UK Online Shopping in Ireland After Brexit

Posted on 20 Comments

A Brexit deal was finally agreed upon between the EU and the UK on Dec 24th 2020.
But , even with an EU/UK trade deal, there will still be import duties on some items.

UK VAT should not be charged on orders from the UK sent to Ireland/EU.


Read the full details below and how it has affected Online Shopping in Ireland from UK websites since Brexit.

Import Duty

There appear to be some people in Ireland who assumed that customs duty charges applied to all orders from the UK after Brexit. This is not true.

  • No import duty is charged on any orders coming from the UK valued under €150 (about £130 GBP).
  • Some items over €150 not made in the UK might be liable for import duty – it depends on the type of product. Many popular products such as books, computers, games consoles, digital cameras, phones are NOT LIABLE for import duty .

Read more here about Import Duty Rates on UK Online Shopping

Import VAT in Ireland and Orders From The UK

Since Brexit on Jan 1st 2021, all UK online sales to Irish and other EU customers should be treated as exports and should be zero-rated for UK VAT.

Between Jan 1st and July 1st, there was a VAT exemption on orders under €22 coming to Ireland from outside the EU..

However, since July 1st 2021 , import VAT in Ireland is now payable on all orders from outside the EU regardless of value.

The VAT Rate in Ireland is 23% on most goods.
Books are zero VAT in Ireland as is children’s clothing and children’s footwear (usually up to age 11).
Books are also zero VAT in the UK .


Here are the current VAT Rates in Ireland

VAT on UK Sales to Irish Customers Post July 2021

  • The EU €22 exemption on import VAT was removed from July 1st 2021
  • Online marketplaces (such as Amazon) are now responsible for collecting EU VAT on all orders under €150 from outside the EU.

Summary of VAT on UK online orders to Ireland from July 2021

  • On orders less than €150 –
    1. Online marketplaces ( eg Amazon) facilitating sales to Irish/EU consumers are responsible for the VAT on third party supplier’s behalf . So the Irish VAT will be taken care of at the point of sale by the marketplace provider and there should be no need to worry about any unpaid VAT on Amazon / Ebay orders under €150.( Even third-party sales.)
    2. Other online retailers in the UK can opt to charge Irish VAT or no VAT at all. If No VAT is charged at checkout it will mean the customer will have to pay it on delivery. (If it is spotted )
  • Orders greater than €150
    1. Online retailers selling from the UK to Ireland can choose to collect Irish VAT at checkout or leave it for the customer to pay on delivery.
    2. Amazon –
      1. In the case of Amazon UK – they will continue to charge Irish VAT at checkout on all items that are “Sold by Amazon” or “Fulfilled by Amazon”.
      2. Other UK sellers on Amazon who organise their own delivery, can choose to collect Irish VAT at checkout on orders over €150 – or leave it for the customer to pay on delivery along with any duty. They are strongly encouraged by Amazon to charge VAT at checkout.

  • BOOKS are zero VAT and 0% Duty – so there should be no extra to pay on books bought from the UK.

Admin Charges if You Have to Pay VAT or Duty on Delivery.

An Post seem to be charging €10 to handle import fees from outside the EU .

DHL Express – Charge 2.5% of the Taxes and Duties . Min €14.50.

FEDEX – Charge 2.5% of the Taxes and Duties . Min €15.

Top Tip : If you want to avoid a delivery VAT bill plus an admin fee from a courier : – Avoid ordering from any UK retailer that doesn’t charge the Irish VAT .


Luckily the Irish and UK VAT rates are different – (20% in UK, 23% in Ireland) .
You will know if Irish VAT has been applied because the total checkout price should be about 2.5% higher than the advertised UK price.
For example, £100 inclusive of UK VAT should change to £102.50 at checkout for delivery to Ireland.

This website has some examples of Online Shopping Sites to use in Ireland where there will be no import charges on delivery.


Amazon Germany might be worth looking at when doing Online Shopping in Ireland after Brexit.
Here is a link to the English Language Version of Amazon Germany

20 thoughts on “UK Online Shopping in Ireland After Brexit”

  1. I have just received a parcel via Addresspal (Part of An Post) for an order placed on Amazon UK and despatched via the UK selling agent.
    The nett value of the goods supplied were £30.58. This seller applied UK VAT of 20% to this sum. Also a shipping charge (excluding VAT) was charged on the invoice. The total invoice value was £41.070 or 47.87 Euros.
    Upon arrival in Dublin, Customs charged an additional 10.06 Euros plus an An Post fee of 3.50 Euros.
    Upon reading your advice it would appear UK VAT should not have been charged.
    I am not certain why Irish Customs charged Irish VAT on the UK shipping carge?
    Can someone pleas explain?
    Regards Andy Letchford

    • By using Addresspal you asked the seller to deliver to a UK address . So UK VAt applied.
      Irish VAT then has to be charged when Addresspal brings it into Ireland. They seem to be charging VAT on the full value of the package including delivery.

      Basically – using Addresspal after Brexit or similar is now always going to cost at least 21% more plus €3.50 handling.
      Probably not worth using Addresspal anymore unless the item is something you really really need and noo one else can deliver it to Ireland.

  2. I’ve preordered and paid in full for an item in the UK, not of UK origin, prior to BREXIT with a long lead time (not for delivery until potentially May 2021). Am I exposed to the possibility of having to pay VAT on this order just because it will ship post BREXIT?

  3. If the purchase was made online before Brexit but is still caught up in the backlog with UPS will I still be charged the extras on an order over E 500 euro

  4. I’ve just paid €29.20 to DPD.ie in order for them to have a representation form for customs clearance before I can receive my family gifted parcel from the UK.

    This is so wrong to be charged on family sending over gifts from the UK, most of my family are living in the UK and often send home parcels throughout the year.

    My husband receives gifted packages from family in the States from time to time and doesn’t get charged import duty or VAT.

  5. If I order from a company in the eu, but they ship through the uk will I be charged customs duty?. Goods will be originally shipped from an eu country.

    • It shouldn’t matter what route the goods take – as long as they are packed and posted/shipped to you from the EU country.
      If the EU shop sends the goods to a UK partner/depot to be packed and shipped – then yes and the package is then coming from the UK – but I don’t see why any retailer would do that.

  6. Hi, we purchased an item for £40 from the UK and paid £20 delivery charge. We then had to pay UPS €34.70 upon delivery, broken down to €18.15 admin charge and then €16.55 in Taxes. It’s been impossible to get in touch with the UPS team who deal with this to explain, but how would the €16.55 taxes be calculated? Do we now get charge VAT on the cost of delivery too?

    • Yes the Import VAT is due on the total value of the package , including delivery.
      This is done to stop sellers pricing things at 10p plus delivery of £30 to avoid import VAT.

  7. Hi, I just ordered goods from Amazon UK totalling £48.32 with free postage and packing. They then charged me £11.41 import fees deposit. So the total I was charged was £59.73. What is the £11.41 for? And shouldn’t the products have come to £48.32 less the UK VAT @20% (ie £40.26) and then they should have added on £8.45 for the import duties, so the total I should have paid should have been £40.26+8.45=48.71? Whereas I paid £59.73 – what’s the extra 11.02 for? Thanks for your help.

    • I’m guessing that the seller wasn’t Amazon – but a third party.
      If the seller isn’t UK VAT registered – then there is no UK VAT to deduct.
      Best to avoid these sellers if you can for delivery to Ireland.
      Have you got a link to the item ?

  8. Hi, I ordered children’s clothing from a UK website (value £57.96GBP). Delivery was zero.
    I used AddressPal for the delivery to a UK address and then forward on to me, and now an post are asking for €15.45 (€11.95 Irish vat plus €3.50 an Post admin fee). Is Irish vat still applicable in this case if the products are children’s clothing? If not, how can I dispute it?
    Thanks for your help

  9. Hi,

    I ordered clothes off a UK website (jamesoncarterofficial) in which the price was VAT inclusive ( assuming that’s UK VAT). Total goods plus shipping was less than €150. Now I am being charged a fee by DPD and I am unsure if it is customs or import VAT, but should I be covered since I have paid UK VAT? Or have I made a mistake by paying UK VAT and leaving myself liable to pay Irish VAT also? If in your opinion I am not liable for this fee then what should I do?

    • It will be Irish import VAT DPD are looking for. It doesn’t matter if you paid VAT in the UK. You will now be charged Irish VAT on the total price incl delivery charges.
      You could try asking the retailer for a refund of the UK VAT ?

  10. Hi Im buying an item from a seller in Northern Ireland. It is valued over 150 euro. I paid a shipping andchandling cost of 25 pound sterling. Im a bit worrued now that I will have a fee to pay the delivery company. This scenario wasnt mentioned when I bought the item 2 weeks ago. What can I expect for goods manufactured and bought from Northern Ireland

    • Brexit did not change the rules on goods sold from NI to Ireland. They are treated the same as they were before Brexit.
      You should have no extra to pay.

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