HGV finance Ireland: trucks, trailers and fleets

The lender pays the dealer for the truck or trailer and your company repays over an agreed term, usually up to five years. On hire purchase your company owns the vehicle after the last payment; on a lease or contract hire the lender keeps ownership. The vehicle is the lender's security. Lenders look at your accounts, the vehicle's age and value, and your haulage experience.

Expect lenders that fund hauliers to ask about it. Under RSA guidance, a company needs a road haulage operator licence to carry other people's goods for hire or reward in vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. Companies carrying their own goods do not. To hold a licence, an operator must show financial standing under EU rules, generally €9,000 for the first heavy vehicle and €5,000 for each extra one.

Usually, yes. Revenue treats lorries and other Category B and C commercial vehicles as deductible for VAT, so a VAT-registered company using a truck in its taxable business can reclaim the VAT under the normal rules. On hire purchase the VAT on the full price is due at the start; on a lease it is charged on each rental. Make sure the invoice is in the company's name.

Yes. Many lenders fund trailers separately from the tractor unit, including curtainsiders, fridges, flatbeds and tippers, on hire purchase or lease. Standard trailers with a strong resale market are usually easier to finance than one-off specialist builds. A VAT-registered company can generally reclaim VAT on a trailer used in its taxable business, as with other business equipment.

You can finance buses and coaches, but VAT is usually a cost. Revenue says buses and minibuses with more than eight passenger seats are generally not deductible for VAT, even though they are Category C vehicles, because carrying passengers is VAT-exempt. Build the VAT into your cash flow and finance plan, and ask your accountant whether any part of your use changes this.

A flat €200. Revenue's VRT rules put larger goods vehicles (EU categories N2 and N3), buses (M2 and M3) and agricultural tractors in Category C, which pays a flat €200 at first registration in Ireland. VRT is not VAT and cannot be reclaimed through your VAT return. Vans up to 3.5 tonnes are in Category B and pay a percentage of value.

Trucks, trailers and other commercial vehicles not normally used privately are treated as plant, so your company can usually claim wear and tear allowances of 12.5% a year over eight years on the full cost. The €24,000 cap and emissions limits apply only to cars. Allowances generally follow ownership, so they apply on hire purchase but not usually on an ordinary lease.

Yes. Many lenders fund used trucks and trailers, subject to age, mileage, condition and value at the end of the term. A vehicle from a dealer with a full service history is usually easier to finance than a private sale. Expect shorter terms on older vehicles, so the agreement ends while the truck still has resale value.

Not on hire purchase or a finance lease, because your company either owns the truck at the end or bears its residual value. Contract hire, where the vehicle goes back at the end, usually sets an annual mileage or hours limit with excess charges. Long-distance hauliers should estimate their mileage carefully before choosing contract hire.

Yes. Larger operators can arrange fleet finance facilities that let them add or replace vehicles over time under one agreed limit, on hire purchase, lease or contract hire. Lenders look at fleet size, the replacement cycle, the company's accounts and how it has handled previous vehicle finance. Smaller operators usually finance each vehicle separately.

Possibly. Dealers often have finance partners, and banks and asset finance companies lend directly. Tell us what your company needs and we'll tell you honestly whether our panel can help, or where to apply instead.