The way you apply for the exemption is by listing the car as a personal possession on your customs declaration.
EU law meanwhile prohibits you from selling the car for at least a year after relocating.
Note that importing a classic car may also benefit from certain lowerings and exemptions related to the voiture de collection status of the vehicle.
Driving with non-EU registration plates
Once the vehicle has successfully cleared customs, you will have to drive it still carrying UK plates.
French law allows you to drive on foreign plates for up to six months so long as the car is legally registered in the country you are moving from and you have valid insurance for driving in France.
Once you establish residence in France however you typically have a month to register the car for French plates.
A French government simulator to assess the cost of registering a vehicle is available here.
