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<\/p>\nCar tax is one of those sadly necessary evils of owning a vehicle. You need to tax your car in order to drive it, so it\u2019s often one of the first things new drivers have to get sorted (along with their insurance).<\/p>\n
However, for various reasons even the most experienced of car drivers can sometimes find themselves with plenty of questions about car tax, so we\u2019ve answered some of the most common below!<\/p>\n
Basically, it\u2019s the annual tax that we have to pay for using our cars on the roads. It\u2019s variously referred to as road tax, car tax, or vehicle excise duty (VED). As we\u2019ve mentioned, it\u2019s a legal requirement to regularly pay road tax to the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), who collects it on behalf of the government. It goes towards maintaining and improve the UK\u2019s network of roads, motorways and highways.<\/p>\n
Most people prefer to pay their road tax in blocks of six to twelve months. Some drivers will also pay a few extra months in advance if they can, especially if they know they\u2019ll only need a few months\u2019 coverage beyond a certain point.<\/p>\n
But, you may be asking, why might you stop taxing your car early? Well, if you scrap your car and may not be replacing it, you obviously won\u2019t need to continue paying road tax. However, we\u2019ll cover that in more detail later on!<\/p>\n
The cost of road tax depends on a number of factors, including where your car was registered, its age, and the volume of harmful emissions it produces. For older cars that date back to before 2001, the size of the engine is the main factor that affects how much you pay.<\/p>\n
The cost can also change in line with the UK economy, too. From the 1st of April 2019, car tax rates have climbed in line with Britain\u2019s retail price inflation (RPI). However, VED rates aren\u2019t retroactively applied for older cars, which is why older ones often end up being taxed at a much lower rate. (Excellent for budgeting!)<\/p>\n
On the other hand, if you drive an electric vehicle that cost you under \u00a340,000, you won\u2019t pay any road tax at all. This is because it\u2019s considered a pollution neutral vehicle. The freedom from paying road tax is intended to act as a reward, as well as an incentive to encourage other drivers to adopt similar environmentally-friendly cars.<\/p>\n
Right now, many of them do, yes. The government made quite a dramatic and controversial U-turn on diesel engines a few years ago, and to make things even more confusing, some people think there are hints of another forthcoming one, too. However, if you\u2019re in the market for a new car, it\u2019s probably worth looking at petrol ones first!<\/p>\n
The Real Driving Emissions 2 standard is relevant here – as the name suggests, it basically taxes cars according to their real world emissions standard (as opposed to a theoretical one). It monitors vehicles for how much harmful nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxides and hydrocarbons they emit.<\/p>\n
This test applies to new cars registered after April 2018, and diesel vehicles, on the whole, still do not score highly. And if a diesel car doesn\u2019t meet the RDE2 standard, it gets taxed at the next higher tax band. (When it was implemented, some diesel owners saw the cost of their road tax rise by as much as \u00a3500!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As we touched on above, for these older vehicles, VED is dependent on the car\u2019s engine size. If your car\u2019s engine is under 1549cc, your car tax will amount to \u00a3155 annually. If your engine\u2019s any bigger than that, you\u2019ll pay \u00a3255. If it\u2019s older than 40, you don\u2019t have to pay anything at all!<\/p>\n
There are several scenarios where you can be entitled to a refund of your car tax from the DVLA. They\u2019ll officially refund it once they receive a notification from the registered keeper under one of the following circumstances:<\/p>\n
The vehicle has been sold or transferred<\/b><\/p>\n
If you\u2019re the one selling or transferring your own car, you\u2019ll need to let the DVLA know using the yellow Section 9 of your registration certificate. It used to involve sending them your tax disc, but since these were phased out in 2014, it\u2019s a job that\u2019s now mostly done online.<\/p>\n
Another major change from 2014 is that since the paper discs were phased out, it\u2019s no longer possible to transfer car tax, whether the sale is private or being made through a dealer. That means if you\u2019re becoming the new owner of a vehicle, you\u2019ll need to tax it yourself – you can\u2019t use the previous owner\u2019s remaining car tax.<\/p>\n
The seller will need to ensure they notify the DVLA of the sale, which can be quickly done online. Once the DVLA are aware, they will then refund any remaining road tax within six weeks. (This can potentially go towards taxing a replacement car.) If they\u2019ve not responded or sent the money within that time, it\u2019s worth contacting them again.<\/p>\n
New owners, on the other hand, will need to ensure they get the New Keeper Supplement (V5C\/2) when they buy their new car, and from there everything should be fairly straightforward.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The car has been scrapped at an Authorised Treatment Facility<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re scrapping your car, it\u2019s vital to let the DVLA know so that they\u2019re able to refund your car tax. Some people assume this will be done as part of the process, but not every scrap car dealer will do this on your behalf, so it\u2019s always worth double checking!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget, if the DVLA don\u2019t know for certain you\u2019ve scrapped your car, then as far as they\u2019re concerned you\u2019re still liable for car tax. They\u2019ll calculate your refund from the moment they\u2019re notified, not from the moment you actually scrap your car, so don\u2019t leave it until the last moment!<\/p>\n Here at Scrap Car Network, we\u2019ll notify the DVLA on your behalf, who will then send you your Certificate of Destruction<\/a>. This is official proof you\u2019re no longer legally responsible for your car, so you know you\u2019re no longer liable for car tax. You\u2019ll then receive your refund for any remaining tax in a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n However, just in case, we do always encourage our customers to contact the DVLA separately to make sure. It\u2019s not the most exciting of tasks, but it\u2019s certainly worth it if the alternative is paying double or triple figures for a car you don\u2019t own anymore!<\/p>\n The car has been exported<\/strong><\/p>\n If you take your car abroad for less than twelve months, it\u2019ll still need to be taxed as though you\u2019re driving it around in the UK. However, if it\u2019s out of the country for over a year, it\u2019s regarded as a permanent export, which means the DVLA will no longer be after car tax from you. (Someone else probably will be, though!)<\/p>\n If you\u2019re planning on taking your car with you on this sort of reasonably long-term move abroad, you\u2019ll need to ensure you send in the relevant \u2018Permanent Export\u2019 section of your logbook to the DVLA, so that they class your vehicle accordingly.<\/p>\n The car has been taken off the road via a Statutory Off Road Notification<\/strong><\/p>\n A Statutory Off Road Notification, often abbreviated to a SORN, acts as a formal declaration to the DVLA that you\u2019re taking your car off the road. This allows you to keep it on your property without vehicle tax or insurance, but means you can\u2019t drive it anywhere, except to pre-booked MOT appointments.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t even keep it on a public road, so that\u2019s worth bearing in mind too! There are a number of reasons why you might want to make a SORN. For example, if there\u2019s a short delay in renewing your insurance policy (whether due to admin or a financial situation), you\u2019ll need a SORN.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve got any questions regarding Statutory Off Road Notices, we\u2019ve previously published a detailed post covering everything you need to know about a SORN<\/a>.<\/p>\n The registered keeper has changed the car\u2019s tax class to make it duty exempt<\/p>\n Some car modifications can change your car\u2019s tax band, which will cause it to either increase or decrease exactly how much you pay. However, you\u2019ll still need to let the DVLA know (and ensure your modifications are legal before you make them!).<\/p>\n As you\u2019ve probably guessed, you can\u2019t arbitrarily change your car\u2019s tax band just because you fancy paying less tax. The DVLA changes it for you, based on the status of the vehicle. That\u2019s part of why it\u2019s so important to keep them posted!<\/p>\n The vehicle has been stolen<\/strong><\/p>\n Hopefully you\u2019ll never find yourself in this situation – but if you do, it\u2019s important not to delay talking to the DVLA. As soon as you\u2019ve let them know you no longer own your vehicle, they\u2019ll give you a refund for any full months left on your vehicle tax.<\/p>\n As we mentioned above, the DVLA calculates this from the moment they get your information, which is one of the reasons it\u2019s important to act promptly. The cheque will be sent to the name and address on the logbook. Unfortunately, you won\u2019t get the refund for a 5% surcharge on Direct Debit payments or the 10% surcharge on a single 6-month payment.<\/p>\n With any luck, though, you won\u2019t have to worry about a stolen car. Most come to the end of their useful lifespan through mechanical failure, or simply become uneconomical to continue driving, due to frequent repairs and breakdowns.<\/p>\n Happily, that\u2019s where we can help right here at Scrap Car Network. Our mission is to save you as much time, effort and paperwork as possible when we scrap your car. Just by filling out the fields on our website, you can get an online valuation of your car in as little as 10 seconds!<\/p>\n You can count on us to promptly get you your Certificate of Destruction, so that you\u2019re refunded any road tax remaining on the car. Wondering what your car is worth? Well, couldn\u2019t hurt to look, could it? Get an instant online quote today<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Car tax is one of those sadly necessary evils of owning a vehicle. You need to tax your car in order to drive it, so it\u2019s often one of the first things new drivers have to get sorted (along with their insurance). However, for various reasons even the most experienced of car drivers can sometimes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":1919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n