A guide to electric vehicle grants and incentives

Electric vehicles (EVs) play a key role in Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, as they aid with the decarbonisation of our transport sector and help to eliminate harmful emissions. 

There’s a target in Ireland to have 945,000 EVs on the road by 2030, with 845,000 of these to be private passenger cars. 

To achieve this ambitious goal, there are now a number of grants and incentives in place to reduce the initial financial impact of purchasing an EV. And there’s also the prospect of getting cheaper car insurance. 

Grants of up to €3,500 are currently available to aid with the purchase of new privately-owned vehicles. In 2023, the Government also announced the arrival of the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy which aims to see more charging stations appear throughout the country. You can learn about this here.

For now, however, the grants are still available, so if you want to know more, keep reading!

Electric vehicle grants

Privately bought EVs

If you purchase a new battery electric vehicle (BEV), you’ll be eligible for a grant from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) to help offset the financial burden. 

• A maximum grant of €3,500 is available for vehicles that qualify for the grant. 
• Only BEVs with a value of between €14,000 and €60,000 are eligible for the grant. 
• As of July 2023, there are no grants for hybrid vehicles or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). Only fully electric cars are eligible.

The grant amount will depend on the list price of the vehicle, which is the full non-discounted price, in the absence of VRT relief or grant support.

Here’s a list of what grant amount you can expect to receive.

Commercially bought EVs

There’s also a grant available for EVs purchased for business use. 

This grant is only available to 'N1' category vehicles, which includes small goods vans and cars with a maximum mass of 3,500kg.

When purchased commercially, a maximum grant of €3,800 is available and the vehicle must be worth between €14,000 and €60,000.

How can I apply for these grants?

Those who wish to buy a BEV, either privately or for commercial use, can apply when purchasing the EV from a dealer. 

The dealer will apply for the grant for you, and it will be deducted from the total price agreed.

Home charging grants

Through the SEAI, the Government offers a funded support scheme assisting residents and homeowners with installing an EV charge point at their property. 

There are grants of up to €600 available to assist with the cost of installing a home charger. 

In order to qualify, there are certain criteria you must meet. 

• You must have off-street parking: This grant will only cover off-street installation on private or rented properties (once you have permission from the landlord) and the charger must be connected back to the home of the applicant.
• The property can't be associated with a previous EV home charge point grant payment: Additionally, it cannot have availed of the free ESB E-cars home charger pre-2018.
• You must not commence any work before the start date on your Letter of Offer: If you do commence work, this expenditure will be deemed ineligible and you won't receive grant support for it.

Not only will these grant units cover the bulk of your wallbox cost, but they will also help lower the cost of charging your EV. 

If you’re signed up for a night rate electricity plan, you can take advantage of this and choose to charge your car overnight for a lower electricity rate.

You can learn more about the different EV grants available in our electric vehicle podcast special.

How can I apply for a home charging grant?

There are a few steps involved in applying for a home charging grant:

1. Complete the online application

Fill out the Electric Vehicle Home Charger grant application form online on the SEAI website.

You’ll need your Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN) and your Eircode at hand. 

2. Letter of Offer

When your application has been approved, you will receive a ‘Letter of Offer’ via email, along with terms and conditions, and a payment request form link. 

You’ll also receive an email containing the Installation Details Form, which will need to be completed by your electrician and sent to your chosen installer. 

3. Complete your installation

From the date you receive your offer letter, you have 6 months to complete the installation of your at-home charge point. 

4. Complete the Installation Details Form

Once the installation is done your electrician should complete the Installation Details Form and you should complete the Payment Request Form.

5. Submit your Payment Request Form 

This form can be found in the offer letter email. 

You’ll need to include various documents, such as a copy of invoices and photographs of the installed charge point.

You can view a more detailed outline of the application process on the SEAI website here.

Apartment charging grant

The SEAI apartment charger grant helps residents and owners of apartments and other multi-unit developments to install a home charger for their EV.

The grant is designed for bulk installation of chargers at a single location and supports cabling, infrastructure, labour, and construction costs.

The following people and organisations can apply for the grant:

• Apartment owners’ management companies
• Housing bodies
• Local authorities
• Commercial and private landlords

How to apply for the apartment charging grant

There are two ways to apply for this grant.

Route 1

The company responsible for managing the complex can apply for grant support from SEAI if there is no existing EV charging network or system in the car park.

The SEAI will provide up to 80% funding for infrastructure costs and will also offer €600 per charge point installed.

In order to acquire ownership of the charger, the management company can make independent arrangements with you.

Route 2

If there is already an EV charging network present in your complex, contact your Management Company to request permission to join the local network.

They should instruct you about what equipment and supplier must be used. They will tell you how to set up an account to pay for the use of the system.

When this step is complete, you can visit SEAI’s Home Charger online grant system and make an application for a Home Charger grant.

Incentives

VRT Relief

There is Vehicle Registration Tax relief on certain types of EVs up to a maximum amount of €5,000. 

Until December 2020, it was possible to receive VRT relief on hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles. 

However, now VRT relief is only available on EVs or motorcycles that are powered only by an electric motor and have been registered before December 31st 2023.

Relief will vary depending on the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) of the EV:

• Vehicles with an OMSP of up to €40,000 will be granted relief of up to €5,000. 
• Vehicles with an OMSP of greater than €40,000, but less than €50,000 will receive a reduced level of relief. 
• There is no VRT relief for any electric vehicles above €50,000.

The reliefs outlined are applied automatically by Revenue when the vehicle is registered at a Centre or on ROS. 

Low motor tax band

BEVs qualify for the lowest tax band of motor tax at €120 per annum, while PHEVs are typically taxed at around €170 per annum.

Get the best value car insurance on bonkers.ie

Did you know that motorists with an EV often get better rates on their car insurance?

You can apply for a discounted car insurance policy right here on bonkers.ie! Head over to our car insurance page to get started and discover take a look at our Quickstart Guide here.

Why stop there? We also offer a range of other comparison tools for services such as energy, broadband, banking, and other insurance types. 

See how much you could save on your everyday bills!

Discover more about electric vehicles

If you found this guide helpful, make sure you take a look at our other articles on EVs:

• Here are 10 things to consider when purchasing an electric vehicle.
• Uncover the answers to all your EV questions in our guide on common electric vehicle questions answered
• Read our guide on everything you need to know about charging an electric vehicle
• Listen to our podcast on electric vehicles and charging stations. 

Don’t forget, you can stay up to date with all the latest news with our blog and guide pages.

If you want to hear an in-depth discussion of EVs, be sure to tune in to our February bonkers.ie podcast! Our hosts Caoimhe and Fionn, along with some special guests, talk through everything to do with electric vehicles. Have a listen here. 

Let’s hear from you

Do you have any questions about the range of EV grants and incentives available? If so, get in touch. You can contact us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.