Handy info I just got in an email about tax disc changes in the UK

BigEejit

https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/articles/your-guide-to-october-2014-car-tax-disc-changes?MediaCode=806&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NewsletterMR&utm_source=Newsletter

What is happening to the car tax disc?
The car tax - or vehicle excise duty as it's officially known - disc was introduced in 1921. Since then it has always been a legal requirement to display one - even in the case of vehicles that have been exempt from paying the charge. But from 1 October this will no longer be the case. Car tax discs will no longer be issued and even if you have a disc with months remaining you no longer have to display it.

How will car tax evaders be caught?
The DVLA, the police and other enforcement agencies will use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras together with their their electronic vehicle register to check if a vehicle is taxed or not, and so will no longer need to rely on physically checking the tax disc.

But why abolish the disc?
The DVLA say this is a cost-cutting exercise and that getting rid of printing and postage costs will save 10 million pounds each year.

But doesn't this put me at risk of driving an untaxed car?
Some motorists may worry that without being able to check the disc, they could unknowingly drive an untaxed car - such as a hire car, or one from a car pool at work. But the car tax status of any vehicle can be checked on the https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/ website using the make and registration details.

What changes are happening to the payment system?
Currently motorists pay their vehicle tax in advance, in either an annual or six-monthly instalment with a 10% surcharge for the latter. But as of 1 October, motorists will have the option of paying via direct debit, either annually, biannually or monthly, although there is a 5% surcharge for biannual or monthly payments.

Will the changes have any effect on selling a car?
Yes. In the past, when someone was selling a secondhand car they might offer it with 'six months MOT, four months tax'. But it now won't be possible to transfer car tax. Instead the seller will get an automatic refund for any full months remaining, while the buyer will not only have to insure the car but also tax it before they can legally drive it away.

Won't that that slow the process down whilst informing the DVLA of change of ownership?
No. It will now be possible to tax the car using only the 'new keeper supplement' section of the V5C. This means that the buyer can go online to the DVLA website or use their 24-hour automated call service and tax the vehicle straight away.

That phone number is 0300 123 4321 and the website to renew tax is https://www.gov.uk/tax-disc

I just checked my car on the https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk website and it shows both the tax and MOT expiration dates.

Voodoomelon

Direct debit is a good idea, wish they'd do similar here.

NIMAN

People in Ireland shouldn't have to worry about taxing UK cars! (assuming you aren't a VRT dodger).:)

CiniO

I wonder how this affect Irish buyer of second hand vehicles in UK.

F.e. if I go to UK to buy a car, can I tax it online like mentioned in FAQ quoted? It says "new keeper supplement" will be needed for it. I wonder if it's possible to pay it as non-UK resident.
Also as it says tax will be refunded to previous owner when vehicle is sold to new owner, will this apply also to Irish buyer who paid tax, and then registered car in Ireland. Will remaining of UK tax be refunded when car is registered in Ireland?

dingding

You used to be able to get a rebate on the unused tax when you registered it in Ireland.

Sabre Man

Hopefully Ireland will follow the UK's lead.

CiniO

dingding wrote: »

You used to be able to get a rebate on the unused tax when you registered it in Ireland.

I think it was only applicable if vehicle owner moved to Ireland and registered it here.
If you bought vehicle in UK with tax as Irish resident, you couldn't do it.

CiniO

Sabre Man wrote: »

Hopefully Ireland will follow the UK's lead.

Well, considering there was more of those ridiculous discs introduced recently (CVRT for commercialls, buses, etc) I think it might take another 20 years, before amount of discs on our windscreen will reduce.

fmcg_scribe

CiniO wrote: »

I wonder how this affect Irish buyer of second hand vehicles in UK.

F.e. if I go to UK to buy a car, can I tax it online like mentioned in FAQ quoted? It says "new keeper supplement" will be needed for it. I wonder if it's possible to pay it as non-UK resident.
Also as it says tax will be refunded to previous owner when vehicle is sold to new owner, will this apply also to Irish buyer who paid tax, and then registered car in Ireland. Will remaining of UK tax be refunded when car is registered in Ireland?

https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/newly-bought-vehicles

If you reside in Ireland and buy a car in the UK, you shouldn't be taxing a new or used car in the UK before bringing it back to Ireland - the only vehicle/road tax that you should be paying is in Ireland. If the car you bought in the UK is used, the previous owner will have reclaimed any remaining vehicle/road tax on the car when he or she informed the DVLA about the transfer/sale of the car to a UK motor dealer/you - this is more obvious now under the new rules for car tax that will apply in the UK from 1 October.

https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/for-less-than-12-months

If you reside in the UK but are taking your car to another EU country for 12 months or less, the rules are different.

hi5

The Police in the UK use the APNR all the time, they don't here.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

The other improvement that we should have here, is the new owner supplement.,
Where you buy a car and can tax it straight away. Removes the "im waiting on the book gard" option.

fmcg_scribe

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

The other improvement that we should have here, is the new owner supplement.,
Where you buy a car and can tax it straight away. Removes the "im waiting on the book gard" option.

Agreed. It's amazing that that hasn't yet been introduced in Ireland.

bear1

fmcg_scribe wrote: »

Agreed. It's amazing that that hasn't yet been introduced in Ireland.

Things work much much more slowly here when it comes to smart motoring ideas.

CiniO

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

The other improvement that we should have here, is the new owner supplement.,
Where you buy a car and can tax it straight away. Removes the "im waiting on the book gard" option.

Exactly.
And it's not only about tax.

Lot's of people just sign a logbook and believe seller will post it. Most cases it works fine no problem, but what's actually stopping seller instead of posting logbook, to just report the car stolen. New owner has no document confirming he actually bought the car.

zurbfoundation

hi5 wrote: »

The Police in the UK use the APNR all the time, they don't here.

ANPR would not be cost effective to role out here, the UK is far more densely populated - we only have the same amount of cars as Manchester for a land mass far far larger - think we are stuck with the disc's for a while more

CiniO

fmcg_scribe wrote: »

https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk/newly-bought-vehicles

If you reside in Ireland and buy a car in the UK, you shouldn't be taxing a new or used car in the UK before bringing it back to Ireland - the only vehicle/road tax that you should be paying is in Ireland.

Well, if you don't tax it in UK, so how are you going to drive it legally from place of purchase to ferry port?

Cleveland Hot Pocket

CiniO wrote: »

Well, if you don't tax it in UK, so how are you going to drive it legally from place of purchase to ferry port?

You aren't
But you will show the policeman your receipt, your insurance document and your ferry ticket.
99.999% of the time, that will be the be all and end all.

CiniO

Cleveland Hot Pocket wrote: »

You aren't
But you will show the policeman your receipt, your insurance document and your ferry ticket.
99.999% of the time, that will be the be all and end all.

Of course. I've done that in the past, and encountered no problems. I was happy to take the risk though.
Question however is how to do it fully legally by the book.
At the moment you could buy a car with valid tax, or ask seller to tax it for you.
From what I read now, from 1st October it won't be possible. So I wonder if there will be any legal option of driving a car purchased for export by non-resident in UK.

fmcg_scribe

OSI wrote: »

Well technically it's been officially exported the moment you buy it, so not liable for tax in the UK.

Agreed - see personal v direct export here:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100512144859/direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/buyingandsellingavehicle/importingandexportingavehicle/dg_4022582

fmcg_scribe

CiniO wrote: »

Of course. I've done that in the past, and encountered no problems. I was happy to take the risk though.
Question however is how to do it fully legally by the book.
At the moment you could buy a car with valid tax, or ask seller to tax it for you.
From what I read now, from 1st October it won't be possible. So I wonder if there will be any legal option of driving a car purchased for export by non-resident in UK.

Might be worth contacting DVLA for guidance because recent guidelines from DVLA to cover change to tax discs from 1 October do not yet seem to cover this sort of scenario. Alternatively, have the car transported to ferry port.