Tax relief for disabled drivers and disabled passengers

Information

The Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers Scheme provides a range of tax reliefs linked to the purchase and use of vehicles by disabled drivers and disabled passengers in Ireland. Under the terms of the scheme, you can claim remission or repayment of vehicle registration tax (VRT), repayment of value-added tax (VAT) on the purchase of a vehicle and repayment of VAT on the cost of adapting a vehicle, up to a maximum of 9,525 euro for a disabled driver and 15,875 euro for a disabled passenger.

Relief is limited to a vehicle that has been specially constructed or adapted for use by a disabled person and that has an engine size of less than 2,000cc in the case of the driver and 4,000cc in the case of the passenger.

If you qualify for tax relief under the scheme, you can also claim repayment of excise duty on fuel used in your vehicle for the transport of a disabled person, up to a maximum of 600 gallons per year. In addition, if you qualify under the scheme, your vehicle may be exempt from the payment of annual road tax on application to a Motor Tax Office.

Rules

In order to qualify for tax relief under the scheme, you must have a valid Primary Medical Certificate. A Primary Medical Certificate confirms you are severely and permanently disabled and:

• Are completely or almost completely without the use of both legs or
• Are completely without the use of one of your legs and almost completely without the use of the other leg to the extent that you are severely restricted as regards movement in your legs or
• Are without both hands or both arms or
• Are without one or both legs or
• Are completely or almost completely without the use of both hands or arms and completely or almost completely without the use of one leg or
• Have the medical condition of dwarfism and serious difficulties of movement of the legs

Local Health Offices of the Health Service Executive (HSE) process applications for a Primary Medical Certificate. If the HSE refuses your application for a Primary Medical Certificate, you may appeal the refusal to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Rochestown Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. 

Disabled Drivers

You can claim tax relief on

• A new vehicle
• A used vehicle that has been purchased from an authorised dealer and that has not been previously registered in the state

You can also buy a previously registered used vehicle, in which case the amount of the repayment will be the residual tax contained in the value of the vehicle.

If you bought the vehicle before you qualified as a disabled driver, a repayment of VAT and VRT, appropriate to the market value of the vehicle at the time of entry to the scheme, will be made.

Disabled Passengers

You can claim tax relief on

• A new vehicle
• A used vehicle that has been purchased from an authorised dealer and that has not been previously registered in the state

You can also buy a previously registered used vehicle, in which case the amount of the repayment will be the residual tax contained in the value of the vehicle.

If you bought the vehicle before you qualified as a disabled person, a repayment of VAT and VRT, appropriate to the market value of the vehicle at the time of entry to the scheme, will be made.

The pre-tax cost of adapting the vehicle must amount to at least 10% of its pre-tax cost.

A vehicle that has been acquired under a hire-purchase agreement qualifies for tax relief.

Residency

A family member of a disabled passenger can also qualify for relief provided he/she is living with and responsible for the transport of the disabled person in question and has acquired the vehicle for that purpose.

If the disabled person only stays with a family member on a part-time basis, the residency requirement is not met. However, if the disabled person is a minor who is in residential or medical care on a part-time or occasional basis and who spends a significant part of his/her time at home, e.g., every weekend and holidays, the residency requirement may be met. The Revenue Commissioners may, in exceptional circumstances, waive the residency requirement.

You should contact the Central Repayments Office to make sure that you meet the residency requirements for relief under the scheme before purchasing a vehicle.

Restrictions on disposal

The vehicle must not be disposed of for at least two years from the date the relief is granted.

You will only be allowed to dispose of the vehicle within the two years if you refund to the Revenue Commissioners a substantial portion of the relief allowed, calculated by reference to the value of the vehicle at the time of disposal. "Disposal" means the sale of the vehicle, the gift of the vehicle to another person and the hiring or renting of the vehicle.

If the vehicle is disposed of following damage in an accident, the damage will be taken into account in calculating the value of the vehicle at the time of disposal.

How to apply

Download and complete Form DD1 (pdf). This application form is also available from the Central Repayments Office. All applicants must complete Sections A, B, C, D and E of the form. Disabled passengers must also complete Section F. Sections F and G must be completed where the applicant is a family member of a disabled passenger.

Applying for remission of VRT

You need to send the following documents to the Central Repayments Office

• Form DD1
• The original Primary Medical Certificate if you are claiming for the first time. You must apply to your Health Service Executive (HSE) Area for an application form for a Primary Medical Certificate – obtain an application form from your Local Health Office in the HSE. Complete the application form and return it to the Senior Medical Officer of the Local Health Office. The Senior Medical Officer then appoints a HSE doctor to visit your home and carry out an assessment of the level of your disability. If you satisfy the requirements, you are granted a Primary Medical Certificate by the HSE.

If your application for remission of VRT is acceptable, you will be sent a Letter of Authorisation. You should produce this letter, along with Form DD1 at the Vehicle Registration Office when the vehicle is being registered.

When you have bought the vehicle, you must obtain the following documents

• An original invoice from the dealer showing the full purchase particulars of the vehicle and verifying that payment of the amount due has been made in full
• An original invoice from the person who adapted the vehicle, showing that payment has been made in full. The invoice must show full details of the adaptations to the vehicle and the VAT charged.

The dealer must submit these documents, along with the Letter of Authorisation and the completed Form DD1 to the Vehicle Registration Office when he/she is registering the vehicle. If the documentation is in order, the Vehicle Registration Office will register the vehicle without charging VRT.

Where remission has been allowed, the documents supplied to the Vehicle Registration Office will be used to complete the processing of your application and VAT will be repaid by the Central Repayments Office.

Applying for repayment of VRT and VAT

If VRT has not been remitted and you want to claim repayment of VRT and VAT, you need to submit the following documents to the Central Repayments Office.

• A fully completed Application Form DD1
• The original Primary Medical Certificate if you are claiming for the first time.
• An original invoice from the dealer showing the full purchase particulars of the vehicle and VAT charged and showing that payment of the amount due has been made in full
• An original invoice from the person who adapted the vehicle, indicating that payment has been made in full. This invoice should set out the full details of the adaptations and the VAT charged.
• The vehicle's Vehicle Registration Certificate. This certificate is needed to allow the Central Repayments Office to endorse it to the effect that the vehicle was purchased under the Disabled Drivers and Passengers Scheme and cannot be disposed of for two years. This certificate will be returned to you immediately.

Applying for refund of excise duty on fuel

Claims for repayment of excise duty on fuel should be made once a year on Form DD3 (pdf) which will be automatically sent to you by the Central Repayments Office. Where there is a particular difficulty, it may be possible to claim more than once a year.

You need to keep receipts for the fuel purchased for two years, but do not have to submit them with your claim. You have to estimate the percentage of that fuel that is used for your own transport or the transport of a disabled passenger.

Applying for exemption from motor tax

If your vehicle is being registered in Ireland for the first time, you need to present your Vehicle Registration Certificate to your local Motor Taxation Office.

If your vehicle was previously registered in Ireland before you entered the scheme, you will be given a Certificate of Approval by the Central Repayments Office, which you should present at your Motor Taxation Office.

Where To Apply